Detroit News Editorial Blames Musicians

The 2/2/2011 edition of the Detroit News published an editorial which pulled no punches when it came to laying the all of the blame for the Detroit symphony Orchestra (DSO) work stoppage at the feet of the musicians and their supporters. Unfortunately, an attempt to summarize a protracted labor dispute the magnitude of the DSO’s is practically impossible in the space of a print editorial, and this one is no exception…

Read more

Join The Discussion

There’s a fascinating comment thread discussion going on at the The O’Riley Factor (no, not that one) article here from 1/31/2011. Christopher O’Riley (yes, that one) posted a comment that started what I think is a very useful discussion about how both parties in a labor disputes distribute official information and details that come from unofficial sources. There’s a good bit about the distinction between a musician’s position and the musicians’ opinion…

Read more

DSO Executive Committee Postpones Decisions

Yesterday’s executive committee meeting at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) held the potential for becoming a watershed moment for the institution following statements from DSO leaders earlier in the month that the committee could decide to suspend the current season and/or postpone 2011/12 season planning. As it turned out, the executive committee decided to postpone any decisions about the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons until next week…

Read more

A Whirlwind Weekend In Detroit

The ongoing labor dispute at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is arguably becoming a text book case of what not to do in a work stoppage and the past few days have added a few chapters. Both sides agreed to sit down for a bargaining session on Thursday, 1/20/2011 and with a mutually agreed to a news blackout in place, it seemed as though this might be a sign of progress. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out…

Read more

Chicago Symphony Musicians Leaflet For Detroit

On 1/20/2011, the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) distributed leaflets before the evening’s concert which expressed support for musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and urged DSO music director Leonard Slatkin to “use his influence to persuade the Board of the DSO to negotiate in a spirit of compromise and respect.”…

Read more