Official Publication of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians VOLUME 56 NO. 1 MARCH 2018 Partly Sunny Skies in In This Issue San Antonio’s Wild Ride Partly Sunny Skies in By Marisa Bushman, SAS ICSOM Louisville Louisville ....................... 1 Delegate By Bert Witzel, LO ICSOM Delegate San Antonio’s Wild Ride ............................... 1 he last year has been tumultuous for the n December 2011, the Louisville Orchestra Chairperson’s Report .... 2 Musicians of the San Antonio Sympho- Inc. filed for bankruptcy and attempted to ICSOM at SphinxConnect ny. Our collective emotions have ranged President’s Report ........ 3 T reject the musicians’ contract in federal from cautious optimism to total despair as the I The Purpose and court. Upon advice of labor counsel, Liza Hirsch events of the last year have unfolded. Relevance of ICSOM Stacy Nyikos Medina, the Louisville Orchestra musicians imme- Congress Delivers a Last spring, the Mu- O’Neil Arnold diately engaged the most Tax Pay Cut to ICSOM sicians of the San An- reputable local bankrupt- Musicians ...................... 4 tonio Symphony were cy attorneys and defeated How the new law notified of a plan for a that effort. We were able affects musicians takeover of the Sym- to keep our contract and Conrad’s Concert .......... 6 phony by three of the continued to work for its Kansas City creates largest foundations in sensory-friendly concerts duration. After the con- Musicians of the San Antonio, the Tobin tract expired came an in- San Francisco Opera Endowment, the Kron- famous lockout that lasted Organize Benefit kosky Foundation, and an entire season. However, Concert .......................... 6 HEB. These foundations joined together to form from the nadir of the concessionary agreement For hurricane and a new non-profit called Symphonic Music for San that ended the lockout, the orchestra has been fire victims Antonio (SMSA); and under the plan, the old non- Newslets ........................ 7 making steady progress—in contract terms and profit, Symphony Society of San Antonio (SSSA), Pittsburgh, Nashville, in innovative programs that are raising its profile Houston, Saint Paul, which had run the SAS since its founding in 1939, in the community. St. Louis, Detroit, would transfer all its assets to SMSA and cease to The one-year lockout-ending contract settle- Atlanta, Rochester, exist. Publicly, SMSA vowed to pay the musicians ment reduced salary (through loss of weeks of Florida, Utah, San what they deserved, all while returning financial Francisco Ballet, Phoenix, work) and the number of full-time musicians Buffalo, Columbus stability to the San Antonio Symphony. It sounded (through attrition and retirement—no musicians Newletters of Note ...... 11 like a dream come true. However, numerous SSSA lost their jobs, we are proud to say). The orchestra Playing with Pain board members were not in favor of the takeover went from 37 weeks and 71 musicians to 30 weeks plan and resigned in protest. Dr. Alice Viroslav and 55 musicians. But in subsequent negotiations we agreed was then named board chair of the old board (SSSA) to help O’Neil Arnold, courtesy of the Louisville Orchestra O’Neil with the transition to the new board (SMSA). At the time, Dr. Viroslav also was a board member of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, an independently-run non-profit that oper- ates the concert hall that houses the San Antonio Symphony. Preceding the takeover, the Tobin Center and SSSA entered into a “shared services” agreement to market the Symphony. The shared services initiative came from the CEO of the Tobin Center, Mike Fresher, formerly of the Horace Bushnell Memo- rial Hall Corporation (The Bushnell) in Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Fresher previously participated in a similar plan with the Hartford Symphony, which ended up having serious adverse consequences for the musicians there. The premise was that the Tobin Center would provide the marketing services for the on a three-year contract with some modest gains. After that San Antonio Symphony, at a discounted rate to help reduce contract expired last year, we reached another three-year con- expenses. tract, with significant gains in salary, weeks of work, and the In August, SMSA instated its own CEO, Tom Stephenson, restoration of lost full-time positions. Three full-time positions who was the former editor of the San Antonio Express News (continued on page 11) (continued on page 9) Page 2 March 2018 Chairperson’s Report By Meredith Snow A Player Conference of the ICSOM at SphinxConnect American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO he 21st Annual Sphinx Competition and SphinxCon- www.icsom.org nect conference were held at the Detroit Marriott TRenaissance Center, January 31 to February 4. ICSOM has been a supporter of the Sphinx Competition since 1998, and this year President Paul Austin and I attended, along Orchestras Governing Board Diane Alancraig Photography with AFM SSD Director Rochelle Skol- Alabama Symphony Orchestra Meredith Snow, Chairperson nick; Susan Ayoub, Secretary-Treasurer Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Los Angeles Philharmonic of Detroit Local 5; Alfonso Pollard, AFM Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 13610 Emelita Street Boston Symphony Orchestra Van Nuys, CA 91401 Legislative-Political Director and Di- Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra 818-786-3776 rector of Diversity; and Tino Gagliardi, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra [email protected] Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra Paul Austin, President President of New York Local 802 and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Grand Rapids Symphony Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra 561 Madison Avenue SE member of the AFM International Ex- The Cleveland Orchestra Grand Rapids, MI 49503 ecutive Board. Colorado Symphony Orchestra 616-304-0869 The conference was filled with Columbus Symphony Orchestra [email protected] Dallas Symphony Orchestra Laura Ross, Secretary thought-provoking panels, live music Detroit Symphony Orchestra Nashville Symphony The Florida Orchestra 1609 Tammany Drive performances, and master classes. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Nashville, TN 37206 Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, an all Black and Latino orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony 615-227-2379 • Fax 615-259-9140 Grant Park Orchestra comprising professional musicians from orchestras and institu- [email protected] Hawaii Symphony Orchestra Michael Moore, Treasurer tions all over the country, performed twice under the direction Houston Symphony Atlanta Symphony Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra 953 Rosedale Road NE of guest conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto at Orchestra Hall, home Jacksonville Symphony Atlanta, GA 30306 of the Detroit Symphony. The first-place competition winner of Kansas City Symphony 404-875-TUBA (404-875-8822) Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra [email protected] the Senior Division was Venezuelan violinist Rubén Rengel; and Los Angeles Philharmonic Peter de Boor, Senza Sordino Editor Louisville Orchestra Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra the winner of the Junior Division (17 and under) was cellist Levi Metropolitan Opera Orchestra 431 North Kenmore Street Powe, from Tucson, Arizona. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Arlington, VA 22201 Having attended the League of American Orchestras’ (LAO) Minnesota Orchestra 703-465-9157 • Fax 866-832-7838 Nashville Symphony [email protected] conference in June of 2017, Paul, Rochelle, and I became involved National Symphony Orchestra New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Martin Andersen, Member at Large with the LAO Diversity Forum, which brings together activists in New York City Ballet Orchestra New Jersey Symphony and around orchestras—to exchange information and perspec- New York City Opera Orchestra 1 Marine View Plz., Apt. 24A New York Philharmonic Hoboken, NJ 07030 201-401-6429 tives and to take collective action. Created in conjunction with North Carolina Symphony [email protected] the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Diversity Forum has been Oregon Symphony Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico Greg Mulligan, Member at Large exploring diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in American or- The Philadelphia Orchestra Baltimore Symphony Orchestra chestras, in order to better understand the barriers to achieving Phoenix Symphony 11955 Long Lake Drive Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Reisterstown, MD 21136 greater diversity among musicians in orchestras. Four task forces Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra 410-979-0208 [email protected] that had been formed in the 2016 Diversity Forum are working St. Louis Symphony The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Dan Sweeley, Member at Large to promote DEI in orchestras: San Antonio Symphony Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra San Diego Symphony Orchestra 1360 Evergreen Drive • Build an Audition Support System: Create a national fund San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Lake View, NY 14085 to provide travel, financial support, and orchestra audi- San Francisco Opera Orchestra 716-553-9200 San Francisco Symphony [email protected] tion training to pre- and early-professional musicians from Symphoria Kimberly Tichenor, Member at Large under-represented communities, also establish a mentor Utah Symphony Louisville Orchestra Virginia Symphony Orchestra 146 North Hite Avenue network and audition training initiative. Co-chairs: Howard Louisville, KY 40206 Herring (CEO of the New World Symphony) and Stanford 502-418-7210 [email protected] Thompson (Executive Director of Play On, Philly!) Kevin Case, General Counsel • Strengthen Music Education Pathways: Determine orches- Case Arts Law