Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to my matching gift fundraiser I mentioned in last Friday’s post. Thanks to the generosity of donors, it raised $1,000 and reached 200% of the original goal! This amount will fund 1/3 of a prison recital program from Arts Capacity, which helps people in need through the power of live music and art to cope with challenges and develop the capacity to experience change for good. It …
The recent Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) strike is an excellent example of something that demonstrates how much the work stoppage PR landscape has shifted over the past decade. For example, one of the strongest musician talking points is the deleterious impact concessions have on an orchestra’s ability to attract and retain the very best artistic talent. This was a cornerstone of the CSO musician position: If the employer does away with …
One item that remains unclear in the new Chicago Symphony Orchestra agreement is whether the new fiver-year contract modified any of the terms related to substitute musician compensation. I’ve been communicating with both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) and the musicians and so far, have received mildly differing accounts. According to CSOA Communications and Public Relations Officer, Eileen Chambers “per the terms of the new agreement, temporary or substitute musicians will …
On Saturday, 4/27/2019 the board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) and the CSO musicians ratified a new five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The deal was reached shortly after outgoing Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel became directly involved. Let’s take a close look at the new terms to see what each stakeholder managed to secure. Pension In a nutshell: the employer scored a big win on this term while the musicians …
The longer work stoppages continue, the hotter passions run. It’s a truism that not even the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) strike is exempt. As the CSO work stoppage approaches its second month, tempers are burning hotter than ever. When that happens, it isn’t uncommon to see stakeholders speak first, think later. To that end, one of the primary reasons I migrated this blog’s commenting system to a platform that requires a …