 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Keil
Date: 2001-01-29 03:47
Has anyone heard the latest news on the orchestra? i don't want put false information out there without all the facts but if what i've heard is true then there is discrimination at it's worst taking place right here in America. We boycott those orchestras in Europe where females are not welcomed what about orchestras where age discrimination is the choice of discrimination? If anyone has any information at all please email it to me or post it here. I'm sure every musician of all walks of life would appreciate the information. Thank You
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Author: Allen Cole
Date: 2001-01-29 08:09
Can you be more specific? You are focusing attention on this orchestra without presenting a specific accusation, let alone any evidence.
Labor is under the jurisdiction, I believe, of AFM local #123. Perhaps that would be a better place to begin your inquiries.
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Author: Lisa
Date: 2001-01-29 12:18
I think Keil is referring to the donation being made as a retirement fund. There was an article about it yesterday in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Following is a copy of the artcle from www.timesdispatch.com:
$1.5 million gift a buyout offer
Symphony musicians could retire
BY CLARKE BUSTARD
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 28, 2001
An anonymous donor has offered the Richmond Symphony up to $1.5 million - the largest onetime gift in its history - that could induce nearly half of its musicians to quit.
A buyout offer, presented to the players yesterday, affects 32 of the symphony's 72 musicians. Among them are concertmaster Jonathan Mott, six of the orchestra's eight principal woodwind and brass players and musicians who have played in the symphony since its early years in the 1950s.
The offer applies to musicians whose age plus time spent in the orchestra equals 70 years or more.
It was made by a longtime supporter of the orchestra, Michele Walter, executive director of the symphony, said yesterday. "It was meant to be a recognition or reward for longtime musicians should they wish to retire.
"It is absolutely voluntary" and not meant to encourage veteran players to retire, she added.
The players "applaud the generosity of the donor," said Michael J. Lisicky, who plays oboe and English horn in the orchestra and is a member of the players' negotiating committee.
"These are people who've put their hearts and souls into the symphony for decades," he said. "This is going to be a very personal and difficult decision for each member. It may be very beneficial for some. Others may want to re-evaluate their role in the orchestra."
Some musicians see the buyout offer as the prelude to a purge of older players, Lisicky said, noting that the symphony's music director may place on probation any musician who does not meet his standards of artistry or conduct. After a year on probation, the player may be fired.
Mark Russell Smith, the symphony's music director, said yesterday that no purge is in the works.
Walter said removing older players against their will "was not the donor's intention or the spirit in which the grant was made. We deeply regret it if that was the way [the offer] was received."
Full-time musicians deciding to leave would receive 2 percent of their current salary multiplied by their years in service, plus $75,000.
Part-time players would receive 2 percent of the amount they earn for the number of rehearsals and concerts the contract guarantees them this season, multiplied by years in service, plus $25,000.
They have until March 15, 2002, to accept the buyout. The amounts that eligible players can claim apparently exceed $1.5 million, so the settlements will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
Some full-time players accepting the buyout could receive more than $90,000 and the longest-serving part timers more than $30,000, said Lisicky, an 11-year veteran of the symphony who is not eligible for the buyout. "That may sound like a lot, but it's obviously not enough to retire on."
"It's meant to help - to provide significant retirement assistance," in many cases for players who otherwise would receive none, Walter said.
The symphony's full-time musicians are covered by a pension plan, under which the orchestra contributes 4 percent of their salary. Retired part timers do not receive a pension.
Smith, who was named music director in 1999 and is now four months into his first full season in Richmond, has spoken in general terms of the need to reinvigorate orchestras by replacing aging veterans with younger, more energetic musicians.
The buyout offer, however, "is not an artistic initiative at all," he said. "The orchestra is working really hard. There is a great spirit of cooperation."
Walter said discussions with the donor began before Smith's appointment.
Smith's predecessor, George Manahan, sought to dismiss some older symphony players after his appointment in 1987, but he retreated in the face of musicians' protests.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2001-01-29 21:47
This is no more onerous than the "golden parachutes" offered senior management when a company wishes to purge managers - in fact, if the musician decides not to take the offer they at least have a union to help them out should there be some retribution.
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Author: Keil
Date: 2001-01-30 06:19
Thank You Lisa for you help and clarification on any points i may have misconstruyed.
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Author: Allen Cole
Date: 2001-01-31 06:25
Here's what's been running in the rumor mill around here:
The Symphony recently auditioned conductors, and Smith is apparently not the only one who had concerns about the number of older members.
My source tells me that the younger conductors feel that older orchestra members are less prone to blind obedience than younger musicians, and therefore represent some degree of challenge to the conductor's authority.
This would not be the first time in memory that they've tried to make room for fresh blood, but a voluntary buyout program is pretty hard to argue with. Besides, I can't see them forcing anyone out without generating major problems at the AFM.
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