executive and music director pay June 3, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : labor issues, the orchestra world, 7commentsDrew McManus has his annual compensation reports available over at adaptistration.com - I’d encourage you to take a look of how much we all get paid is of interest to you. What I found interesting was the relationship of executive and music director compensation to that of the orchestra members.
First, a bit of perspective. Here’s the ratio of average CEO compensation to average worker compensation from 1980 to 2006:
entropy May 19, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fundraising, labor issues, the orchestra world, add a commentEntropy is the Second Law of Thermodynamics (also known as the entropy law). Here’s the jargon:
A measure of the amount of energy in a physical system not available to do work. As a physical system becomes more disordered, and its energy becomes more evenly distributed, that energy becomes less able to do work.
Source: entropy. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Science Dictionary. Retrieved May 18, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/entropy
Entropy is in particular characteristic of a closed system. Orchestras are, arguably, a closed system. They use unique funding mechanisms, have unique ways of hiring and terminating employees, have a language that is “spoken” fluently only after years of high level training (though easily understood with little or no training), and other than concerts have little or no interaction as an ensemble with the outside world. (more…)
more columbus analysis May 13, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentRobert Levine, writing over at Abu Bratsche, has finally weighed in on the Columbus Symphony debacle. It’s a pretty damning case he makes for the vast majority of the responsibility to be given to the board of the Columbus Symphony for the current state of affairs. I’d consider it required reading - discuss.
Even with the problems that the OSO is currently facing in terms of recurring budget deficits, the board has not shied away from hiring a strong, competent, clear-eyed president. We’ve at least had someone at the helm (except for one season after the abrupt departure of former president Tony Woodcock) throughout the time I’ve been here (12 seasons and counting), and that counts for a lot. I cannot imagine why the CSO decided not to hire an executive director for THREE consecutive seasons. Amazing, and not in a good way.
columbus symphony circling the drain? May 13, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentThe news from Columbus seems to be getting more dire by the day, and those with the power to change the situation seem unwilling to do so (or to be charitable, unable to do so). Here’s a collection of posts from around the classical blogosphere concerning the situation in Columbus as of late.
- Drew McManus on orchestral homicide
- NY Times on Columbus Shut-down
- CSO crisis: a fresh perspective
- Columbus newspaper bias?
- Drew McManus on CSO board ineffectiveness
- Cincinnati Symphony concerned about Columbus developments
- Columbus Dispatch: It’s the fault of the selfish, greedy musicians
What bothers me the most about this situation is that the responsibility for the plight of the orchestra is being placed squarely on the shoulders of the musicians. According to the board, management, and the editorial board of the Columbus Dispatch, the musicians are selfish and greedy for being unwilling to accept the cuts which are being proposed.
In an orchestra with a multi-year CBA, the costs of the musicians’ salaries are the one factor which can be budgeted for in advance - the numbers are agreed to and known in advance. Certainly, compensation package items such as health care expenses can take sudden up or (ha!) down turns, and those can cause some cash flow problems.
If there were ever a clear cut case of mis-management on the part of both the administration and board of an orchestra, this is a text book example. I just hope that the 08-09 season doesn’t consist of the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony playing run-out concerts in Columbus - it’s a fear expressed by some CSO musicians, and given the Cleveland Orchestra’s expansion into South Florida (after the demise of the similarly mis-managed Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida) to supplement it’s income, it’s not out of the realm of possibility…
columbus symphony musicians reject ‘final offer’ April 25, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : labor issues, the orchestra world, add a commentIt appears that we may be on the verge of whatever will happen in Columbus, if this results in an impasse.
Press release from the CSO musicians’ web site: (more…)
honolulu symphony in serious trouble April 18, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fundraising, labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentThe financially troubled Honolulu Symphony has not paid its musicians or staff for the past 7 weeks of work, and needs $1.5-2.0 million to get out of debt to survive. Next season may already be in jeopardy, and the orchestra is seeking an emergency $800,000 grant from the state of Hawaii to help make ends meet.
Read more here.
slatkin and dudamel start to make marks March 31, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : conducting, labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentSome random orchestrally-themed news that I recommend to you:
First, the Detroit Free Press published a wonderfully comprehensive article on the activities of Leonard Slatkin as he prepares to officially take the reins of the Detroit Symphony this Fall.
Next, the Orange County Register reports on the first appearance in Los Angeles of Gustavo Dudamel with the Philharmonic after being appointed music director designate.
Also, Robert Levine has produced a written transcript of a discussion led by host Jonathan Schaefer with Robert Flanagan (author of the recent study of orchestral finances) and Deborah Borda (Executive director of the LA Philharmonic) on the WQXR radio program Soundcheck.
ICSOM chair Bruce Ridge on Flanagan Report March 30, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentThe chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians is Bruce Ridge. He’s been a tireless representative of the vast majority of professional orchestra musicians in the US, and his analysis is thoughtful and worth considering. I present it here for your consideration.
In recent days, there has been a great deal of discussion regarding the release of a report by economist Robert J. Flanagan, commissioned by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, titled “The Economic Environment of American Symphony Orchestras.” On behalf of the ICSOM Governing Board. I thought I would share some brief observations about the report and the work of Mellon as well as the oft-referred to “Elephant Task Force.”
It seems that every few years or so a new report is commissioned and released about the Symphony Orchestra industry in America that suggests that orchestras are not sustainable, and they generally place the blame, at least partly if not occasionally entirely, on musician salaries. It is difficult to determine just when the industry became so committed to proving to its public that failure is inevitable, but the self-destructive pattern of behavior has been around for decades. A United Press International article from 1970 famously depicts the findings of the death sentence report of that era, titled “25 Symphonies Doomed to Die.”
communities, boards, and orchestras March 20, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentAs I write this, there are two orchestras in the U.S. which are currently facing an existential crisis. The Columbus Symphony and the Shreveport Symphony are both facing cuts which will forever alter how they function, sound, raise money, and basically exist.
Over the past week, two fellow violists/bloggers have written posts about the situation, both about these two orchestras and a new study which suggests that US orchestras are based upon an untenable model. (more…)
cso musicians & management begin talks March 18, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : labor issues, music, the orchestra world, add a commentThe Columbus Dispatch reports that the Columbus Symphony musicians and management met at the negotiating table today for the first time since proposed cuts of musicians and weeks of the season (by 22 musicians and 12 weeks, respectively) were first presented to the musicians on January 17, 2008 (a presentation that the musicians, for better or worse, walked out on).
