It was sad to read the news out of Minnesota yesterday in the 5/9/2012 edition of the Star-Tribune where an article by Graydon Royce reports that the Minnesota Orchestra (MO) has eliminated nine full-time administrative positions and laid off seven part-time administrative employees.
Labor Relations
Invasion Of The Job Snatchers?
Over the course of last week, a couple of regular readers pointed out two separate labor but related labor disputes. Both issues surround hiring practices and first up is the Fresno Grand Opera (FGO) where musicians recently went on strike hours before a scheduled event featuring soprano Renee Fleming. The other situation is on the other side of the country in Florida where the Palm Beach Symphony (PBS) is catching grief from local musicians over the decision to bring in current students and recent graduates from The Juilliard School for concert event and in-school services.
The Ridge Address: A Warning-Response Opportunity
Although I plan to post my observations about the entire 2012 American Orchestra Summit later this week, I wanted to focus on what was perhaps the most engaging component of the entire event: a keynote address from International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) chair Bruce Ridge and the subsequent rebuttal session with League of American Orchestras president Jesse Rosen.
What The Other Side Gets Right
Amidst the backdrop of increasingly partisan politics and some of the lowest Federal government approval ratings in history, Thomas B. Edsall published a pair of opinion articles in the New York Times where he asked key figures among conservatives and liberals what they thought the other side “got right.” The results were captivating in that although Edsall notes liberals and conservatives did not always share the same degree of enthusiasm when …
LO Upgrades From Craigslist To Facebook & Google
There hasn’t been much news about the Louisville Orchestra (LO) work stoppage in the past several weeks following the board’s empty gesture for arbitration and the subsequent musician rejection, but it seems that the LO is forging ahead with a previous plan to hire replacement musicians. Following a rocky start with advertisements in a series of craigslist outlets and direct appeals, the latest incarnation comes in the form of Facebook and Google ads.