Detroit Press Conference

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra announced that it will conduct a press conference today, Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 10:30am ET. According to a press release, the purpose of the event is “to provide an update on the status of upcoming concerts and patron services.” What makes this a little bit different is they plan on broadcast the event live, via webcast at their website. UPDATE: my notes from the webcast are now available…

Read more

Strike Day +1

The musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) officially went on strike yesterday and the event was covered in all of the local traditional media outlets. Among those, Mark Stryker at the Detroit Free Press published what has to be one of the most useful articles about the dynamic impact of work stoppages I’ve ever seen. It focuses on the very same topic we examined here last week: trust…

Read more

To Strike Or Not To Strike

When the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) mess started to unfold, it seemed as though we wouldn’t have to have some of the rudimentary conversations that typically accompany work stoppages, such as the purpose of strikes and lockouts within the context of the orchestra business. As it turns out, we do…

Read more

Quid Pro “No”

On 9/27/2010 the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) musicians published a statement at their website offering up speculation on why conductor JoAnn Faletta withdrew from conducting their self produced concerts on 10/3/2010 and 10/10/2010. According to the musicians, Faletta had “graciously agreed to conduct…donating her services during their labor dispute with management” but shortly thereafter Columbia Artists Management Inc. (CAMI) president Tim Fox, the agency that represents Faletta, told the musicians Faletta would have to withdraw…

Read more

Where Things Stand In Detroit

As last ditch, multi-mediator facilitated bargaining sessions between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and their musicians failed to produce a settlement over the weekend, the organization crossed the first major benchmark in contentious labor disputes. In this case, DSO management decided to abandon play and talk bargaining in favor of implementing their last, best, and final offer and in response, the musicians announced they are going on strike starting Monday, October 4, 2010…

Read more