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ATL Symphony Musicians

letters

aN OPEN LETTER

2/2/2015

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An Open Letter to the ASO Board Posted on January 27, 2015 by saveoursymphonyatl To: Mr. Terry Neal, Interim President

and Board of Directors, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

From: Save Our Symphony Atlanta

Dear Mr. Neal and Board,

Our readers (your constituents) are growing frustrated. Your marketing messages are untimely, incomplete, grammatically incorrect, and sloppy. Your website is convoluted and does not work well. You don’t take full advantage of social media.   SOSA supporters tell us that they find better, more timely information from us than the ASO.

On December 4, 2014, SOSA posted A Vote of “No Confidence” expressing our concerns regarding marketing at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. We began looking for improvements starting December 5th, hoping Mr. Petroccione, then head of your marketing department, would have read our post and taken the message to heart. It’s been almost two months and sadly, there has been no progress and we note that Mr. Petroccione has moved to Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and System Improvements. (Really? really?) Maybe we weren’t succinct enough, so let us simply state our position:

ASO Marketing is failing and tickets sales are suffering as a result.

Maybe we weren’t detailed enough, so let us clearly explain the issues:

First and foremost, you need to hire someone who proofreads everything you post online. We understand that the marketing department is short staffed, but virtually everything we see posted has typographical errors. Consistent errors reflect on the professionalism and reputation of the organization.

ASO Website

Error messages, outdated information, and misspellings continue to plague the website. The following is just a sample of what we have found:

  • To the Board – You might want to note that Stanley Romanstein’s picture is still on the ASO website on your Newsroom page, under Leadership Biographies. His biography has been removed but his picture is still used for the Biography tab and featured on the Biographies page. How long has Mr. Neal been interim president? His bio is on the Woodruff website. Why is it not on the ASO newsroom page?
  • Under the Plan Your Visit section, the Restaurants, Bars & Lounges, and Hotel are still not functional and bring up an ugly yellow page of code. Wouldn’t it be nice for people who take advantage of your Valentine’s Day concerts with a couples’ getaway – dinner, concert and an overnight away from the kids? They can’t get there from your site.
  • Teen Night at the ASO? It was held this last Saturday; however, the FAQ tells the teen that they can pick up their tickets the day of the concert, November 22nd.
  • We’ll let you see if you can find the error under American Roots Music.
  • Your rotating ASO players under your calendar? Keith Buncke has a blank picture and no biography. Will he be gone before you ever get this fixed?
The number of errors is, in fact, pretty astounding. Your website is the first impression many people have of the ASO and our musicians. From our experience, it’s a bad one. We understand that the software you’re using is old and clunky, (Stanley’s last bonus could have purchased one heck of a platform) but that doesn’t weigh in very heavily when the mistakes are mostly grammatical.

Read more in the full letter.

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January 6, 2015 by Robert Levine @polyphonic.org

2/1/2015

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Full Letter
What mattered in 2014?

Of the three lockouts that concluded in 2013/2014, there was one which will matter the most in the long term, closely followed in importance by a lockout that didn’t happen. The most significant of the ones that did, in my view, was Atlanta.

It’s generally a mistake to think of orchestra labor negotiations as a contest in which one side wins and the other loses. The reality in most cases is that neither side is trying to “win”: rather, both sides are trying to reach deals that will work for them over the long term, which necessarily means deals that the other side can live with. But Atlanta was different; put simply, the musicians whupped their employer. The orchestra’s CEO was forced out, the real decision-makers on the employer side – the Woodruff Center board – were smoked out and had to come to the table, and the employer’s most important demand – unilateral control over the orchestra’s size – was rejected essentially with no compromise at all. Almost as important, it happened pretty quickly, without the prolonged bloodletting that happened in the Twin Cities.

Of course, none of this would have happened had the Woodruff Center, which was calling the shots, had actually been trying to negotiate, rather than defeat – or impose its will on – the musicians. It helped that the employer’s proposals were, on their face, unreasonable. It certainly helped that the Woodruff Center showed itself in such a bad light in so many ways. Arguably the most telling of these moments was when it was revealed that the Woodruff Center had sold land that had been designated for the orchestra’s (abandoned) hall project and then giving the $2 million in proceeds to an organization outside of the Woodruff Center, all while pleading poverty at the negotiating table. It certainly helped that the musicians had also been locked out in 2012 and had both experience dealing with the tactic and ample motivation to drive a stake through its heart once and for all.

But the musicians and their advisers (in particular Liza Medina and Randy Whately) deserve great credit for handling the situation in such a way that the lockout failed so completely and so quickly. Our field owes them a tremendous debt for disarming a large grenade thrown at the heart of the concept of constructive labor relations.

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January 1, 2015 | New Year, New President? by SOSA

2/1/2015

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New Year, New President? Posted on January 1, 2015 by SOSA

What do the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra have in common, other than Doug Hertz? They’re both in the market for new leadership. The Falcon’s rather dismal showing and the ASO lockout of its musicians were both signs that all was not well in the leadership department. While we have no advice for the owners of the Falcons, we do have a few words to say about the next ASO President/CEO.

The ASO is in a rather unenviable position. They have just gone through a thoroughly embarrassing lockout of the musicians – the second in as many years. They have reported that they have been losing money steadily for 12 years. They are in a state that ranks at the bottom, nationally, in arts funding. The WAC corporate structure (and therefore, the ASO Board structure) is convoluted and in our opinion, detrimental to the best interests of the orchestra. Whomever the ASO hires must be able to answer to not one but two boards, whose priorities and goals may conflict.

Hiring a new ASO President/CEO will be a formidable task.  What the ASO needs is a leader. That leader will need to be fully informed about the difficulties he or she faces.

With those facts in mind, we have a few questions.

Full Letter
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December 21, 2014 | A Time To Build by SOSA

1/31/2015

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A Time to Build Posted on December 21, 2014 by saveoursymphonyatl

The lockout is over. Our ASO musicians are back where they belong – on stage at Symphony Hall. Now, our work begins.

The lockout left those of us who love our symphony musicians with conflicting emotions. Some of us questioned the wisdom of accepting the collective bargaining agreement that in its final form, did not give the musicians all that they had hoped to achieve. The contract did not guarantee that the musician’s salaries would be returned to pre-2011 levels, nor would they be at that level by the end new contract. Health insurance would be costlier than it was in previous contracts. In order to reach agreement, a number of other concessions were made. However, in return for a firm commitment from the WAC Board to grow the complement to its near -2011 level (95 musicians) the players ratified a new 4-year contract. It was their decision, and their livelihood, and their decision should be honored.

Others felt that there were still too many questions about the WAC finances that had not been answered. There was speculation of malfeasance on the part of the WAC, condemnation for the building of the Verizon Amphitheater, concerns that donations earmarked for the ASO had been diverted to other WAC entities and calls for an audit of the WAC finances.

Transparency was non-existent. Due to the rather convoluted relationship with the various entities under the WAC umbrella, it has been virtually impossible to ferret out the true state of the ASO finances, leaving many donors with a huge sense of mistrust toward the WAC Governing Board.

We understand and share that frustration. Rest assured that from here forward, SOSATL will hold WAC accountable for donations to the ASO. Should any solid evidence of misappropriation, current or past arise, you will read about it here and we will ask you for action.

Still others simply knew nothing of the conflict, didn’t understand the issues or refused to get entangled in the fray. They just rejoiced when their beloved orchestra was playing again.

We understand and share the mixed feelings that are evident in many comments on our Save Our Symphony Facebook page. Careless statements made by people in charge of the outcome of the lockout were taken at face value, instantly causing hundreds of people to hate the sources of the comments, because its easy and somewhat thrilling to hate people that you don’t know in an online forum.

Experiencing the fallout of this past season – two lockouts in as many years, bitter and acrimonious exchanges and a seemingly intransigent WAC Board – now competes with the strong desire of many to see the ASO on a solid financial footing. The conflict colors the sentiments of patrons, friends, donors and supporters alike. We understand this as well.

However, despite our understanding of the effect of what has happened on our listening public, SOSATL is issuing a call to action. We are calling you to be the new guardians of our beloved orchestra. It is time for the anger to end. It profits us nothing and breeds resentment in the very institution that we wish to preserve. It is time to remember, as the musicians have done, that ultimately, it must be about the music.

We have recently posted on our Facebook page links to other orchestras who have accomplished remarkable turnarounds. We asked our readers what all of the posts had in common. Sadly, there was only one correct answer. In each case, following a period of great turmoil, symphony patrons returned to their concert halls in great numbers and donations soared.

While some of this may be attributable to new programming or ticket pricing, the major reason for the upsurge was a determination by the listening public that they would support the orchestra that they nearly lost. Let us repeat:

The listening public determined that, despite what they and their musicians had experienced, they would support, though ticket purchases and donations, the orchestra that they nearly lost.

Their supporters have turned out by the hundreds, they have rallied around their orchestra and all of its sectors, they have put the acrimony of the past aside for the love of classical music.

Are we willing to do the same for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra?

To a large extent, her future is in your hands.

To every thing there is a season. There is a time for tearing down and a time for building up.

SOSATL served its purpose as a loud and effective voice of the public and we believe it  substantially influenced the direction of lockout negotiations. We also believe that continued WAC-bashing will serve no good purpose and will do much to damage any rebuilding effort. What is important now is to build a very solid base of public support that will help move the ASO to financial security as well as serve as a primary supporter of the musicians.

If we do that and you join us in this effort, then in four years, WAC will know that it has a formidable group of citizens who are solidly behind the musicians – that our focus is on helping the ASO provide a world-class musical experience for all Georgians, whether it be through concerts, and education,  or as an economic boost to the city, as the cultural gem of Georgia.

It is time to lay down what is behind us and lend our support to OUR Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The Symphony desperately needs increased and enthusiastic attendance, donations to help support operations as well as the endowed chairs and a general positive perspective built on trust and mutual respect. It may not be easy and may not always be pleasant, but it must be done for the sake of the musicians – for the sake of the music.

The musicians have, for better or worse chosen to sign their contract. They are moving forward not as separate entities, not as us and them, but as the ASO. We need to join them in that forward motion.

That will mean helping to influence, in a positive way, what we expect in a new CEO/President of the ASO. It will mean strengthening and supporting the ASO Board. It will mean encouraging the WAC/ASO marketing team to do a better job of getting information out to the public about everything from concerts to educational opportunities. It will mean finding new and innovative ways to get new audiences into Symphony Hall. It will mean stronger interaction between the musicians and their public through free concerts and appearances, sometimes in unexpected places.

This is where we need to put our energy. We cannot tear down and build up at the same time. Now is the time to re-build. For the good of the ASO, we must put anger and suspicion aside and move forward.

We are here to preserve the music for generations to come. That must be our focus. That must be our mission.

We need your help. If you are willing to join us, if you wish to see the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra become the vibrant, financially healthy cultural leader it should be, please notify us via email at saveoursymphonyatl@gmail.com and we will add you to our mailing list.

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Friday, October 17, 2014 | An Open Letter

10/21/2014

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An Open Letter to the Members of the ASO Symphony Board, and to All Donors and other Civic Leaders Who Love the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus:

The ASO Lockout and the Battle for Atlanta’s Soul
A Call for Moral Courage and Leadership

The lockout of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is most often portrayed as a conflict over the musician’s contract in the context of declining audiences and revenue for classical music.  While there is superficial truth to this characterization, it is profoundly misleading.  The deeper truth is that the lockout is one battle among many in an all-out war being waged by the management and governing board of the Woodruff Arts Center to destroy the Symphony and, by extension, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.  This war has been carefully planned by the WAC for at least 3-4 years and has been carried out to this point through two major assaults on the Symphony, the lockout in 2012, and the current lockout in 2014.  At every stage the WAC has carefully camouflaged its actions through euphemisms (“work stoppages”), misleading public statements, and outright mendacity about its intentions, its actions, and its financial situation.

If the WAC succeeds in its campaign of aggression, it will destroy the crown jewel of Atlanta’s cultural life, its world-renowned symphony and chorus.  Much has already been written about the ASO’s astonishing record of recordings, its record number of Grammys, its many triumphs in Carnegie Hall and on international tours.  It is incomprehensible to anyone knowledgeable about the arts and classical music that the WAC is bent on the destruction of this treasure rather than finding the resources to protect it.  But there is another, more fundamental point to be made:  By destroying the ASO, the WAC is also defining Atlanta’s soul, permitting crass commercialism and the narrowest possible “bottom-line” thinking.  By commercialism I mean the belief that everything has a price, neglecting important human values and goods that cannot be given a market price.  The result is the triumph of short-term thinking and cost-cutting over the long-term nurturing and growth of the highest artistic achievements which have had and still can have a powerful role in shaping Atlanta’s civic life, enriching its culture, adding creativity in our schools, opening up imaginative and creative worlds for our youth, shaping the way Atlantans understand themselves and are perceived by the world.

By destroying the ASO the WAC is betraying the efforts and commitments of the founders of the Woodruff Arts Center, betraying the memory of the Atlanta arts leaders who died in the plane crash at Orly, Paris, in 1962, betraying the legacy of the great Robert Shaw, betraying the donors, subscribers and hundreds of volunteers who have supported the WAC and the Symphony over the last half-century, tragically limiting the future of our younger generation.  And, of course, it is treating the fine musicians of the ASO and their years of artistic preparation and achievement with utter contempt.

Make no mistake:  The current lockout is a brutal tactic designed to break the will of the ASO musicians.  The public statements by management speak of “work-stoppages” and of “continuing negotiations.” 

“Work-stoppage” can refer to either a strike or a lockout by management, and the ASO and WAC management use it to mask the fact of a lockout by them, a power move by privileged WAC management and board members, which not only cuts off all income for the players but leaves them and their families without healthcare and other benefits.  All the power—which is to say all of the money—is on the WAC’s side, and they have tried their best to control how the conflict is perceived by the larger public.  To claim, as the ASO has in emails to its subscribers, that Symphony performances have been cancelled while negotiations take place is barely short of an outright lie:  In spite of repeated attempts by the Musicians to engage in negotiations over the last nine months, the WAC has not once agreed to meet.  What they did was to deliver to the Musicians one “last, best, and final offer,” demanding unconditional surrender by the Orchestra, even while Doug Hertz, Chair of the WAC Board of Governors, has made public statements that “we want to work with them.” 

The current process of mediation, which has just begun, will not, in my judgment, lead to a resolution because both Hertz and Virginia Hepner (President and CEO of the WAC) have made it clear that the budget must be balanced; but then claim that it can only be balanced by down-sizing the Orchestra and giving over control of the size (“complement”) of the orchestra and decisions for filling positions to ASO management. No major symphony orchestra has ever ceded this vital artistic decision to management.  The Musicians on their part have courageously made it clear that they cannot and will not yield control of their future, of their artistic excellence and integrity, to management.  To be clear: The most important points of conflict are in fact not negotiable and that likely means that the mediation process will fail.  If so, the lockout could last months or years and the damage to the ASO could be deep and irreparable.

It Is Time for Moral Courage and Leadership

The Symphony musicians (represented by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players Association, ASOPA) fully understand the nature of this frontal assault, as do their many supporters from among the Chorus, their peer orchestras across the nation, subscribers, donors, and a far-too-small group of concerned citizens who have been waging a grass-roots campaign to save the symphony and expose the WAC’s planned brutality, its ineptitude, and its mendacity. 

But the war cannot be won unless civic and business leaders from the Atlanta Symphony Board, perhaps even some from the WAC Board and from other major Atlanta institutions, have the moral courage to break ranks with the leadership of the WAC and lead the ASO down a new path of independent strength and excellence.  I appeal to all of you, in whatever position you occupy, to take a stand in this battle.  Failing to take a visible and outspoken stand now, when courageous action and leadership can still make a difference, is to permit irreparable damage to the ASO and to condone continued mismanagement of the ASO and the WAC.  Will you want, years from now, to look back and realize that “This happened on my watch”?  Maestros Spano and Runnicles have courageously broken with tradition, risking the anger of the WAC management, to speak out.  Will you?

Jon P. Gunnemann Professor of Social Ethics, Emeritus, Emory University
ASO Donor for 15 years
ASO Subscriber for 32 years
ASO Chorus for 24 years

Supporting material:

What we know about the WAC’s assault on the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra:
1.     On May 11, 2011, the WAC’s Board of Trustees voted to revise its Articles of Incorporation, eliminating the ASO from its stated purpose.  I do not know whether the ASO Board knew about this significant change.  The change was certainly not made public, whether to donors of the ASO and the WAC, subscribers to the ASO, or to the general public.  It is not clear that the ASO Players knew about this.  But the change means that since 2011 the WAC no longer saw the nurturing and support of the ASO as part of its legal purpose; and that this decision was consciously made. 
The original stated purpose (since 1965, I think) was:  "to form a vehicle for achieving high quality artistic attainment for the benefit and erudition of the public and for the nurturing and developing of creative talents and performance of participants in both the visual and performing arts; to receive capital funds required to provide Atlanta and the Southeast with first-rate facilities for a college of the arts and a performing art center; and to provide the management and continuing financial support for maintaining and enhancing the development of Atlanta as a leading art center; and the arts affected shall include music, symphony . . . . ." (Emphasis added) The purpose in the new Articles is:  "The non-profit corporation is organized pursuant to the Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code for the following purpose:  To serve as a single legal entity which fosters, promotes and produces significant artistic expression in a variety of arts including music theater, the visual arts and art education for the benefit of the general public, and to transact any activity otherwise permitted by law." (From IRS statement Form 990, emphasis added)
In sum:  The Symphony was replaced by “music theater” in the WAC’s statement of purpose a year before the ASO was to renegotiate its contract with the WAC in 2012.  Even if this quotation involves a typo, a missing comma after “music,” “symphony” no longer appears as part of the WAC’s purpose. In my mind, the most probable interpretation of this erasure of the ASO from its legal statement of purpose is that the WAC Board was laying groundwork for its first major battle with the ASO Players in 2012. 
2.    The 2012 Lockout:  The contract negotiations scheduled for 2012 never in fact materialized as negotiations.  The WAC leadership repeatedly called attention to the many years in which the ASO had operated a deficit; they noted that the WAC’s credit rating had been downgraded, and they insisted that the ASOPA make deep concessions in salaries and benefits, the length of the season, and the number of funded players (from 95 to 88).   The WAC spoke publicly of negotiating a new contract with the Players but in fact there were no negotiations.  In spite of repeated attempts by the ASOPA to meet with management, they were denied any meetings with the WAC Governing Board or leadership.  The Players were presented a “take-our-offer-or-leave it” from the WAC and, after being additionally threatened with the prospect of having their Fall engagement at Carnegie Hall cancelled, finally gave in to the draconian cuts in pay and orchestra complement.
Those are the bare-bones facts.  But around this battle the WAC was weaving a public narrative that was deceptive on almost all fronts.  The down-grading of the WAC’s credit rating was consistently cited as a major reason for demanding concessions from the ASO in spite of the fact that the down-grading was chiefly a result of the debt incurred by the WAC in building the Verizon Amphitheater. Publicly the WAC referred to ongoing negotiations when they in fact rebuffed every ASOPA effort at negotiation.  Requests by the ASOPA and others for financial disclosure from the WAC were rebuffed.  The President and CEO of the ASO at the time, Stanley Romanstein, came to speak to the ASO Chorus at its second rehearsal that Fall and told us that there were many rumors circulating about the contract process; that rumors were dangerous; and that if anyone asked us about the process, we should answer, “The negotiations are on-going,” asking us several times to repeat this as a chant.  Two days later the WAC and ASO management locked out the players.  No negotiations had taken place.  The players finally relented and made ALL the concessions demanded of them in part because they were promised, by the WAC through Stanley Romanstein, that these concessions would be a “one-time” event, giving the ASO two years to do major fund-raising and get back on its financial feet, after which, in 2014, a more generous contract could be negotiated.
In sum:  The WAC had launched its first public attack on the ASO disguising it as “negotiations”; justifying its actions by appealing to a debt for which it was itself primarily responsible; further cloaking all of the substantive issues with a complete lack of financial or decision-making transparency; and making a promise to the Players that turned out to be either false or a lie.  It won this first battle.
3.     Between 2012 and 2014:  A few markers with omens for the next public battle in 2014:
a.     Stanley Romanstein received a reported $45,000 bonus from the WAC for his good work the preceding year.  Others at the WAC also received substantial bonuses.
b.     On the promise to raise funds for the ASO:  We have heard that some significant gifts were made to the ASO, including from members of the WAC and ASO boards.  But:
-       No major fund-raising campaign, no capital campaign asking for a broad base of support was publicly announced. -       Letters to subscribers and donors asking for donations at various levels, ceased to go out.  My wife and I became donors when we first received such a letter about 15 or more years ago, and every year after we renewed our gift upon receiving another letter.   About three years ago, these letters stopped.  When I called the ASO development office and asked why, I was simply told that this was not done anymore.  My request that the ASO management reinstate the practice was met with silence.  Conversations with numerous friends and acquaintances confirmed that they too no longer received such letters.  -       In late summer of 2013, some of us learned that the ASO Development Department had failed to meet its fundraising goal by two-thirds.  The Delta Airlines initiative, led by Richard Anderson, had been put in place to stimulate corporate donations; the original plan was that ASO Management would raise a substantial amount, the total of which would be enough to close the deficit.  However, to raise these funds, ASO Development Department went, unaccountably, to these same corporate donors asking for money.  The ASO was told “we have already given our share.”  This epic blunder, to my knowledge, was never adequately addressed in public, but had serious repercussions later in 2013.   
c.     During this time, the administrative staff of the ASO grew steadily.  We (some of us who have been working in support of the ASO Players) have learned that, on average, 40% of the total budget of U.S. symphony orchestras goes to players salaries and benefits.  The figure last year for the ASO was 25%.  Clearly the ASO has become administratively top-heavy with no measurable benefit from the standpoint of the financial health of the Symphony itself.  75% is a MASSIVE overhead and it needs to be asked whether reducing the size of the administrative staff would free up sufficient funds to help pay musicians salaries and benefits.
d.     In the Spring of 2014, the WAC and the ASO management moved to cancel the Carnegie Hall performance of the ASO/ASOC because of financial shortfall.  The story of Robert Spano’s courageous and dramatic intervention is now well-known to those who have been following the story, and has been reported in the national press:  Maestro Spano put $50,000 of his own funds on the table, then worked with a few others, telephoning across the nation, to raise the money needed.  Two things stand out from this story:  One is that Maestro Spano had to make the case to management and the Board about the importance of this performance not only for the ASO but for the City of Atlanta.  The second is that the money was raised in a short period of time, underscoring the weakness of the efforts of the WAC and the ASO to raise money.
e.     Here, a judgment more than a fact, but a judgment based on extensive conversations with other patrons and subscribers:  The marketing for the ASO the last years has been an embarrassment, packaging performance of classical music in terms of what seem to be assumed needs and drives of the public (sex, wine, and hedonism generally).  Why not talk about the way in which classical music differs from these human drives?  There has been no evidence that the people who are in positions of marketing and development at the ASO have any experience in the arts or any real interest in the music itself.
In sum:  The events between 2012 and 2014 showed a) large financial rewards for administrators whose chief work had been to cripple the ASO; b) no broad-based public efforts to raise funds for the ASO or to raise public awareness about the problems; c) a substantial growth of administrative staff and administrative overhead, likely to the detriment of the ASO musicians; d) inept and/or misguided fund-raising and marketing.   All of these were indicators that the promise made to the players in 2012 could not, and would not, be kept, something the players feared during this interim period.
4.     The current 2014 Lockout: 
The promise to the ASOPA in 2012—that that the deep cuts, both financial and with regard to orchestra complement, made then was a “one-time” correction—was broken at the beginning of the period for contract negation.  As in 2012, the ASOPA was again presented with an aggressive take-it-or-leave-it package requiring de facto cuts in pay because of higher medical costs; a further cut in the number of players from 88 to 78; and, most crucial, conceding future control of complement to the President of the ASO which meant, de facto, to the WAC Governing Board.  The tactics used in this second public battle were similar to those used in 2012:  Public statements that regularly obscured and misled by referring to “work-stoppage” rather than a “lockout”; to negotiations which were in fact not taking place; claims by Doug Hertz in public interviews that “we want to work with them” when in fact the WAC and top ASO management had refused even to met with them.  I have detailed most of this in the body of the letter.
As I write, mediation is underway.  It is not at all clear that the WAC genuinely intends to engage the mediating process.  Having first made public statements welcoming the mediation as a solution, we have learned from several sources (including an email from the ASOPA to the ASO Board and others) that after the first meeting with the mediators, Virginia Hepner and her colleagues left the table indicating that she and her team had no proposals to offer and did not have the authority to negotiate a deal.  There has now been a prolonged pause in the negotiations, with no explanation from the WAC.  So, questions abound:  Was the WAC serious about mediation?  Or was this another attempt to create a public impression of being ready to negotiate, then not doing so?  Was the WAC so in the dark that it did not know what was expected in the first sessions of a mediating session?  If Virginia Hepner does not have the authority to negotiate a settlement, who does?  And why was she there?  What game is being played? 
It is not possible to know the outcome if the mediation does continue.  But if the WAC gains the concessions it is demanding, or if the WAC simply lets the lockout continue without entering into mediation, it will be a catastrophic blow to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and its Chorus. 
We can not let that happen!

In the above “Supporting Material” for my letter, I have tried to rely on factual reports from many sources.  It is possible that I have erred in places and I welcome corrections.  The interpretations of the facts are, of course, mine.  

JPG
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Matt Haimovitz/Slipped Disc

10/21/2014

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Hearing that I would be in town for a residency at Emory University, the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony reached out to me with the idea of an impromptu concert together. I have never before taken sides in a labor dispute, but my gut said, “Yes! In tumultuous times we need music more then ever, for the musicians, for the community, for music’s sake.”

Before confirming my participation, I polled some music industry folks whose expertise and opinions I respect. Nearly across the board I received stern warnings against participating in such a concert and “appearing to take sides” in the dispute. I was told “if you do this, you will never again be hired by a major symphony orchestra.”

I have never made life or artistic decisions based on that kind of consideration, so the warnings sounded hollow to me. … I do not profess to have any knowledge of the orchestra’s budget or deficit. Clearly there are issues to work out with the model. Will any symphony orchestra look the same 20 years from now? I doubt it, and I hope not. But I am a musician who is concerned about the priority and state of culture in our society today. If that debate were taking place, in good faith, with the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony, I would not have played. But it is not, and the decision to join them and make music was an easy one.”

I told my fellow musicians before we performed J.S. Bach, Osvaldo Golijov, David Sanford, Billy Strayhorn, Richard Prior, and Joseph Haydn, and I say it here: I am with you. Stand strong and lead us into the future as a role model for orchestras around the country. Stand up for the importance and relevance of music and culture in a time filled with the deafening noise of fear and mediocrity. I heard your voices and so did the audience on this night.

The evening following the performance with the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony, I was rehearsing a new concerto by composer/conductor Richard Prior at Emory University with the Emory Symphony Orchestra. Meters away, Amber Vinson, nurse-turned-Ebola-patient from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, was being escorted to the university hospital, by a surreal display of space-age sterility. On stage were young college faces concentrating on the shifting meters and new melodies of a freshly inked cello concerto, as just outside, a nurse was wrapped up in a cocoon, infected by a plague that could potentially kill millions. The proximity of a natural plague put everything that I had experienced the night before in a whole new light.

We need music more then ever to appeal to the better side of our human nature. We need music to replace fear with hope, silence with harmony, to lift our spirits, to open our minds and hearts to the world around us. Music of all the art forms is where we can hear so many voices simultaneously come together as one whole. The fight being fought by the Atlanta Symphony is not only about the lives and livelihood of 100-or-so musicians. It is about the struggle to lift our culture out of the black hole of bottom lines. This should not be a fight between an accountant and a musician, or a corporation and orchestra. It should be a discussion about what the symphony orchestra can be as an integral part of the community’s consciousness. I am with you Atlanta Symphony.

(c) Matt Haimovitz/Slipped Disc

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A response to comments made by WAC Governing Board Chair, Douglas Hertz

10/5/2014

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October 3, 2014
By Tracy Sword

This is beyond frustrating on so many levels. I am not a musician. I am not a friend of a musician. I am a patron. I am the target audience. And I am siding with the "crazy people" because I believe they are right. I am siding with the musicians because I agree with them. I am siding with the musicians because the vision they have for the ASO is in line with what I want my ASO to be. Their vision is what I am willing to spend my money to support. I am siding with the musicians because I believe there are solutions the WAC has not explored. I am siding with the musicians because I have watched the WAC continue to demonstrate a complete and utter lack of understanding of both its existing patrons and the audiences it needs to attract to build a stronger, more sustainable model for this organization. I have watched as they have made decision after decision that erodes the quality of this orchestra without taking any responsibility for their own failures. I've watched as they've blamed everyone but themselves for "12 years of deficits" all the while demonstrating absolutely no understanding of what makes the ASO valuable in the eyes of their target audiences. I am siding with the musicians because I believe that there is nothing wrong with the musicians; the problem lies elsewhere. I am siding with the musicians because I believe that just because there aren't enough people who currently appreciate the value of something, the solution should not be to strip it down until it is even less valuable (especially when that lack of interest can be directly traced to the ineptitude of the people tasked with generating that interest). This opinion comes not from ignorant, blind following of musicians, but from my own observations and existence as a patron. It comes from my own experiences of being an ASO season ticket holder and the target of their woefully off the mark marketing initiatives. Indeed, I have continued to support the symphony because of my love for it, and DESPITE the misguided, ineffective, uninspiring, and useless marketing efforts. For this board member to imply that my opinion is naive or ill-informed is offensive and insulting. This just further demonstrates that the WAC and ASO board absolutely do not understand the audiences they claim to be trying to reach. I'm not an idiot. I know it takes money to make all this happen. I am well aware of the challenges of generating ongoing interest in the ASO in today's society. And I also know that if you want people to spend money on something, you would do well to preserve those qualities that make it worth spending money on. You would also do well to refrain from insulting them because you can't see beyond your own inappropriate perspective. I am not willing to spend my money on an organization that clearly does not understand that you can't run a symphony the way you would run a bank or a for-profit business. The values need to be different. The model needs to be different. And here's one more tip for the WAC and ASO Board: try listening to what your target audience is saying rather than insulting their intelligence.
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That Locked-Out Orchestra Made Me Who I Am

10/1/2014

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Atlanta singer: That locked-out orchestra made me who I am October 1, 2014 by norman lebrecht

Nacole Palmer is an Atlanta-born soprano with an international career. She is worried about her hometown orchestra. Here’s what she has written to the ASO board:

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I am writing this as a response to Jessie Ahuama-Jonas’ request for words from people who were molded by the ASO. I am undoubtedly one of those people, and I hope to tell you how the ASO and its people molded me into the human I am today.

Some of my earliest memories are of being in Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. I grew up in southwest Atlanta–yes, the bad part. I also had a mother who not only loved live classical music and theater, but who was relentless in finding ways for us to experience it. So we ushered for what felt like every play and every concert that Atlanta could produce. We went to hundreds of performances–often two or three (or even four!) in a single weekend. We would usher at the ASO on Friday night and come back on Saturday morning for the coffee concert with the pre-concert talk from William Fred Scott. From the time I was five or six years old, I was holding programs to hand out to patrons, and then a few years after that I was showing them to their seats. Of course, the most exciting part was when the concert would start, and we would find an empty seat to sit in during the hush before the music would begin. There was so much music that filled my young ears! And such great music! Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Beethoven–what a wonderful experiential education for a young person. I remember leaning back into those soft chairs and swaying my head gently to the music that washed over my ears and heart and informed my soul. Sometimes, when I was little, I would fall asleep while listening, no matter how much I tried to stay awake; I remember coming in and out of consciousness to the transcendent sounds of the ASO, sometimes unsure of what was a dream and what sounds were real because it was all so beautiful.

At age six, I started singing in the Young Singers of Callanwolde (now called the Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde), and my official musical education began. Every year, the wonderful Robert Shaw presented his ‘Christmas with Robert Shaw’ concerts with the ASO and ASO Chorus, and Young Singers was the children’s choir that he invited to be a part of the concerts. Of course, at six I was too young to be on stage, but I remember wearing my Young Singers uniform as I ushered for those concerts, proudly telling people that I sang with that group, too. When I was old enough to sing with the ‘big kids,’ I sat in the front row–scarcely daring to move (because they had told us not to!), breathless with excitement and awe to be so near the Atlanta Symphony Chorus that sounded like heaven itself under Robert Shaw’s magical touch, to the Symphony Orchestra that sounded even more majestic from right in front of our noses, and across the stage from the Morehouse Glee Club, which literally rocked the hall with its incredible rendition of Betelehe-mu every night.

As I grew up, my commitment to music and specifically to singing grew stronger. A particularly formative experience was in high school, when I was lucky enough to be in the Robert Shaw High School Choral Workshop that performed at Spivey Hall. I still get tears in my eyes as I remember Mr. Shaw telling us the story of when he and his choir traveled to Russia and sang an impromptu Requiem (I think it was Brahms) at the request of a mother mourning the death of her young son who had died when the ground was still too frozen to bury him; Mr. Shaw, himself, was teary as he told this story of an event decades earlier, and I was in awe that such a Great Man as Robert Shaw was so humbled by the power of music and its ability to heal and touch people’s hearts that he would cry, so humbled that this music was what a grieving mother needed to comfort her in her hardest days that he spoke through tears about it decades later to a group of teenagers who needed to understand what the ‘power of music’ meant. Mr. Shaw spoke passionately about how music is not a means of self-promotion or accomplishment; rather, he spoke of how we, as musicians, are servants to the music, vessels through which the healing and beauty may travel on its way to the ears and hearts of others. Mr. Shaw’s argument for this vision of a musician was so powerful and transformative that I later could point to this experience as the turning point in my eventual decision to become a professional musician.

My life as a classical singer has been both challenging and rewarding, as any life in the arts must be. I have sung in Moscow and Paris, Carnegie Hall and Westminster Abbey, and I have worried about how I would pay my rent for more months than I care to count. Being a professional musician means being committed to years of hard (and often unappreciated) work with no promise of commensurate pay, all in service to others and to the music itself. I know that the musicians of the ASO share this commitment because I have witnessed it first hand, practically since birth.

And so I ask you, board of the ASO and people of Atlanta, what is your commitment to the musicians, and what should it be? I believe that a society that is nurtured by art has a responsibility to support that art. The alternative is honestly that the art will die, because people cannot feed themselves with the beauty alone of the music and art they create. That’s reality. When we consider these questions, we are really asking ourselves what kind of society we want to be. Need I remind you that when we look back in history, each significant culture is defined by and remembered for its art? This is not a fluke or a mistake: arts and music are the very heart of a community and a culture. Please do not deprive Atlanta of its heart, of its most fine ambassador, of its ability to touch and reach the hearts of people through the finest music-making in the country. Please renew your commitment to the musicians who have sacrificed and created beauty and truth through music for your benefit. Not only do they deserve it, but so do you.

Most Sincerely,

Nacole Palmer

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Erik Herndon @ erikherndon.com | September 28, 2014

9/28/2014

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Our Orchestra, Our Community!

Like many of you, I am closely following the lockout of our Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Musicians. It is a debacle, it is disturbing, and it should bother you!

Our orchestra isn’t just music, instruments, repertoire, boards, budgets, and fundraising; it is hope and inspiration, it is passion and craft, it is the example of what is possible for our students and the livelihood that supports the sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, lovers, and patrons of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

As you read, a young family expecting a child may have to relocate to provide for their family’s well being because their job with the orchestra is in jeopardy.

As you contemplate, an artist’s health is being compromised and their ability to afford healthcare and pay their bills is at risk.

You cannot balance the operating costs of an organization without balancing the purpose and meaning of the organization itself.

Our musicians lift us up through their talent and devotion to glorious music. We need a governing body that will lift these beautiful musicians up and sustain their commitment to nurturing our community through performance and outreach.

We who teach rely on the example and effort of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.  We bring our students to performances, we recommend our students to Talent Development and the Youth Symphony, we support our peers as they perform, and we attend concerts to inspire and sustain us throughout the school year.

This conversation about profit and loss, of boards and budgets, of meeting targets and hardening resolves is offensive to our spirits.

We are actually experiencing a crisis in leadership and vision. With all due respect to the governing board of the ASO; what vision do you have for our symphony? What incentives and encouragement are you offering for the talent that your leadership should support.  Are you doing enough to market, promote, and showcase the orchestra?

The accomplishments and capability of our orchestra is well documented and celebrated all over the world. If the leadership of the ASO cannot celebrate with us, as members of our community, if they cannot make their own sacrifices, honor their commitments, and create lasting support for our symphony they should step aside and make way for leaders whose vision would return our attention to the dedication of the musicians and the music they share.

We are a prosperous city and a generous people; we have the resources to sustain a world class symphony.  It is time for the board to remember how capable they are of creating and sustaining a better environment for all to prosper.

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ASO: A Public-Relations Black Hole

9/26/2014

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Friday, September 26, 2014

ASO: A Public-Relations Black Hole

I posted a status on Facebook yesterday asking why there was so little outrage about the lock-out from the citizens of Atlanta.  I compared the apparent apathy we are seeing now to the headline-grabbing announcement about the Braves moving to Cobb County, when everyone and their sister had an opinion about the news.  I have since gotten lots of comments that echo my questions.
 
But one friend, partly in jest and partly serious, intimated that “regular folks” aren't emotionally invested in the symphony.  He said, “It's that high-brow, elitist classical music. Can't drink beer and eat a hot dog at a symphony show.”

This comment had me stewing all day, because, I had to admit, there is some truth in his assertion.  I regularly encounter people who don’t even know that we have a symphony orchestra, much less that we have one of world-class caliber.  If people do know about something about the ASO, they often express the feeling that it has little to interest them because they 'know nothing about classical music'.  When I tell them that the ASO has won over twice as many Grammy's as Elvis and the Beatles combined, they are amazed that they have never heard this fact. 

Everywhere in our city, those of us who are working to Save Our Symphony are seeing evidence of the public relations 'black hole' which surrounds the ASO.  One professional musician friend, whose music-loving mother lives in Atlanta, reported that his mother wasn't even aware of the lock-out.  How many thousands/millions of other Atlantans have no idea about what is going on?

The orchestra musicians are not to blame for Atlanta’s lack of knowledge about what they do and why they are important.  I don’t know why the local media is so silent about the lockout, but I did discover that the ASO lists the following media sponsors on their website:  The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper; both Georgia Public Broadcasting and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR station; B 98.5 and WSB radio; and WSB-TV Action News.  Perhaps these media groups have conflicts of interests and don’t want to make waves, but in their absence in covering this important issue, it is up to us to keep the news in the public eye.
 
The best way we can convince citizens that they should care is to point out how the ASO contributes to the quality of life in Atlanta.  I suggest that we all take a look at a detailed list of facts and figures about the ASO musicians.  Once complete, this can be made into a document of speaking points, which we can post on social media, send to the media, and hand out to everyone we know.

I have started the list here, and ask others to contribute to the list through the comment section.  As details are added, I’ll combine them into a single document and we can get other ASO and ASOC members to edit the list until it provides a clear picture of the ASO's involvement, relevance, and importance to the people of the city of Atlanta.    If you have definitive answers to the questions posed below, please respond.  Let’s let Atlanta know the cultural jewel they have right here.

Unfortunately, it's one of the best kept secrets of the city.

A Year in the Life of the ASO
  • Classical concerts (How many in a year? What big name stars in recent years?)
  • Pops concerts with such stars as Steven Spielberg and John Williams (How many, and with what other stars in recent years?)
  • Holiday concerts with ASOCC, ASOC, Gospel Christmas – any others?
  • MLK Celebration Concert (Important details?)
  • Family concerts, both by the ASO and ASYO (How many in a year?  We should also share info about the Halloween concerts with orchestra members in fantastic costumes)
  • Concerts for Young People, separate programs for grades PK-2, 3-8, and 6-12 (How many in a year? How many children reached?)
  • Outreach programs in local schools (How many musicians take part?  How many hours of service in how many schools?)
  • Outreach programs in libraries and community centers ((How many musicians take part?  How many hours of service in how many locations?)
  • Outreach concerts in cities beyond Atlanta (How many and to which cities?)
  • Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra coaching sessions/side by side concerts (How many service hours per year?)
  • Talent Development Program lessons and coaching sessions (How many service hours per year?)
  • Chastain Concerts
  • Verizon Amphitheater Concerts
  • Free Parks Concerts


this list is based on what I can recall from the days when I worked for the ASO Education Department.  I realize that the cuts two years ago may have had a negative impact on some of these programs, and there are probably new programs that I don’t know about.  

If you feel this effort is worth fleshing out and you have details to share about the day-to-day activities of the orchestra members, please share your insights.  This is a real exercise in proving to Atlanta, as well as to ourselves, the depth and commitment the ASO musicians have always had to the city of Atlanta.

Brenda Pruitt
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