Regional Orchestra ROPA Players’ Association A conference of the American Federation of Musicians, AFL-CIO 2017 ROPA Conference Edition Fall Westin Phoenix Downtown / Phoenix, AZ 2017 July 31st—August 3rd, 2017 2017 ROPA Conference Report by Karen Sandene, ROPA Secretary Delegates representing orchestras from all corners of the nation convened in Phoenix, AZ during the first week of August for the 33rd Annual Regional Orches- tra Players’ Association (ROPA) Conference, hosted by Local 586 and the Arizona Opera Orchestra, with activities centered at the Westin Downtown Phoenix Hotel. ROPA’s annual conference is one of the most important benefits of ROPA membership, and much information is gleaned there to assist with negotiat- ing, organizing and understanding the current state and Wilcox reinforced the common knowledge that of the orchestral world. arts and culture radiate throughout the economy. The final session of this first morning was a well-received A central theme highlighted throughout this year’s presentation on hearing protection, with audiologist conference dealt with the topic of diversity and inclu- Heather Malyuk of Sensaphonics. siveness in the symphonic world, and several excel- lent guest speakers offered their perspectives Delegates spent much of the first day in valuable throughout the week. Lovie Smith-Wright (President, small group discussions with their Members-at-Large, Houston Local 699) gave the AFM Diversity Com- sharing information with orchestras of similar budget mittee report, and Alex Laing (Principal Clarinet, size. Wrapping up official business for the first day, Phoenix Symphony) offered a detailed description of new delegates received training from ROPA officers “Plans for Recognizing the Diversity in Our Locals/ and members of Symphonic Services Division. Diversity in Orchestras.” As part of his report, Alfonso Pollard (AFM Legislative-Political Director/Director of On the second day, ROPA warmly welcomed repre- Diversity) shared information about musicians from sentatives from our fellow AFM Conferences: OCSM, LAYERS' ASSOCIATION minority groups who hold positions in symphony TMA, RMA and ICSOM, with Robert Fraser, Tony orchestras. On the final day, Weston Sprott D’Amico, Marc Sazer and Meredith Snow, respective- (Trombonist, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) present- ly, highlighting their years’ activities. AFM President ed “Actionable Strategies to Make Your Orchestra Ray Hair led a panel discussion which offered More Diverse and Inclusive.” important clarity on the status of the AFM Pension Fund. A large number of resolutions were approved, The opening session featured addresses by AFM (continued on page 10) Phoenix Local 586 President Jerry Donato, Joe Spec- ter, General Director of the Arizona Opera and Steve Wilcox, Communications Direc- In This Issue tor of the Arizona Commission for the Arts. Donato reported Conference Report 1 that union membership in the ROPA President’s Remarks, 2017 ROPAConference 2 Editor’s Message 2 area is up, despite the fact Arizo- The Show Must Go On: Making Music in na is a right-to-work state, and Houston after Harvey 3 he shared recruiting techniques In Memoriam: Maurice Grants 5 2017 Conference Resolutions 6 Local 586 implements. Specter ROPA Guiding Principles 11 highlighted several of the opera ROPA Secretary ROPA Officers and Member Orchestras 12 Karen Sandene company’s successful projects, The Leading Tone REGIONAL ORCHESTRA P Page 2 THE LEADING TONE ROPA President’s Remarks, 2017 ROPA Conference by John Michael Smith, ROPA President The Leading Tone Volume 33, Issue 1 Thanks to everyone who attended the 2017 offer to give a report in person. It extends the ROPA Annual Conference in Phoenix! I greatly conference’s personal face-to-face message and enjoyed meeting many new delegates and provides opportunity to discuss how the mes- attendees, and visiting with those who I’ve sages from the conference can be utilized in Editor known for many years. I hope everyone who your local. Following this oral report by writing Sharon Jones attended the conference went home feeling that a report on the conference for the local’s news- [email protected] they gained valuable letter gets the message out to your entire local. information, learned Proofreaders new things and were For your orchestra, you should consider a re- John Michael Smith inspired by presenta- port to both the orchestra committee and to the David Shelton tions and conversa- musicians at an orchestra meeting. Again, I tions that occurred would encourage you to make a live presenta- Letters to the editor can be sent to the during the week. tion. The annual ROPA conference is all about e-mail address above. having live face-to-face presentations, discus- So, what do you do sions and conversation. Carrying that aspect with all of this when back to your orchestra is like taking them there. R O P A you return home? And of course, writing a report and distrib- The Leading Tone is the The purpose of these uting it to the orchestra is a good follow-up, official newsletter of the ROPA President conferences is to take and there you can be more detailed with infor- Regional Orchestra Players’ John Michael Smith the information pre- mation. By telling your orchestra members Association, a conference sented and the ener- what you heard and saw, and by being able to of the American Federation gy that you gather there and share it with your answer questions and give your own personal orchestra’s musicians and with your local offic- descriptions in an oral report, you will contin- of Musicians of the United ers, boards and members. Setting up a time at ue to share from the conference in the same States and Canada, and is your local’s Board of Directors meeting to pre- live, personal manner that makes the confer- published quarterly. Un- sent a report is a great way to share with them ence so special and connecting. authorized reproduction what you learned at the conference. It gives the of any part of The Leading local buy-in and a return on their investment for So, I encourage our delegates and conference Tone is strictly prohibited. providing support for your orchestra’s member- attendees to not only be a reporter for ROPA ship in ROPA. A written report might well do by writing, but to also be our face and voice, Copyright © 2017 for the Board, but I would suggest that the dele- and carry our message out to your local and to All Rights Reserved. gate or whoever attended from your orchestra your orchestras! Subscriptions $8.00 per year payable to ROPA c/o Donna Loomis Editor’s Message Treasurer, ROPA by Sharon Jones, ROPA delegate, Elgin Symphony Orchestra 6117 N. Beulah Avenue Ferndale, WA Hello, delegates! I wanted to introduce myself If you have any articles you would like to sub- 98248 as your new editor of The Leading Tone. I am mit or have topics to recommend for articles, the ROPA delegate for please email me at [email protected] and INFORMATION CENTER the Elgin (IL) Symphony your work will be considered for the next issue This newsletter will be posted Orchestra and I may have of The Leading Tone. Thank you so much. online at: http://www.ropaweb.org met some of you at the Stronger together! To subscribe to the ROPA Internet 2017 ROPA conference in Mailing List, visit Phoenix this past August. http://groups.google.com/group/ I look forward to work- ropa-discussion. ing with you on these The list is open to musicians in newsletters and seeing ROPA member orchestras and you at future conferences. AFM local officers for those orchestras. VOLUMEPage 4 33, ISSUE 1 Page 3 The Show Must Go On: Making Music in Houston after Harvey by Amanda Swain, ROPA Delegate, Houston Ballet Orchestra and Houston Grand Opera Orchestra The City of Houston is in full recov- ery mode after sustaining damage from the trillions of gallons of water rained down by Hurricane Harvey. No organization better exemplifies the level of support and creativity post-crisis than Houston Grand Opera (HGO) and Houston Ballet. Both organizations share the Wortham Theater Center in Houston’s arts district where they stage produc- tions in the large Alice and George R. Brown Theater and smaller pro- ductions in the Lillie and Roy Cullen Theater. Every precaution was taken before the storm to minimize dam- age, including erecting floodgates, moving props and costumes to high- er ground and storing instruments in parts of the basement that were expected to stay dry. The building, Basement of the Wortham Theater Center. however, took on over 12 feet of water, flooding the basement entirely and bringing silt and mud has rallied to face the challenge of how to put on the large scale over the stage and into the auditorium. The earliest date of re- productions that Houston has come to expect, while still putting turn to the theater is May 15, 2018. Despite the grim news that the employees and artists first. both companies will be homeless for an entire season, everyone Houston Ballet had the earliest problem to tackle with a season that was supposed to begin on September 8th with Poetry in Motion, a mixed repertory, followed by “Mayerling,” a North American premiere with music by Franz Liszt. With quick think- ing, Houston Ballet opened the season on September 22nd with a four-show run of “Mayerling” at Houston’s Hobby Center — to critical acclaim. The New York Times hailed the production as a “romantic masterpiece.” “Poetry in Motion” was rescheduled for October 26 and 27. Even though the company was unable to make up all of the lost services, all of the Houston Ballet Orches- tra musicians were paid for the missed work, even though the company was under no contractual obligation to do so.