Boston Symphony Orchestra – Page 2

Boston Symphony Pushes Back Against Allegations Of Sex-Based Pay Discrimination

Wednesday, December 12th, 2018Tuesday, October 9th, 2018 by Drew McManus

The 10/5/2018 edition of the Boston Globe published an article by Zoë Madonna that reports the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has decided to play hard ball and push back against principal flutist, Elizabeth Rowe and her lawsuit alleging sex-based pay discrimination. You’ll find a detailed breakdown of Rowe’s complaint in an article from 7/13/2018, so if you aren’t already familiar with the allegations, that’s a good place to begin. Breaking Down …

Breaking Down The Elizabeth Rowe Complaint

Wednesday, December 12th, 2018Friday, July 13th, 2018 by Drew McManus

Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) principal flute Elizabeth Rowe is suing her employer “to recover over $200,000 in unpaid wages unequal to the pay of a comparable male musician.” We’re going to examine the bulk of her complaint on a point by point basis. It would be surprising to see the suit go to trial but if it does, it would undoubtedly have profound impact on how orchestras approach individual musician agreements. …

Time To Tame The Wild West Of Equal Pay

Wednesday, December 12th, 2018Tuesday, July 10th, 2018 by Drew McManus

I had the pleasure of being an on-air guest for a segment of KPCC 89.3’s AirTalk; lively and in-depth discussions of city news, politics, science, entertainment, the arts, and more, hosted by Larry Mantle. We talked about Elizabeth Rowe’s lawsuit and took a deeper dive into how individual agreements work along with some of the connected issues. You can listen to the segment online at AirTalk’s program page for this episode. …

Equal Work, Equal Pay Lawsuit Could Change The Entire Landscape Of Musician Individual Agreements

Wednesday, December 12th, 2018Friday, July 6th, 2018 by Drew McManus

For far too long, orchestras have relied on a combination of hierarchical tradition and path of least resistance to arrive at terms for musician individual agreements. Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of environment that leads to cronyism, discrimination, and resentment. I like to call it the garbage in, garbage out method of negotiating individual agreements. I strongly recommend everyone take the time to begin reading up on a recent bombshell …

There’s A Reason Why You Pay Musicians

Friday, June 29th, 2018 by Drew McManus

The 6/27/2018 edition of the Boston Globe published an article by Malcom Gay that reports on what appears to be a sizeable purge of the all-volunteer Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Orchestra chorus’ have always occupied a peculiar stakeholder position inside the larger orchestra field. In many orchestras, chorus musicians are unpaid volunteers, which stands in stark contrast to their instrumental peers. That’s how the Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood Festival Chorus is structured so …