Flashback to Another ASO Negotiation

This fairly full account, which contains statements by both ASO Management and the ASOPA, was published in Instant Encore 3 years ago ...

http://www.instantencore.com/buzz/item.aspx?FeedEntryId=42228

ICSOM (International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians) has archived all ASO contract settlements.

http://icsom.org/orchestras/index.php?orchID=2&g=1

The Situation in Minnesota and Spokane

Minnesota musicians not allowed to talk to their Board.  Where have I heard that one before ...?
http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S2824479.shtml

Spokane Symphony Musicians go on strike after rejecting salary offer ...
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/nov/03/symphony-musicians-strike-after-talks-fail/
http://www.inlander.com/spokane/blog-6845-trouble-at-the-symphony.html

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra rejects contract offer, and cancels concerts to the end of the year.
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/176856461.html?refer=y&vi_adid=W
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/176642791.html?vi_adid=W&refer=y

AJC Article on the Departing ASO VPs

Whoa!  They got a letter too!

http://www.ajc.com/news/entertainment/arts-theater/three-vice-presidents-departing-atlanta-symphony/nSyY2/

Blue Robes

A friend in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra is performing in a sold-out Messiah, featuring combined choruses, and conducted by one of our old friends, John Nelson.

Wish I could be there ... but I googled these up instead.  Two selections from a 1987 Messiah concert, recently posted on YouTube.  Lovely sound, familiar faces in the chorus and orchestra  (and at the organ, too!), and Himself on the old plywood podium.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCtoarLpupM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1G4NrIHZqA&feature=related

"Dear People ..."

I never worked under Mr. Shaw; I came to the chorus the year he died.  But in the 13 years I've been in the ASOC, his absence has never been more keenly felt than it is today, by those in our organization who knew him best.  Mr. Shaw, whom I never knew ... but whose life and work are ineluctably tied to my life as a musician ... was a tireless champion of the music and the musicians; his passion for both was a fixed principle.  During his tenure he was, reportedly, a thorn in the Board's side, to the extent that they attempted to get rid of him for various reasons, most notably when he insisted on programming the works of modern composers.  His profound respect for the ASO musicians influenced his decision to hold chorus rehearsals outside Symphony Hall during the 1996 strike.

In the last years of his life, Robert Shaw was still following his quest for spiritual food through partaking of the arts, as his remarkable writings show.  By the time of his death in 1999, the orchestra he had retired from in 1988 had grown in stature and renown.

http://www.atlsymphonymusicians.com/1/post/2012/09/robert-shaw-re-dedication-of-the-woodruff-arts-center.html

Shaw anecdotes are a part of our preparation, courtesy of Norman, who tells the funniest ones; sometimes he sends Mr. Shaw's letters to us:  "Dear People ..." -- like "Open Sesame" -- is a promise of riches beyond, a glimpse into the workings of a rare mind.  Long-time chorus members, like war veterans around the dinner table, recall the old days, still wearing the stripes of whatever praise or chastisement Mr. Shaw felt called to heap upon them.  These "Dear People" belonged to a particular time, having come together under the aegis of a particular man. We are lucky to have some of these stories posted on the blog.

Stephen Reed's From the Heart ...  http://asocmember.blogspot.com/2012/09/mr.html

Andrew Gee's Together in Shaw-Speak
http://asocmember.blogspot.com/2012/09/together-in-shaw-speak.html

But even Norman who has, if anyone does, the indisputable right to address the chorus as he chooses, does not use that greeting.

Stanley Romanstein begins his most recent letter by invoking Mr. Shaw:  "Dear People ..."  Is he laying claim to the Shaw legacy by virtue of his choral directing experience?  Does he see himself as Shaw's 'spiritual heir', appointed to lead both orchestra and chorus in this new era?  Disappointingly, the President and CEO's letter amounts to a redacted statement regarding lay-offs and reshuffles in the organization.  Stanley Romanstein has imperiously adopted us as his 'Dear People' -- in order to say virtually nothing at all.

Personally, I think the man who is largely responsible for ransoming the future of Mr. Shaw's beloved orchestra to a WAC-controlled budget sheet ought to think twice about drinking from what is, to the ASO and ASOC, a sacred vessel.   It doesn't take writing on the wall to point out how seriously Dr. Romanstein has mistepped.  Again.  At the very least, he shouldn't be writing 'Dear People" to anybody because it makes him look desperate.  (Although I have to say that he has been consistent in his inability to gauge the true opinions of the people he purports to lead; he concocts pretty pictures of mutual cooperation to the media and in the concert programs, while musicians are refusing to share the same air he breathes.)

Robert Shaw believed that appreciation of the arts requires "equal parts of modesty and vulnerability -- a preference for the small truth over the big lie."

Some people just get it wrong.

Notes on the ASO Lockout and Aftermath

Letter to the New York Times

The recent contract agreement reached by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra after a lockout by its management reflects similar patterns for symphony orchestras across the nation, seeking to deal with shrinking audiences and growing deficits.  From the perspective that the ASO settlement may be a bellwether for other American orchestras, it is important to recognize the circumstances under which the agreement was reached.  There were unique aspects to the ASO struggle that have caused continuing protests from the musicians and from many of the players’ supporters, including members of the ASO Chorus, a volunteer group of international renown since its founding days under Robert Shaw.

The ASO is not a freestanding institution but part of a larger non-profit organization, the Woodruff Arts Center (WAC) which also includes visual arts, theater, and educational arms.  The ASO Board operates under the “parent” board of the WAC; its Chair is on the Executive Committee of the WAC; and the management of the ASO is responsible not only to the ASO Board but also to the WAC Board.  The WAC Board has final approval authority for all administrative and budgetary actions of its member institutions.

In the recent dispute, the ASO Board, WAC Board and WAC Executive Committee wielded extraordinary power to exact a contract that the players and their supporters found punitive, demoralizing, and artistically damaging.  Some specifics of this wielding of power included the refusal of the Chair of the ASO Board to meet directly with the ASO Players Association (ASOPA) and his directive that other board members refrain from doing so; the Chair refusing the request of the elected ASOPA representative to address the ASO Board at a called meeting at which the representative had a legitimate seat; the ASO Chair warning ASO Board members not to attend a meeting to which they were invited by the ASOPA (only one board member showed up); the President of the ASO addressing the ASO Chorus and admonishing them to remain silent when anyone asked them about the process (“simply say, ‘negotiations are ongoing’”); and virtually controlling the local media through press releases which painted a rosy picture of the agreement reached. 

The WAC used the mounting deficits of the ASO as its reason for demanding the deep cuts:  reducing the number of ASO musicians from 95 to 88; locking out the musicians for 4 weeks; a cut in salaries of more than 17% through the elimination of the summer season and as a result, employing the musicians for 41 and 42 weeks respectively for the next two years. But in the background, and hidden from public view, are debts incurred by the WAC and ASO management from various large-scale building projects, both completed and abandoned, over more than a decade.

The lockout occurred shortly after the ASOPA had made a counter-offer to the ASO management which included $2M in annual concessions that the President of the ASO requested, a counter-offer which was supported by the ASO Executive Board and Management but which then was turned down by the senior leadership of the WAC with threats that regular-season concerts (including the October 27 Carnegie Hall performance) would be canceled.  It became apparent that although the ASO Chorus and others were assured that “negotiations were ongoing”, in fact, the WAC was not willing to negotiate further at all.

The lockout, which included suspension of all health-care benefits, sparked an outcry from many subscribers, donors, some ASO board members, and from some members of the ASO Chorus.

The ASOC Singers and Friends Blog was established in response to the limited and superficial news reporting from local traditional media.  The blog is ‘chorus-centric’; its 200+ posts comprise a complete history of the ASO lock-out.   The September posts tell the story through ASOC member letters to the ASO Board and to WAC, documents, links and articles related to the lock-out, and many original essays.  Today, post-settlement, the blog continues to focus on information related to the ASO and to other orchestras in similar peril in this country.  In a little over two months, the blog achieved 21,700 page views, with growing world-wide participation.  The administrators of the blog are from the ASOC.    http://asocmember.blogspot.com/ 

While looking to help the ASO musicians in a material way during the lock-out, chorus members created t-shirts with the message:  The Music is Ongoing™ (a play on the phrase, “Negotiations are ongoing”), with $10 from the sale of each shirt going directly to the ASOPA account.   Chorus members wear them as an outward visible sign of their continued support, and to honor the musical partnership they value so highly.  As a show of solidarity, chorus members gave the Orchestra their shirts as gifts.  Orchestra members and chorus members now wear their Music is Ongoing™ t-shirts to all dress rehearsals, even to the Carnegie Hall dress rehearsal.  Guest soloists who request them, are given shirts.  People from all over the world are buying them.  Clearly, the message, which speaks for the Art and the Artists, resonates. 

 

Despite the events of this past year, and efforts to compromise the quality of the orchestra’s core excellence, our respective institutions -- the ASO and the ASO Chorus – are committed to maintaining our high performance standards and continuing our creative partnership.   

ASOC Members

Jon Gunnemann

Sally Kann

Laurie Cronin

Cyn DeBold

Carnegie Hall Review: Classical Source

From Ginnie L ... Classical Source has information on concerts all over the world.  David Rice's review is very good.

http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=10583