Tag: News

Icebreaker V surveys the contemporary music of Western Europe

Composer Michiel Mensingh

With the first official weekend of Icebreaker V over, no one can accuse the Seattle Chamber Players of being timid or short on vision. SCP’s Icebreaker festivals have become important staples for Seattle’s new music scene. Each festival has gone beyond the one before. Two years ago, the emphasis was on American music and SCP brought in music gurus Kyle Gann and Alex Ross to curate a festival of their favorite American composers. There were the premieres and commissions SCP is known for, but the festival was largely a contained event, neatly filling three days with musical activities.

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Quarter notes

The Everett Symphony canceled the remainder of its season for budget reasons. This is bad for a number of reasons, but I am especially disappointed that we won’t be able to hear Mara Gearman play the Walton Viola Concerto now.

And, it now appears, a federal mediator is helping SSO management and musicians hammer out a new contract.  Can they reach a deal before next season is unveiled early next month?

Musicians reject proposal and management responds

Update

:

Management issued a statement on the musicians’ unanimous rejection of the latest contract proposal late yesterday.  The press release hits the points management has been making in recent days, and specifically, the need for a long-term plan that ensures the financial viability of the orchestra.  Management also says they will go back to the bargaining table.

The board and management of Seattle Symphony are very disappointed that the Seattle Symphony and Opera Players’ Organization has rejected the offer that we have given them during our negotiations. Over the past eight months we have been very specific about the financial position that the Symphony is in, and how important the musicians are to us. We have made it very clear that there is a need for a long-term plan and solution to the financial situation we are encountering and we’re reluctantly asking the musicians to make concessions to help us create a stable and solid future for the Symphony. We intend to go back to the bargaining table as quickly as the union will meet with us, and seek to find a speedy resolution to this situation so that we can get back to the business of presenting artistically exciting performances for our community. We anticipate all performances to go forward as planned.

Seattle Symphony musicians unanimously (as in no one voted for it) rejected management’s last, best offer.  The players cite four reasons for the rejection — salary concessions ($11 million is too much), length of the contract (5 years is too long), unfilled positions (too many temp players in key spots), and experimental revenue sharing (unproven).  The text of the full press release is after the jump.

Continue reading Musicians reject proposal and management responds

Leslie Jackson Chihuly’s “State of the Symphony”

Leslie Jackson Chihuly’s “State of the Symphony” remarks from yesterday’s SSO presser at the Fairmount.

State of The Symphony

By Leslie Jackson Chihuly, Board Chair

Thank you for taking the time to hear about the current state of the Seattle Symphony. There is much talk about the performing arts in our community these days, focusing on how the current economic stress is affecting organizations that depend on patron support for their livelihood.

We have called this briefing to tell you how excited we are about the future of Seattle Symphony. We are the largest performing arts organization in the Northwest and deliver over 200 performances a year to more than 300,000 patrons. We also are proud to serve over 100,000 people of all ages through our education programs, which reach deep into the community, including serving 190 schools in 24 school districts.

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Lisa Daltirus gets to the heart of Verdi’s Leonora

Lisa Daltirus (Leonora) rehearses the opera with director José Mariá Condemi. Bill Mohn photos
Lisa Daltirus rehearses the opera with director José Mariá Condemi. Bill Mohn photos

In Verdi’s three most popular operas – La Traviata, Rigoletto, and Il Trovatore – the heroine suffers a tragic fate.  In Traviata, Violetta loses love, gets sick, and dies just after one final encounter with her beau.  Gilda, the heroine in Rigoletto, decides to sacrifice her own life to spare that of the Duke’s – her father’s tormentor and the man she has fallen in love with.  And then there is Leonora, who poisons herself to stay true to her love Manrico.  Simply focusing on the tragic end of these three women doesn’t do justice to the depth of Verdi’s characters.  They are complex, constantly changing, and determined to leave their own mark on the world.

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Breaking news (tomorrow)

Update :

Communications staff forwarded answers to me yesterday evening.

Update 2:

I’ll be listening by iPhone (thank you Apple and Dan) and posting later today.

The Seattle Symphony issued a media advisory this afternoon, announci ng that Leslie Jackson Chihuly (Seattle Symphony Board Chair) will hold a media advisory tomorrow at the Olympic Fairmount Hotel.  Finally.  While the advisory describes the event as an opportunity for Jackson to share the board’s five-year plan for the orchestra.  By the end, I hope we will actually have a plan that is more than just a theme and variation on the stalled contract negotiations with the musicians.

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Everyone is striking these days

The Seattle Symphony musicians aren’t the only ones contemplating a strike.  Out in Ohio, the musicians have terminated their month-to-month agreement with management and may go on strike.  The situation is similar to the one shaping up in Seattle.

The musicians, in response, released their own statement — their first on the matter — noting a willingness to bargain but also expressing reservations about the administration’s demands, which they said stand to diminish the orchestra’s stature and jeopardize the ability to attract and retain the best players.

And.

Currently, the Cleveland Orchestra is ranked seventh in the nation in terms of musician compensation, behind the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. A cut of 10 percent would put Cleveland behind Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh.

Finally.

But from the management perspective, the problem is clear. Highlighted in the orchestra’s announcement were several figures from the 2009 annual report, including a 20 percent decline in giving, a 5 percent decline in ticket sales and a $27 million loss to the value of the endowment.

Read Zach Lewis’ story in the Plain Dealer.

Are SSO contract negotiations a canary in the coal mine?

Is the Seattle Symphony heading toward a civic calamity?

The changing economics of the arts industry has left many orchestras on the brink of catastrophe. The Philadelphia Orchestra is the highest profile example. A large deficit, no permanent music director, and general disdain for the musicians is jeopardizing the future of this Big Five orchestra. Other orchestras are suffering too. The future of the Everett Symphony is uncertain, while the Bellevue Philharmonic is still on shaky ground after a leadership brawl last year. And not long ago, the Columbus Symphony, the professional orchestra for Ohio’s largest city, disappeared entirely for a period of time.

Continue reading Are SSO contract negotiations a canary in the coal mine?