A Voice From Academia Weighs In On Atlanta

On 9/11/2012, Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas Dean Peter Witte published a letter at his Posterous site that was originally composed to the editorial board of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The letter examines his perspective on the current ASO work stoppage and it is a worthwhile read in that Witte is a voice inside academia, an executive administrator, and the son of a current ASO musician.

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A Bad Idea In Any Economic Environment

The Minneapolis Star Tribune published an article on 9/7/2012 by Graydon Royce that reports details from a revised St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) proposal. Although it appears that both sides seem to sauntering toward some middle ground, one aspect of the latest SPCO proposal jumps out in that they want to create a two tier pay system for musicians: $62.5k/yr for existing members and $50k/yr for incoming musicians.

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You’re Doomed I Tell You. Doomed!

The 9/8/2012 edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune published an article by Graydon Royce that examines the ongoing labor dispute at the Minnesota Orchestra (MO) and of particular interest is a quote from Richard Davis, the MO former board chair who is currently leading the management’s negotiation team. According to Davis, there are only two kinds of American Orchestras: those that have gone through painful restructuring, and those that are going to go through it. Pretty cheery, huh?

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Opus Awesome

Opus by Michael Hollinger

On Saturday, 9/8/2012 LA Theatre Works (LATW) broadcast its latest radio play; Opus by Michael Hollinger staring Jonathan Adams, Jere Burns, Kevin Chamberlin, Steven Culp, Jon Matthews, and Liza Weil. Simply put, it’s an incredible production and so worth your time that you should go well out of your way to listen to the online version available for streaming (you’ll have a 5 sec ad bumper before you can access the page, sorry). Several months ago, I was honored that the folks from LATW asked me to participate in a conversation to be included at the end of the broadcast, which is also available for streaming.

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Indianapolis Locks Out Musicians And Cancels Concerts

Adaptistration People 140

According to a 9/8/2012 press statement from the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO), the organization announced it failed to reach an agreement with its musicians; as a result, the organization canceled concert events scheduled to occur on September 14 and 15 as well as September 21-23. Shortly after the cancellation announcements, the ISO musicians asserted they have been locked out by ISO management and both sides initiated PR campaigns to begin framing …

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