Letter to the ASO Board

Fellow lovers of great music,

Taking to heart the requests from our orchestra friends I decided to make a contribution.  Since I've volunteered in fund-raising with the ASO, I decided to focus my correspondence on those board member whom I actually know.  Thus, Saturday morning I sent the email below to 12 ASO board members.  It's not nearly as eloquent as many I've read, but I hope my sincerity comes through.  I saw one of these board members this morning and he thanked me for sending the message.

My message:

Friends,

I'm reaching out to many of you whom I know in ASO leadership to express my deep sadness over the recent developments in the negotations between ASO Management/WAC and ASOPA.  I know many of you through my leadership role with the ASO Institutional Support Council and others through my 21 years of singing in the ASO Chorus.  My roots run deep in this organization that I love and I fear greatly for its continued success.

While it seems that the negotiations have been taken out of the control of ASO Management and are being dictated by WAC, surely you hold sway in influencing their future direction. 

It seems to me that, in it last attempt at negotiating a resolution, ASOPA made a generous, even sacrificial, offer.  It also seems to me that, if the draconian cuts demanded by WAC take place, we will look up in a few years to realize we are working to support an orchestra that has fallen from world-class status to one that is a pretty good regional orchestra.  What does that do to the perception of Atlanta as a world-class city?  What are the financial implications?

I fully understand the precarious financial position of the ASO.  I've heard nobody on either side suggest that the status quo can continue.  However, please work diligently toward a resolution that offers the opportunity for the continued growth of the artistic vision that is today's Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Thank you,

Joe Few

Response from cellist Daniel Laufer:

Dear Mr. Few,
I appreciate you reaching out. It is disheartening to us that nobody seems to want to do anything. We have put our livelihoods on the line, sacrificed already much, have been locked out and healthcare cut off, treated unreasonably, and have offered truly unprecedented cuts. This is clearly a fight between the ASO as an institution and the WAC. We musicians have been on the front lines for 8 months and it seems like no reinforcements of any kind from anywhere are coming to help. We hope this ends up not being the case when all is done.

As far as what will be left if we have a contract imposed by the WAC, the orchestra won't be the same again because their contract permanently changed this from a full-time symphony in the major leagues to a part time orchestra in the minor leagues.

I appreciate you speaking out and feel free to share this with anyone you wish. We invited the ASO board tomorrow to meet with the representative members of  the orchestra committee to hear us out and to answer any questions asked of us.

With much appreciation,

Danny


Daniel Laufer