#TBT Diversity Boomerang

Reflection or Projection

In response to yesterday’s post about the Canadian Opera Company (COC) and Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) losing city funding due to a lack of diversity, I noticed some intriguing conversations across social media. One of the overriding themes was a sense that orchestras are genuinely trying as hard as they can to address diversity and that stated commitment should count for something. These points made me think about a post here …

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In Toronto, There’s No More Snooze Bar On The Diversity Alarm

There’s a wonderful article in the 5/25/2018 edition of Ludwig-van.com that serves as a sort of cautionary tale about the disconnect between what an organization says is important and its quantifiable actions on the matter. The article, by Michael Vincent, reports the Canadian Opera Company (COC) and Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) will see $100,000 CAD and $50,000 CAD respectfully cut from their Toronto city government funding. The decision to reduce their …

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A Quick Update On The Upcoming Seattle Pension Article

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A number of readers have written in to ask about the deep dive into Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s (SSO) new musician retirement plan and the process used for the migration. Thanks to some fortuitous scheduling, I’ll have the opportunity to sit down with some of the SSO’s stakeholders face to face for an interview. To take advantage of that benefit, it meant pushing the publication back a bit to accommodate the June …

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Happy Memorial Day!

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Whether you’re home all day enjoying the holiday with family and friends or your orchestra is putting on a performance today, try to take a few moments to remember the reason for the holiday. Band Facts              

Top-Tier Musician Compensation 2018

It’s time to revisit base musician compensation levels at the top eight highest paying orchestras. For a number of these orchestras, the 2017/18 season marks the end of their existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and they have yet to ratify a new contract. In each of those instances, the outcomes will have a large impact on what many orchestra musicians consider their organization’s ability to compete for the best on-stage talent. …

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