I posted this on the ATL Symphony Musicians site and wanted to include it on the chorus blog too:
Dear ASO Players,
As a member of the ASOC, I have been privileged to have the
best seat in the house on numerous occasions.
Even in works where we do very little singing and quite a bit of waiting
on stage, I feel connected to you. I
breathe with you when Spano gives you a cue and even find myself leaning
forward with you during crescendos. The audience
also feels the connection. This is most evident
during “Christmas with the ASO” when they join us all in performing familiar
carols, singing with abandon, the joy visible on their faces.
My feeling of connectedness continues today and my heart aches for you. I am saddened at the loss of players that this deal means and worried about future losses as some of you may choose to leave the ASO and play elsewhere. I am ashamed of the WAC for how they’ve treated you and I’m outraged at the disparity between the sacrifices you have agreed to compared with what upper-salaried WAC management was willing to concede.
Please know that you matter. Your music matters.
As a member of the “amateur” chorus, I don’t get paid by the WAC. I don’t sing for them. I sing for you, and I’m so thankful that I will have the opportunity to share the stage with you again this season.
I will be in the audience on October 4. While I normally dress up for symphony performances, that night I will be wearing our new T-shirt. . . because thanks to you, The Music is Ongoing.
My feeling of connectedness continues today and my heart aches for you. I am saddened at the loss of players that this deal means and worried about future losses as some of you may choose to leave the ASO and play elsewhere. I am ashamed of the WAC for how they’ve treated you and I’m outraged at the disparity between the sacrifices you have agreed to compared with what upper-salaried WAC management was willing to concede.
Please know that you matter. Your music matters.
As a member of the “amateur” chorus, I don’t get paid by the WAC. I don’t sing for them. I sing for you, and I’m so thankful that I will have the opportunity to share the stage with you again this season.
I will be in the audience on October 4. While I normally dress up for symphony performances, that night I will be wearing our new T-shirt. . . because thanks to you, The Music is Ongoing.
Thank You,
Dominique Petite
Alto I
ASOC #365
Alto I
ASOC #365
A wonderful letter, Dominique ... the damage to morale is incalculable ... but support from people like you, who take the time to reach out and honor that 'connection', is a validation of the fight. I have that on good authority ...
ReplyDeleteYour post speaks what all choristers are thinking right about now, I'm sure, and you expressed it so very well. If anything good has come out of this whole travesty, however, it is that the love, appreciation, and connection that we have felt for the orchestra, and they for us, had heretofore been mostly unspoken. Now it's out in the open, and that's got to be some kind of powerful force to be reckoned with.
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