The 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…

Just caught this new blog by the former principal clarinetist of the Federal Way Symphony, located midway between Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. For those of you who might wonder why union orchestras have contracts to cover working conditions and termination of employees among other matters - these blog entries pretty much sum it up. We’d like to believe that people in the arts behave in the best interests of the entire organization which they administer, but human nature being what it is, if there are no checks on power the temptation to behave capriciously and arbitrarily is often acted upon.

Here are a few choice excerpts from this excellent accounting of an orchestra gone wrong - first, no contract:

. . . There was no contract guaranteeing adherence to industry-standard definitions, policies, and procedures. Everything was arbitrary, from working conditions to terms of employment. Musicians were expected to commit to services for the season and honor those commitments without exception. However, management was not so obligated. On several occasions, when the Board purportedly ran short of funds, it cancelled the first rehearsal with only a few days notice in order to save the expense of paying musicians. Music not available in advance, no listing of musicians’ in the program, key musicians cycled in and out of the orchestra by whim of the music director, lack of grievance process… all were commonplace and inarguable in the absence of contractual standards.

an out-of-control music director:

Over the 25+ year reign of the music director, the Federal Way Symphony became known throughout the Seattle-Tacoma region for mistreating musicians, particularly wind players. The orchestra’s reputation was so infamous that it had difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified players both in sub and regular positions. Too many good musicians had been abused, handled unprofessionally, and purged. For those of us who remained committed, particularly in the woodwind section, the enjoyment of playing regularly with other fine musicians won out–barely–over frequent mistreatment and abuse.

and purging of “trouble makers”:

It was obvious that the music director planned to purge the people he perceived to be responsible for “stirring up trouble.” What was inexcusable was the manner in which it was done, which was designed to humiliate and belittle us. We were led to believe that our status with the orchestra had not changed and that we should attend the rehearsal. Upon finding our chairs occupied, we would disappear and thereby serve as an example to the rest of the orchestra.

If even half of what is told in this blog is accurate, the Federal Way Symphony is a travesty of orchestral mis-management. When a conductor has the board in their pocket (he is a very wealthy individual) he has virtually unlimited power, and you know how the old saying goes…

Take a look, and if you feel so moved, go on over to the FWS website and make your displeasure known.