Dan Wakin’s article in the 3/3/2010 edition of the New York Times does an excellent job at reporting on the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra’s working conditions. According to his report, the musicians earn $40 per concert with no per diems and a number of the musicians go on record talking about unsatisfactory working and travel conditions. If this doesn’t sound familiar, it should. At the end of 2005, conductor Volker Hartung and his Cologne New Philharmonic made international news after French authorities arrested and jailed him for two days as a result of breaking French labor law…
Current Events
A Tale Of Two Everetts
Apparently displeased with the decision from earlier this season to go dark, it seems as though the musicians from the Everett Symphony Orchestra have taken the adage “if you want something done right, do It yourself” to heart. At the same time, the musician driven initiative has brought on board a local arts manager, current Tacoma Youth Symphony executive director Loma Cobbs, to run the new performing arts organization…
Name That Anthem
Remember when everyone was up in arms at the past few Olympics over the deplorable rendition of the U.S. National Anthem? Well, it seems that the 2010 Winter games in Vancouver have broken free of that dark cycle by reinstating a more ‘merican version of the National Anthem (IMHO, it’s a little slow but I like it). Frankly, no one out-anthem’s the Chicago Blackhawks version with Jim Cornelison. If you want to have some real anthem related fun, slate magazine published a guess that anthem listening quiz on 2/11/2009, but before you head over, listen to the Blackhawks version below…
Here’s To A Strong 2010
By and large, 2009 was a tough year for the field and although some groups will continue to stumble in the weeds, others are making progress on finding institutional balance while several are well on the way to stabilization. For example, the Charlotte Symphony released a statement on 12/31/09 announcing a new program to build annual operating revenue following the successful completion of an ambitious bridge fund campaign. Conversely, news out of Cleveland via Zachary Lewis at The Plain Dealer reports on brewing labor issues…
Weekend Special Report: Honolulu Files For Bankruptcy
As with most devastating announcements, the news that the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (HSO) will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is disappointing. There are numerous articles available on the announcement, which you can locate via a news search at Google, and once stakeholders have had a moment to process the initial information, here are some items they may want to consider…