Something Special In St. Louis Part 3

In order to round out this series of articles about the uniquely special grand concert in St. Louis on March 13th, 2005 it seems fitting to allow the last voice to come from those who participated in the event as patrons.  If you missed the earlier installments, here are Part 1 and Part 2. Karen Coulter, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Patron My friend, Mary Parks, told me about the concert and …

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Something Special In St. Louis Part 2

Part 1 left off with the promise of examining how the musicians from 14 American orchestras performed a grand concert to thank the St. Louis community for their support over the recent months.  The best way to fully understand just how much of an impact this concert had, you will need to hear from the musicians. In Their Own Words Nicolae Bica, Violinist, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (pictured right in the blue …

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Something Special In St. Louis Part 1

On Sunday, March 13, 2005 the musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra along with colleagues from 14 orchestras* joined together to present a free concert to the greater St. Louis community.  In all, there were 109 musicians led by Maestro Benjamin Zander in a performance of works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Elgar**. The musicians gathered for a single, two hour rehearsal and then performed to an overflow audience at …

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Applying Some Perspective In St. Louis

In a recent article published in the 03/05/05 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the article’s author, Sarah Bryan Miller, challenges one of the basic concepts which have successfully driven the increased artistic and financial accomplishment of orchestras since the early 1960’s.  The concept of having musicians set financial goals for the organization via contract negotiations.

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No Mediation In The St. Louis Standoff

According to a recent press release from the SLSO musicians, their recent offer of allowing a mediator to help settle their negotiation impasse was rejected by the SLSO management.  According to a statement included in the press release, Jan Gippo, chair of the SLSO musicians’ negotiating team, said,

“We thought mediation would be worth a try to break the logjam we’re in and don’t understand why Randy [Adams] (SLSO president) would reject it out of hand.  Our two proposals are not that far apart.  Doesn’t he want a settlement?”

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