It’s been a busy month. Adaptistration broke half a dozen traffic records over the past two weeks; between the most popular compensation reports to date and the Minnesota Orchestra Association (MOA) articles this week, it’s time for a brief day off. And by day off, I mean a quick link love post for other MOA oriented blog posts you may have missed.
- Conductor Bill Eddins keeps breaking my budget with bandwidth overages thanks to his insightful and popular posts; the two most recent contributions; Why Bother… and Dear Governor Dayton are worthwhile reads.
- The kind of all classical music writing, Alex Ross, has been weighing in on the MOA’s Domaingate in a series of posts.
- Anastasia Tsioulcas managed to get some info from the MOA in response to Domaingate which she published in an article at npr.org. Suffice to say, the official reply does about as much good as the original Nixon responses to Watergate but don’t let that fool you into thinking the article isn’t a must-read.
- Norm Lebrecht weighs in with some commentary that defines MOA executive administrator, Michael Henson, as “the moderately unsuccessful manager of two perpetually troubled UK orchestras”
Related Posts
-
One item we missed last week was an article about growing tensions in the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) collective bargaining negotiations. Written by Peter…
-
We move one step closer to checking off all the groups on our list of mid to large budget orchestras with expired agreements that…
-
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) becomes the latest group from our list of mid to large budget orchestras with expired agreements to reach a…
It may be a shameless bit of self-promotion, but I’d also include my own blog as well–written from the point of one who has been an arts administrator for many years (including several with the Orchestra itself). It’s been well-read locally. Here’s an example, if interested. http://maskoftheflowerprince.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/a-faq-that-raises-more-questions-than-it-answers/
Yes – Scott’s blog is amazing!! It deserves much wider readership.
Totally. Scott’s blog is amazing.
“Beware, You Greedy Foxes” by Marie G. Cooney
The administration of the Minnesota Orchestra should be ashamed of their cold, calculated, and malicious lock-out of musicians. It is quite obvious that the board of directors never intended to engage in open and fair negotiations with the musicians. It is very clear that the goal was to break the musicians’ union on both a local and national level, with the assistance of other gluttonous corporate leaders, who don’t give a damn about the many artists or their communities. It is terribly sad that greed for greater profits outweighs 110 years of steady growth of a tremendously talented orchestra.
The Minnesota Orchestra is an exceptional group of talented musicians, built on personal and collective commitment to their artistry. Patrons of all ages have shared in their dedication and love of their music for decades. The people of Minnesota have also shown devotion to musical excellence through the support via our tax dollars.
In one single year, decades of trust have been shatter. The musicians do not trust the board, who locked them out of their own home. The patrons do not trust the board, who received financial support for an upcoming season, which was never intended to be delivered. The tax payers do not trust the board, who stole our tax money with frivolous proposals, outrageous claims, and the construction of a state of the arts building, emptied of the artists and the patrons it was built to serve.
Like the greedy fox, who thought he could out-wit the three little pigs, I hope you, who are members of the board, fringe your tails on the fires raging in the hearts and hearths of all those who support our beloved musicians! Run! Run with your tails on fire. Run far away from the MN Orchestra’s home! Run with your sizzling tails tucked between your legs, and don’t look back. We don’t want you here!
We want OUR orchestra back, not the bankers, who banked on the orchestra’s destruction long before the lock out of the musicians happened and long before construction of their new home began. We want a new board of directors, who will rebuild the orchestra, as well as rebuild trust with the musicians; their local, national, and international patrons; and tax payers on all levels of government, who have already given so much in support members of the Minnesota Orchestra! Save Our Symphony in MN! We want them back!
Sincerely,
Marie G. Cooney of St. Paul MN
IATSE, Local 13 Stagehands and Wardrobe
Thank you for posting this here. Somehow I wasn’t aware of it before. Your writing and analysis are outstanding.
Just to clarify, I was referring to Scott Chamberlain’s link and blog.
Thanks for the kind words!
Another link to Song of the Lark.