Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians

Substitute Parity At ICSOM Orchestras 2019

Tue, Mar 3, 2019
Adaptistration People 177
In 2014, we took a deep dive into which International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) symphonic orchestras paid substitute musicians the same rate as core musicians and in the wake of a recent conversation with ICSOM chairperson Meredith Snow and ICSOM President Paul Austin, it’s time to update that list. My thanks to

And Then That Happened

Wed, Sep 9, 2016
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I’m away at the 2016 @ArtsMidwest conference today but want to quickly point out two items of notes related to substitute parity (paying substitute musicians an equal per-service rate as their salary based colleagues). Regular readers know the topic of equal pay for equal work among orchestra musicians is a popular topic and one ongoing

A Crisis Of Conscience Inside The AFM

Fri, Apr 4, 2015
Adaptistration People 137
The topic of equal pay for equal work as applied to substitute musician wages has been an uphill examination over the past year. We began exploring the topic in the wake of the Minnesota Orchestra settlement that ended their season-killing lockout after learning the agreement failed to maintain wage parity for substitute musicians and even

Equal Work For Equal Pay: An Orchestra Musician Third Rail Topic

Mon, Feb 2, 2015
Adaptistration People 149
One of the most common tasks in my consulting work with boards and administrators is adjusting preconceived notions about the musicians union. One of the reasons misconceptions are so common is the musicians’ unique level of self-determination and direct representation is in stark contrast to most other labor unions. A Fascinating History Beginning in the

The Ridge Address: A Warning-Response Opportunity

Mon, Mar 3, 2012
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
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