2015 ROPA Conference Orchestra Reports

2015 ROPA
Conference
Orchestra Reports
Akron&Symphony&
ROPA&Conference&Report&
July&2015&
Toledo,&Ohio&
Submitted&by&Ann&Gilbert&
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7&Subscription&Concerts&
3&Pops&Concerts&
1&“Gospel&Meets&Symphony”&Concert&
8&Concerts&for&Kids&
Guaranteed&Services:&&30&
Projected&2015M2016&Budget:&&$2,011,634.00&
&
&
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!!!!!!!2014&1015!was!a!very!good!year!for!The!Akron!Symphony.!!We!are!performing!
interesting!programs.!!Highlights!included!a!sold!out!concert!with!Joshua!Bell!
playing!the!Bruch!Violin!Concerto!along!with!the!Overture!to!Ruslan!and!Ludmilla!
and!Prokofiev’s!5th!Symphony.!!We!also!performed!Duke!Ellington’s!The!River!and!a!
concert!which!included!Weill’s!“Cry!The!Beloved!Country”!commemorating!the!
150th!anniversary!of!the!end!of!the!Civil!War.!!A!fully!staged!production!of!South!
Pacific!was!offered!as!the!season!closer.!!Ben!Zanders!returned!as!a!favorite!guest!
conductor!in!a!concert!featuring!a!high!school!student,!Jonah!Ellsworth,!performing!
the!Dvorak!Cello!Concerto.!
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Christopher!Wilkins!continues!to!be!our!music!director!and!Paul!Jarrett!remains!as!
executive!director.!Our!contract!was!ratified!on!Dec.!20,!2013.!It!is!a!three!year!
contract!from!Sept.!1,!2013!to!Midnight!Sept.!1,!2016.!!!Section!per!service!scale!was!
$95.88!in!13&14.!!Our!new!per!service!rate!will!be!$98.76!for!14&15!and!$101.72!for!
15&16.!!Pension!will!now!be!4.36%.!!Three!elected!contract!musicians!will!now!have!
full!voice!and!voting!rights!on!the!Artistic!Advisory!Committee.!!!
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There!will!now!be!four!rehearsals!for!each!subscription!concert!unless!the!music!
director!determines!that!more!or!less!are!artistically!appropriate.!!This!was!a!huge!
gain!since!we!had!been!doing!concerts!with!less!than!the!satisfactory!number!of!
services.!
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With!the!continued!support!of!our!musicians,!our!board,!and!ROPA,!we!are!
optimistic!about!the!future!of!the!Akron!Symphony.!
Allentown Symphony Orchestra
Report to the ROPA Conference
July 2015
Carol Yale, delegate
Janice Galassi, alternate
Season Length: September-May
Budget: 1.3 million
Musicians: 73
5 Subscription Concert Pairs
Youth/Family Concerts
Nutcracker Series
3 Pops Concerts
DESCRIPTION
The Allentown Symphony Orchestra serves the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania.
The Lehigh Valley is a metropolitan area, pop. 821,000, which includes the cities of
Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton.
2014-2015 SEASON
The Allentown Symphony Orchestra had a quiet year in terms of grievances and
dismissals.
The ASO offered a Phantasy Orchestra experience for amateur musicians this past year
based on a similar event in Baltimore. Unfortunately it was not a true side-by-side
experience, and in some cases, tenured musicians were replaced with amateurs. This was
a big problem with second stand winds and in the percussion section. Compounding this
problem was the fact that the repertoire chosen was too difficult for many of the amateurs
and some withdrew from the concert. The OC committee approached the management
about this and management said there was a lack of money and space on the stage to
accommodate a true side-by-side concert. We are working with management to try to
rectify this problem for next year.
Space on the stage has been a point of conflict with management this past year. In
February we had Cirque de la Symphonie perform and at the last minute the management
wanted a contract waiver to reduce the size of the orchestra. They have also asked for a
contract waiver to perform Carmina Burana next year. The contract already provides for
one reduced subscription series per season. The orchestra committee is trying to get
management to stick to the confines of the contract.
Concert attendance was better this year than it has been in recent years. We did have a
couple of sold out performances. Management has been suffering from internal
problems, including a high turnover rate of personnel. Although they have interesting
and innovative ideas, they are lacking planning and marketing skills.
The ASO continues to be the lowest paid regional orchestra in the region. Many of our
musicians play with other orchestras so the ASO tends to be the gig of last resort for
musicians in multiple groups. As we enter a contract negotiation year, we hope to
continue to make progress toward fair regional compensation.
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Barbara Zmich, Delegate
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Budget: $1.3 million!
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Number of Services 2013-2014: 55 !
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Number of Bargaining Unit Musicians: 71 !
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Per Service Compensation: $84 section, $105.00 Principal !
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Concerts
6 Mainstage Classical
2 Family Concerts
2 Young Peoples’ Concerts
2 Messiah
1 Choral!
1 Holiday Pops
1 Side-by-Side
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (“A2SO”) serves a wide audience, primarily at at our home venue for
symphonic performances, the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Every season A2SO contracted musicians and
extras also make dozens of ensemble visits to schools and community centers throughout Southeastern
Michigan.
2014-15 Season in Review
2014-15 was the second year of our 5-year CBA between A2SO management and the Ann Arbor Federation
of Musicians, Local 625 (AAFM).
The biggest issue this year was the revamping of the ensemble program. Following existing contractual
guidelines, management plans to form new ensembles with core groups of A2SO contracted musicians. The
new groups will co-exist with the grandfathered current ensembles, which are comprised in large part of noncontracted musicians. Side letter language was crafted to increase ensemble sidemusician compensation to
A2SO principal scale. The responsibilities and tasks of a leader will be taken on by management;
consequently the leader position and double leader scale were eliminated.
The OC and Local 625 were surprised to receive a completed “Ensemble Handbook” for our “feedback”. The
Local and OC have made it clear to management that the Handbook is full of mandatory subjects of
bargaining that must be discussed before they are implemented. This issue is yet to be resolved.
For the first time, the Music Director, Arie Lipsky, invoked the CBA minimum attendance requirement and
terminated three musicians for chronic absence. Additionally, for the first time under this Music Director, a
probationary member was not granted tenure.
The Orchestra Committee, Local 625 and and Management are currently working toward having the A2SO
become an individual signatory to the new IMA. The A2SO was signed to the original IMA but did not
participate in the EMA (Employers’ Media Association) group that, together with the AFM, crafted the
successor IMA. Management is eager to sign on, particularly in order to live-stream local broadcasts, an
advantage of the new IMA.
Musicians continue to enjoy participating with the audience in before-concert Meet and Greet events. As
patrons reached their seats we went up to introduce ourselves with a “Thanks for coming to our concert
tonight!”, telling a little about what we play and where we sit, creating an immediate and welcome connection.
The recently imposed anti-Union law in Michigan (“Right to Work”) has taken its toll on A2SO musician
membership in Local 625. Some musicians who leave Local 625 remain AFM members, citing the financial
difficulty of belonging to many locals due to AFM membership requirements in locals in other states or
Michigan locals with evergreen CBA’s. However, several musicians have simply dropped out of the AFM and
are content to free-ride on the backs of the membership dues and work dues support of their colleagues.
Because of the transient (and often student) nature of many A2SO musicians it has been difficult to make the
case for the importance of the Union that is so clear to our Local 625 colleagues and those of us at this
conference. We are working with Todd Jelen on strategies.
Although Ann Arbor Symphony concerts are of high quality and well-received, musicians have increasingly
been expressing their discontent with various aspects of the A2SO. The OC and Local 625 look forward to
discussing these concerns with management. Musicians also participated in a ROPA Conductor Evaluation of
our Music Director, which we have encouraged management to request from the Evaluation Bank.
ARIZONA'OPERA'ORCHESTRA'REPORT'TO'THE'ROPA'CONFERENCE/July'2015'
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!Katherine!Shields!–!delegate!
Annual!Budget:!$5.3!million!!
Service!Rate:!$110.24!Section!Musicians;!$115.75!Assistant!Principal;!$139.26!Principal!
Season:!5!productions!!!!!!!!!!!!Company!Website:!www.azopera.org!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FB:!Arizona!Opera!Orchestra!Musicians!Association!!
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DESCRIPTION:!The!Arizona!Opera!Orchestra!is!the!pit!orchestra!for!the!Arizona!Opera’s!five!
main!stage!productions.!Each!production!has!5!performances!(3!in!Phoenix,!2!in!Tucson).!!!
While!most!orchestra!members!live!in!Phoenix,!Tucson!or!Flagstaff;!some!reside!in!one!of!6!
other!states.!Significant!travel!is!involved!for!all!musicians!as!the!company!rehearses!and!
performs!in!two!cities!120!miles!apart.!AZO!does!not!provide!transportation;!all!musicians!are!
paid!mileage/per!diem!per!the!CBA.!Also!per!the!CBA!the!AZO!provides!hotel!rooms!and!makes!
those!reservations!for!musicians!unless!the!musician!opts!for!the!mileage.!
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YEAR!IN!REVIEW:!AZO!just!ended!its!second!full!season!under!ED!Ryan!Taylor.!As!of!2014a15!
CopperPoint!Mutual!Insurance!Company,!which!had!formerly!been!an!individual!show!sponsor,!
is!season!guarantor.!The!third!annual!“Million!Dollar!May”!matching!grant!campaign!ends!June!
30,!the!end!of!the!FY.!!Successful!conclusion!of!this!campaign!will!allow!AZO!to!retire!the!
remaining!accumulated!debt!that!Ryan!inherited!when!he!became!ED.!The!general!feeling!in!
the!orchestra!is!that!the!ED!is!fostering!a!new!era!of!growth!and!innovation!for!the!company!
which!includes!the!orchestra!taking!an!active!part.!Musicians!receive!all!email/mail!
communications!this!year!from!Marketing,!Development!and!Education,!keeping!us!in!the!loop.!
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Orchestra!negotiations!are!underway;!arranging!meeting!times!is!difficult!due!to!the!orchestra’s!
schedule!and!the!fact!that!several!key!staffers!travel!over!the!summer!hearing!singer!auditions.!
The!orchestra!was!surveyed!about!a!potential!contract!change:!having!the!AZO!reimburse!us!for!
hotel!for!a!set!dollar!amount,!and!we!make!our!own!reservations!at!our!choice!of!hotel.!
Currently!the!office!staff!makes!the!reservations!and!we!all!stay!at!the!same!hotel!where!a!
block!of!rooms!has!been!reserved.!In!2015!the!chorus!and!stagehands!both!negotiated!new!
contracts!amicably!and!the!OC!has!high!hopes!for!the!same!outcome.!Kevin!Smith!will!be!
consulting!on!the!negotiation.!
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Besides!the!mainastage!productions,!many!smaller!events!were!held!this!season!and!marketed!
via!enticing!email!blasts.!These!events!brought!audience!members!into!the!beautiful!new!AZO!
building!in!the!heart!of!downtown!Phoenix,!and!provided!opportunities!for!fun!marketing!
campaigns.!Who!wouldn’t!want!to!go!to!a!recital!featuring!“Craigslist!Lieder?”!Another!
innovation!this!year!is!Book!Clubsa!one!in!Phoenix,!one!in!Tucson,!on!the!books!behind!each!
opera.!
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NEWS:!The!5th!rehearsal!for!each!show,!taken!away!3!years!ago,!has!been!restored!this!season.!
There!are!no!pending!grievances.!A!new!board!president!just!came!on.!He,!the!previous!board!
president,!and!our!ED!have!a!very!friendly!relationship!with!each!other!and!the!musicians.!
The Atlanta Ballet Orchestra
2015 ROPA Conference Report
Mike Muszynski - ROPA Delegate
Core Orchestra: 48 Musicians
Endowment: $1.0 Million
AFM pension: 10.9%
Service Guarantee Varies by Section:
Generally 20-30 Services per player
As many as 35-40 for some
The Atlanta Ballet is currently wrapping up negotiations for the successor of a threeyear collective bargaining agreement set to expire on August 31, 2015. The core
consists of 48 musicians; however, stipulations are made specifically for The Nutcracker
(in which the minimum becomes 38 musicians) or for a “chamber ensemble” (in
which the ballet will use the “original instrumentation”). Strings are rotated heavily
during The Nutcracker. While there is no service guarantee to individual musicians,
there is a minimum pool of collective services which must be met (currently 1300).
Currently, the orchestra is without a music director and is unlikely to hire a principal
conductor. Guest conductors for the 2014-15 season included Gary Sheldon, a regular
guest who usually leads the The Nutcracker, Ari Pelto and Beatrice Affron. All three
conductors also appeared during the 2013-14 season.
As with the previous season, the first performances came in December with The
Nutcracker. In previous years, the orchestra has been employed for a smaller subset of
performances, with the company using prerecorded music for the remainder, but the
trend for the last four has been to use the orchestra exclusively.
As has been the custom for the past few years, the orchestra was employed twice
more aside from The Nutcracker, for productions of Romeo and Juliet and Camino Real, a
new production based on the Tennessee Williams play of the same name.
Next season, in addition to The Nutcracker, the Atlanta Ballet will reprieve The Princess
and The Goblin, a new Twyla Tharp ballet premiered by the company in 2012-13, as
well as a new ballet set to Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony.
Atlanta Opera Orchestra/ Report to the ROPA
Conference
Toledo, Ohio – July 2015
John Warren, delegate
Budget: $5.4 million
Season: 3 mainstage productions, each with 4 performances and
occasional children’s concerts. The core orchestra played a total of
32 services this past season.
Orchestra size: 48 member core
Compensation: $157.10 per 3.0 hour rehearsals
$194.55 per 3.5 hour performance
25% overscale for principals and doubling
I would characterize the Atlanta Opera’s 2014-15 season as an
artistic and financial success. The company ran a deficit of a
$300,000, after several years of million+ deficits.
In 2014-15, the AOO performed three operas, Madama Butterfly,
Rigoletto, and The Marriage of Figaro. In addition, the company
mounted a 3 performance production of Jake Heggie’s chamber
opera (using about a dozen musicians), Three Decembers, in a
smaller venue and presented the Atlanta Opera Chorus in concert
at Emory University and Kennesaw State University in celebration
of their 25th anniversary. The 2015-16 season will consist of three
mainstage operas, La Boheme, G&S The Pirates of Penzance
(AO’s first foray in lighter opera) and Romeo and Juliet. In
addition the company will present two non-mainstage productions,
Soldier Songs by American composer David Little, and an operatic
treatment of Franz Schubert’s Wintereise.
AUSTIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, AFM LOCAL 433
Report to the ROPA Conference, July, 2015
Lana Harris, ROPA Delegate
Guaranteed Services: 113 (A1), 85 (A2), 75 (A3)
Budget: $4.85 million / $11.54 million endowment
Number of Musicians: 81 (A1-50, A2-12, A3-19)
Concert Series: 8 Classical Pairs, 3 Ballet, 4 Pops, 3 Family Concerts, & Educational
Description
Founded in 1911, the Austin Symphony Orchestra is the city’s oldest performing arts group. The ASO is
a per-service orchestra that performs in the Long Center in Austin, Texas.
Educational Programs
Nationally recognized by the NEA and the ASOL, the ASO Youth Program has been chosen as one of the
nine most outstanding and innovative music education programs in the nation. Symphony musicians
perform for over 90,000 young people each year.
Current Highlights
! An exciting development over the past year was the release of our first commercial CD, featuring
some never before recorded works of American composer Edward Burlingame Hill. This was a huge
undertaking both to obtain funding and to ensure that everything proceeded smoothly. Our orchestra
Librarian had to work especially hard to create all the parts for the entire orchestra from the
unpublished Symphony score. The CD was officially released on Jan. 6, 2015, and is available on
Amazon, and can be digitally downloaded from Amazon and iTunes. Funding was primarily obtained
through a Kickstarter campaign. (Special thanks to Debby Newmark, AFM director of symphonic
electronic media for her help with the integrated media language.)
! Single ticket sales are high, and two of our eight subscription concert series were sell-outs this year.
Both management and musicians hope to continue this trend. The ASO has also revamped our Pops
series, concentrating on highlighting our orchestra rather than bringing in more costly acts. For
instance we created and presented the “Symphony of Horror” (iconic music from horror films such as
“Beetlejuice,” “Poltergeist” and “The Shining,” with visuals on the big screen). This was one of our
shows that actually made a profit from ticket sales this past year.
! The orchestra is preparing to enter contract negotiations. The committee has been continuing to build
a good rapport with management, and is hopeful that this year’s negotiations will go smoothly. We
are currently entering the third year of a 3-year contract; which featured a 2% salary increase each
year, and an attendance bonus.
! The ASO management continues to address our ongoing budget deficit in a variety of ways. Serious
effort is being directed to make needed changes in operations without any wage or service loss to
musicians. Most orchestra members are caught in the middle of feeling fortunate for what we have
considering the hardships other orchestras are facing and yet still wishing that wages and benefits
would improve more.
Binghamton Philharmonic/Report to the ROPA Conference, August 2015
Sarah Chandler – delegate / Lynn Hileman - alternate
Budget: $760,675
# of Musicians: 71 (64)
Service Rate: $102 Prin.
$92.65 Asst. Prin. $85 Section
Concerts: 4 Classics
3 Pops
Small ensemble
DESCRIPTION
The Binghamton Philharmonic serves the City of Binghamton and the surrounding metropolitan area.
The City of Binghamton’s population is about 47,000, but Greater Binghamton, which includes the Triple
Cities (Binghamton, Johnson City and Endicott), has a population of almost 252,000. Binghamton is
located approximately 66 miles south of Syracuse and approximately 175 miles northwest of New York
City.
YEAR IN REVIEW
We are currently engaged in negotiations for the three-year contract that expired on May 31, 2015. The
climate is extremely difficult; our consultant Janice Galassi described the Philharmonic’s proposal as the
worst she has seen in her 15 years of negotiating. Their initial proposal included a wage cut which would
take us back to 2007 level wages, deletion of any mileage compensation and of the entire Audition article.
We continue to argue that to retain a fine professional orchestra the Board needs to compensate the
musicians at a fair and competitive wage. Our per service fee is at rock bottom compared to other area
regional orchestras and/or groups our members substitute with in the region. At the Philharmonic’s
request, we have agreed to mediation in mid-August. Since we have already come down to what we view
as bare bone in terms of compensation, we have little hope that mediation will help. We recognize that
the Philharmonic has serious work to do in terms of seeing the orchestra through past this sixtieth
anniversary season; it has spent down the endowment over time so that about $750,000 remains as of
this writing. However, we continue to communicate that cutting/dimishing the product itself (i.e., the
musicians’ wages and working conditions) will only contribute to the demise of this fine orchestra.
The Philharmonic continues to express its view that it got a raw deal in the last negotiations and that it
spent money unnecessarily on auditions during this last season. We maintain that the last contract
included a wage freeze in year 1 and that the Philharmonic agreed to all of the language. Further, the
Philharmonic spent about $7,000 on auditions this season because it had refused to hold them for open
seats for years and then scheduled them within a week of the music director’s wife’s due date. Not
surprisingly, the auditions had to be cancelled and later rescheduled. At the Union’s request, the
Philharmonic compensated audition committee members for the first hour they would have worked; they
also compensated auditionees for any travel expenses incurred. The rescheduled auditions were then
held in January for eight open seats. All but three section string positions were filled either on the
audition day or with an subsequent trial concert (Principal Flute and Assistant Concertmaster).
The number of grievances actually filed this season was directly proportionate to the tenure of the
Executive Director, Heidi Kelley, who left in February of 2015. During the 2013/2014 season, we filed
three grievances, including one regarding the Philharmonic’s failure to hold timely auditions. During the
2014/2015 season, the Union did not file a single grievance. Issues certainly remained that kept us busy:
e.g., for the second year in a row, the announcement of the new season to the public is very late. Last
year, the musicians received contracts so late that we filed a grievance. This year, the musicians
received their contracts, but tickets were not available to the public for purchase until about July 1.
The Philharmonic Board decided to appoint the existing Development Director as Interim ED and later
appointed her as permanent Executive Director. In accordance with the CBA, musicians insisted on
electing members to serve on the “search” committee for the one candidate and issued a report but
unfortunately their effort was treated as a token gesture. Included in the Philharmonic’s current CBA
proposal is a deletion of any input from musicians in searches for either ED or MD.
California Philharmonic Orchestra
2015 Report to ROPA Conference
Victor Vener, Music Director
Norman Ludwin, ROPA Delegate
California Philharmonic Quick Facts
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Founded in 1998 to serve and entertain the greater San Gabriel Valley area, one of the
principal valleys of Southern California. With a population of roughly 2 million people,
the San Gabriel Valley represents of fifth of the total population of Los Angeles County.
The CalPhil employs 45 tenured musicians. The orchestra runs an estimated 1 million
budget with about 65% coming from earned income. The current scale is $144 for
concerts and $122 for rehearsals.
The orchestra performs in two main venues: The Walt Disney Concert Hall (Downtown
Los Angeles), and the Santa Anita Racetrack (Arcadia).
The CalPhil performs 5 pairs of concerts in the summer, divided between the Racetrack
and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The orchestra cancelled the winter series of 5 concerts
at the Ambassador Auditorium due to economic issues.
The orchestra also runs two intermittent chamber music series: “Music, Martinis and the
Maestro” and “CalPhil at the Mill”, which employs a small numbers of musicians,
primarily the principal players.
Total number of concerts per season is listed as twenty-four on the orchestras web site.
Current Developments
The orchestra has stabilized after several tumultuous years and I am happy to
report that all payments last season, and to date for this season, have been made in a
timely fashion including work dues, H&W contributions, and pension payments.
Last year a new 3-year contract was ratified. The salary in 2016-17 will be $158
per concert and $131 per rehearsal, the H%W payment will rise to 9%, and the pension
contribution to 12%.
California)Symphony,)Walnut)Creek,)CA)
Music)Director:)Donato)Cabrera))
Executive)Director:)Aubrey)Bergauer)
Budget:)1.25)M)
Subscription)sets:))4)Classical)Subscription)Concerts)(4)services)for)3)Classical)sets;)6)services)
for)1)Classical)set))
Light)Classical)Concerts:)1))
(3)services))
Pops/Film/Other:)3))
Music)for)the)Wizard)of)Oz)(3)services))
SpeakREasy)Symphony)(FundRraiser,)2)services:)replaces)The)Ball)FundRraiser))Reduced)
orchestra.)
POPS)Music)on)July)4,)2015,)at)Chronicle)Pavilion,)Concord,)CA)(CANCELEDR2)services).))
The)musicians)were)paid)base)rate;)canceled)less)than)2)weeks)before)the)event.)
Currently)there)are)no)grievances.)
)
Currently)the)CS)is)negotiating)its’)new)3Ryear)CBA)to)expire)on)July)31,)2018.))
David)Schoenbrun,)President)of)Local)6,)is)our)negotiator)whom)is)working)with)the)
negotiating)team:)Rob)Hoexter,)Chair,)Mark)Veregge,)Clark)Fobes,)and)Laurien)Jones)and)with)
management.)
On)July)4th,)2015)our)POPS)concert)was)canceled.)The)new)ED,)Aubrey)Bergauer)(hired)in)the)
current)season),)told)us)that)ticket)sales)were)low,)so)that)the)2)services)that)day)were)
canceled.))The)musicians)received)base)pay)for)two)services)because)the)concert)was)
cancelation)occurred)less)than)two)weeks)before)the)event.))
NEWS:)Aubrey)Bergauer,)ED)has)been)a)positive)influence)for)the)CS)in)her)first)season.)In)
only)40)days,)she)raised)$100,000)for)the)orchestra)in)a)matching)grant)campaign)that)
produced)$200,000.)Donors)have)doubled)since)last)season)(2014R2015):)up)82%.)
Management)expressed)its’)sincerity)in)replacing)the)services)that)were)lost)in)the)2014R2015)
season.)The)California)Symphony)had)50%)fewer)services)this)last)season)(2014R2015))and)the)
musicians’)morale)is)low.)Our)current)CBA)expires)on)July)31,)2015)and)has)seen)multiple)side)
letters)during)the)3Ryear)contract.)Financial)hard)times)collectively)have)produced)a)deficit)of)
$420,000.)This)August)a)reduced)orchestra)performed)with)the)Speakeasy)Symphony)and)it)
had)500)guests)in)attendance;)this)event)replaced)the)Ball)FundRraiser)that)had)been)in)place)
for)many)years.)In)August)2015)something)new,)the)CS)will)accompany)the)film))
The)Wizard*of*Oz.)!
)
Other)News:)Our)General)Manager,)Elaina)Tancredy,)resigned)in)June)2015.)Elaina’s)
replacement)will)now)be)the)position)of)Operations)Manager)and)Education.)To)date)this)
position)is)not)filled.)As)a)result,)both)the)Music)in)the)Schools,)(the)ensembles)designed)for)
teaching/performing)in)schools)in)Contra)Costa)County),)and)the)Sound)Minds)educational)
program)will)be)suspended)until)the)new)OM)is)hired.)Currently)there)are)no)grievances,)
although)there)is)an)issue)with)moving)of)1st)and)2nd)violins)between)sections)(since)there)are)
no)assigned)chairs)for)each)section)performer).))
To)date,)since)we)are)negotiating.)This)is)all)the)news)from)the)California)Symphony.)
Respectfully)submitted,)
Laurien)Jones,)
ROPA)Delegate)for)the)California)Symphony)
Forrest)Byram)substituted)for)me)at)the)2015)conference.)Thank)you!)Forrest.)
!
!
Canton Symphony Orchestra/ Report for the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Becca Rhoades – delegate
Season Length: 7 Classical with other concerts offered to reduced orchestra
Budget: $1,302,261
# of Musicians: Core - 78 full time contracts; Reduced - Dependent on repertoire
Service Rate: $205.92 concertmaster, $128.70 principal, $102.96 section
Concerts: 7 Classical (Classical 1-5: 1 performance; Classical 6-7: 2 performances
each, with differing repertoire) (Total Classical services: 40)
3 Casual Concerts (6 services)
2 Pops (4 services)
4 Kinder Concerts (3 services)
1 Cleveland International Junior Piano Competition (3 services)
Educational, Symphony Land, and Mercy Medical Outreach Performances
DESCRIPTION
The Canton Symphony serves Canton, OH and the surrounding area. Canton (located
about 60 miles south of Cleveland, OH) falls in the north-east Ohio region. The city has a
population of about 73k, but is surrounded by other small communities which contribute
to attendance. Akron and Youngstown are nearby and maintain their own orchestras.
YEAR IN REVIEW
The Canton Symphony completed construction on a new wing, off of the shared
McKinley High School performance space, Umstattd Performing Arts Hall. The new
addition is called the Zimmerman Symphony Center, which now houses the
administrative and educational offices for the orchestra. This addition has made it
possible for all orchestra-related business to take place under one roof. It also includes
updated dressing rooms, conference rooms, a reception hall (complete with liquor
license), an orchestra library, and an enlarged backstage area. The project also
concluded updates begun the previous year, improving seating, carpeting, lighting, and
installing a sound system permitting those with hearing disabilities to tune in to a channel
with their assistive devices. This will enable further collaboration with the neighboring
Football Hall of Fame, which is implementing projects and updates of their own within
the next several years.
This season included a Musician Showcase, introducing and featuring members of the
orchestra performing as soloists. The East Meets West concert featured Zhao Jiping's
concerto for pipa (soloist, Wu Man) and collaboration with Kent State University (with
performances by their Barefoot Dancers, and Chinese, Thai, and African Music
Ensembles). A tribute concert was presented, commemorating the 100th anniversary of
World War I and the 75th Anniversary of World War II with historic images presented by
Westwater Arts Photochoreography set to Copland (Fanfare for the Common Man, Quiet
City, and Symphony No.3 - Mvt.1); this concert also included the U.S. premiere of
Frederick Septimus Kelly's tone poem Elegy for Strings and Harp: In Memoriam Rupert
Brooke (1916). The season concluded with a Beethoven festival (4 concert series),
featuring collaboration with soloist, Andre Watts, and regional choirs (Canton Symphony
Chorus, University of Mount Union Concert Choir, and Walsh University Chamber
Singers).
We completed year three of a three-year contract with no filed grievances. All
differences were able to be worked out between management and the orchestra board.
Though resolved, difficulties included:
1) An attempt to combine (and thus compensate at the lower doubled subscription
rehearsal rate) an outreach Young Persons Concert daytime service with separate
subscription series service.
2) A controversial daytime rehearsal for a masterworks concert was avoided, which
would have affected musicians with daytime employment.
We became signatures to the IMA (International Media Agreement) to facilitate the
distance learning live broadcasts for our Young People's Concerts. The IMA played into
some of our other projects, such as the with the live broadcast of the Cleveland Junior
International Piano Competition.
!
Chattanooga Symphony and Opera
ROPA Report 2015
Taylor Brown, Delegate
Season: A contract: 37 weeks (34 working + 1 vacation)
Masterworks
B and C contract: 34 weeks (30 working)
Budget: $2 million
Volkswagen Runouts
# of Musicians: 10 A Contract (192 Services)
Quintet Concerts
20 B Contract (90 Services)
30 C Contract (30 Services)
Concerts: 7
4 Chamber
4 Pops
4
4 Nutcracker
Various
Pay: Principal $120 p/s
Section $96 p/s
A contract receives $2750 annually as retainer for quintet work and $3000 annually
as a health contribution
Description (from CSO Website)
The CSO has an annual budget of about $2.2 million, managed by a full time
administrative staff of seven with part-time staff and volunteer assistance. Our season
begins in September and ends in May, and we perform often at the Tivoli Theatre, better
known as “The Jewel of the South.” In addition, we perform at the Sheraton Read
House, Volkswagen Conference Center, Memorial Auditorium, Coolidge Park, and other
area venues. The CSO performs for and collaborates with over 200 community
partners each season, including schools, hospitals, libraries, and at local celebrations.
Year in Review
The end of the 2014-15 season marks the completion of year one of our CBA meaning
we will be negotiating starting as early as Fall 2015. It’s anticipated that there will be a
lot of work to on the CBA due to some old misleading language over which a grievance
was filed.
The filed grievance was over the amount of daytime services scheduled during the
season. Currently the CBA allows for 8 daytime services for B and C contracts (there is
no limit on A contract). It was discovered that management had scheduled 10 for this
season and had been going over for several previous seasons. After polling the
Musicians, it was discovered that most musicians didn’t care that 10 were scheduled but
a significant portion did not want more to be scheduled. Since no musician has been
penalized for being tardy to a daytime service for reasons such as regular daytime work
(i.e. school teachers) and the practice of scheduling roughly 10 daytime services per
season has been in practice, the Orchestra Committee and Management negotiated a
side letter to allow up to 10 daytime services for the 2014-15 season which was ratified
by the Musicians. It is expected that a side letter for next season will be sought by
management and the general consensus of the Musicians is that they are willing to
accommodate 10 daytime services.
The CSO Association has filed a lawsuit against the Colby Foundation and Suntrust
bank. The Association believes that according to the will of Catherine Colby, whose
estate was used to establish the Colby Foundation, the CSO should receive a
significant yearly contribution for operations (one third of the yearly interest earnings of
the trust). The Colby Foundation acknowledges that the CSO is mentioned in the will
however they believe that the Foundation has the right to set the amount it gives and for
what purpose. A settlement has been reached but the details are not yet public
knowledge.
In October of 2014, the CSO worked with Yo-Yo Ma for a gala event. Thanks to a sold
out performance, the CSO was able to make a significant amount of money and has
recognized the earning potential of bringing in high end soloists as well as the
significant artistic contribution to the community. Next season the CSO gala will feature
Renee Fleming.
During the Atlanta Symphony Lockout, several ASO musicians were brought in to sub
with the CSO. The Musicians of the CSO were thrilled to work with the very talented
musicians of the ASO and it seemed that the ASO Musicians appreciated being able to
do their job during a time when their management would not let them.
We are anticipating a lengthy negotiation this coming year, hopefully it won’t be
contentious.
COLORADO'SPRINGS'PHILHARMONIC'ORCHESTRA'
ROPA'report,'July'2015'
Donald'Hilsberg,'ROPA'Delegate'/Mary'Anne'Lemoine,'Alternate'Delegate'
'
CSPO'at'a'glance:'
'
Budget:'projected)2014.2015)season)$3,237,852)
Endowment:')$500,000)
)
Orchestra'Structure:''76)members.)Long'Contract'(100)guaranteed)services))17)Principals,)17)
Associates,)24)tutti)strings.))Short'Contract'(80)guaranteed)services))11)tutti)strings.))Per'Service'
Contract'2)Principals)&)5)Associates.)
)
Per'Service'Fees:'2014.2015)(based)on)individual)services))Principal:'$118.32))Associate:)$108.48)))
and)Section:''$98.59)
)
Season:''2014.2015:)7'Masterworks)(2)performance)set),)3'Vanguards)(1)performance)set),)6'Pops)
(2)performance)set),)5'Nutcracker,)1'Christmas,)1'New)Year’s)Eve,)1'Special)&)2'Educational)
)
Service'Area:''The)CSPO'serves)southern)Colorado)(aka)the)Pikes)Peak)region))and)metropolitan)
Colorado)Springs)(pop.650,000).))This)area)is)under)the)jurisdiction)of)the)Pikes'Peak'Musicians'
Association,'LocalS154.)
)
2014S2015'season'&'beyond'
'
We)are)working)under)our)new)5.year)contract)that)was)ratified)in)May)2014,)following)a)year’s)
worth)of)difficult)negotiations.))The)new)attendance)policy)has)been)the)most)challenging)change)in)
the)contract.))Additionally,)there)are)no)plans)to)increase)the)service)guarantee)over)the)next)5)years.)
'
Auditions)were)held)in)May)2015)for)Associate)Trombone,)Principal)Horn,)Assistant)Concertmaster,)
and)Section)Violin)2.))The)Trombone)and)Violin)positions)were)filled)with)the)other)positions)
remaining)vacant.)
)
In)addition,)at)this)time,)due)to)resignations)&/or)negative)tenure)decisions,)Principal)Oboe,)Principal)
Bassoon,)and)Associate)Principal)Viola)will)be)unfilled)for)next)season.))No)auditions)have)yet)been)
scheduled)for)these)positions.)
)
OPC)conducted)a)musician’s)survey)of)our)Music)Director)and)Principal)Conductor,)Josep)Caballe.
Domenech.))The)survey)results)will)be)presented)to)the)CSPO)Board)in)accordance)to)ROPA)
guidelines)at)a)later)date)this)summer.)
)
One)grievance)was)filed)this)season)regarding)the)MD’s)blatant)disregard)for)the)contract)when)he)
hired)a)substitute)cellist)to)fill)the)Associate)Cello)chair)for)a)concert)set)instead)of)first)offering)the)
position)to)contracted)players,)as)specified)in)our)contract.))At)the)time)of)this)report,)the)grievance)
will)be)going)to)arbitration.)
)
For)the)first)time)in)many)years,)Management)expanded)the)Pops)series)from)one)concert,)to)a)two.
concert)set)for)the)2014.2015)season.))The)results)have)been)disappointing,)however)Management)
knows)time)is)needed)to)evaluate)this)expansion,)and)is)willing)to)give)the)experiment)at)least)
another)season,)if)not)two,)to)re.evaluate)the)results.)
)
Ticket)sales)continue)to)be)positive,)and)financial)reports)are)encouraging)with)over)$350,000)
surplus)reported)at)the)end)of)the)2013.2014)season.))Management)has)also)increased)their)salaries)
in)addition)to)hiring)more)office)staff.)
Dallas Opera Orchestra Report to the ROPA Conference
July, 2015
Danny Goldman, ROPA Delegate
Vital Statistics
Performance Venue: Winspear Opera House at ATTPAC (AT&T Performing Arts Center)
Season length- 16 Weeks (2015-16 Season, 15 weeks plus one week vacation)
Budget-17 Million
Endowment-24 Million
Number of Musicians- 52 core, extras as needed
Performance series- Main Stage Operas, Student Performances, Family Concerts, Vocal Competition
Performances per production- 4-6 varies by production
Student/Family Performances- 4 Student, 2 family
Salary- Core scale 2015-16 $1183.08 per week
Benefits- $70.00 Health and Welfare payment per week
AFM-EP Contribution- 6%
Weeks paid vacation- 1
2015-2016 Season Productions: Great Scott, Tosca, Becoming Santa Claus, Manon, Show Boat
For the second year in a row, The Dallas Opera (TDO) has ended its fiscal year in a surplus. Keith
Cerny, CEO and Executive Director, has spearheaded an aggressive arsenal of community outreach,
private donor fundraising, and advertising. In 2012, the company cutback to 3 major productions per
season, and now we are back up to 5 with hopes of gaining another production within the next two
years. This, however, is speculative. This year will be a negotiation year for us.
We also have a new music director: Maestro Emmanuel Villaume. His name and candor in person
carry a lot of weight with local Dallas donors. They want to fund a company that is on the “world
stage.” After attending numerous board of director meetings as the orchestra liaison, I notice that a key
strategy is to present the company to potential donors with a significant amount of “name-dropping.”
Although this is foe-pa, I find that donors who hear that Maestro Villaume conducts in Berlin, for
example, or that our guest tenor, Nathan Gunn, performs frequently at the Met, are more likely to give
money. Dallas is a major city with a healthy economy and a growing arts district. Since ticket sales
only account for a third of the annual budget (if sold out), the fundraising avenue is essential.
Community outreach is aggressive as well, with simulcasts in Cowboys' stadium and Clyde Warren
Park that draw upwards of 20K people (tickets are free).
I also appreciate Keith Cerny's attention to the orchestra and choir personnel: he arranges for tri-annual
meetings over breakfast. These are opportunities for musicians to meet with him informally.
Overall, the opera company's success is exceptional considering the current economic climate. This is
heavily due to a bustling economy within the state of Texas. Regardless, we are all grateful for these
improvements and look forward to making more music.
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (Dayton Performing Arts Alliance) Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Nick Naegele, delegate; Kara Manteufel, alternate delegate
season length: September to July (per service)
[note: July concerts belong to the 2015-2016 season]
budget: $8,569,000 (projected)
number of musicians by level: 35 Lvl 1 (135-145 services)
(service guarantee)
14 Lvl 2 (112-135 services)
34 Lvl 3 (60-105 services)
total musicians: 83
service rates (position):
[note: does not include
longevity pay, +11¢
per continuous season]
$230.27 (Concertmaster)
$153.51 (Principal)
$140.85 (Assistant)
$126.61 (Section)
concerts: 7 Classical (2 perf each)
5 SuperPops (2 perf each)
5 Rockin' Orchestra
4 Classical Connections
4 Summer in the City
4 Chamber
3 Ballet (4 perf each)
3 Opera (2 perf each)
3 Family
2 Signature Event
2 Special Event
2 Young People's (2 short perf each)
Nutcracker (9 perf)
Magic Carpet (8 short perf)
Stained Glass (3 short perf)
Memorial Day Special
description:
The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra is a per-service orchestra serving the city of Dayton, Ohio, and the greater
Miami Valley (a metropolitan area in southwest Ohio with a population between 800,000 and 900,000; much of
the area is suburban and includes an air force base and international airport). Our Music Director is Neal
Gittleman, and our President is Paul Helfrich. The orchestra’s home is the 2,300-seat Benjamin and Marian
Schuster Performing Arts Center. An arm of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA), the philharmonic also
serves as orchestra for the Dayton Ballet and Dayton Opera.
year in review:
The year's largest change came with the addition of the philharmonic's first summer concerts in several years,
the "Summer in the City" series (a set of four weekly-spaced July rock concerts). These additional concerts, as
well as the May-and-June "Stained Glass" series, helped counter-balance an unusually foreshortened season:
The orchestra finished all its symphonic “Classical” concerts before May.
The performance calendar included several highlights: Keith Lockhart (of the Boston Pops, and our first guest
conductor in years) directed Britten's War Requiem; the Dayton Opera performed Jake Heggie's Dead Man
Walking (the work's first Ohio appearance in over a decade); the Dayton Ballet gave Carmen DeLeone's Peter
Pan and premiered two new works (one by Stella Sung, the DPAA's Music Alive Composer-in-Residence); our
Music Director Neal Gittleman celebrated his 20th year in Dayton with an unusual combination of Russian works
(Sofia Gubaidulina, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky), counterpointing his unusual pairing of Berlioz's Symphonie
Fantastique and its sequel Lelio earlier in the season. The orchestra also gave its first performance (and one of
the first performances ever) at the new Rose Music Center, a 4,200-seat, covered outdoor amphitheater in
nearby Huber Heights.
Financially, the year's been somewhat challenging, with overall ticket sales not as strong as hoped and
contributions fluctuating both ways. Nevertheless, the DPAA recently confirmed two gifts: $100,000 from the
Dayton Power & Light Foundation and $750,000 (over three years) from a national foundation. The DPAA also
received its first four-star rating from Charity Navigator.
This season marked our first of three years under the current master agreement. Changes included a 1% service
rate increase and a $275 taxable wage benefit for all musicians (as opposed to a $720 HRA benefit for 26
musicians).
We saw only a few new hires, though they included a new Orchestra Production Manager (the former production
manager having been promoted to Director of Production and Operations).
Player morale seems generally good, though most still shy away from orchestra committee duties. Relations
among musicians and management also seem good.
DULUTH SUPERIOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Report to the ROPA Conference, August 2015 , Toledo, Ohio Steve Highland, delegate
Charles Block, alternate delegate Season: September-­May, approx. 44 full orch services Concerts: 7 Subscription Masterworks (includes 2 Discovery Concerts), 3 Pops, chamber music concerts Guaranteed Services: no guarantee Budget: $1,410,400 (2014/15) Service Rate: $67.59 Section, $84.75 Asst. Prin., $90.60 Principal Description: The DSSO serves the region surrounding Duluth, MN and Superior, WI. We are a mix of roughly two-­thirds local players and one-­third travelers from the Minneapolis – St. Paul area and a few other locations across the country. Music Director Dirk Meyer finished a very successful third season with the DSSO. He has continued to be very popular with the orchestra musicians and audience members, generating a welcome burst of enthusiasm for the orchestra. His efforts to reach out to new groups seem to be paying off. This year featured some notable collaborations, particularly a sold out performance of Bizet’s ​Carmen​ with Duluth’s LOON opera company. The final concert of the season featured the quintet Sybarite5 at the end of a busy week-­long visit where they performed a recital for Duluth’s Matinee Musicale concert series and also shared the stage with a group of DSSO musicians at our annual Homegrown festival—the first time the DSSO has ever appeared at Homegown. WDSE-­TV, our local PBS affiliate, continued their long tradition of airing two of our concerts live, the first of which showed some fine work by the orchestra on Strauss’ ​Der Rosenkavalier ​ suite and ​Don Juan.​ We were also pleased to present a Young People’s Concert this season. Funding challenges have made the YPC a somewhat iffy proposition in recent years. Executive Director Rebecca Petersen is in her fifth year with the DSSO and recently reported that concert attendance this year rose 28%, from an average of 1350 seats sold to 1730. It has been very satisfying to see the size of the house grow so rapidly. Contract negotiations are still in progress. We were forewarned that pursuing an agreement via Interest-­Based Bargaining would be a lengthy process, and this has indeed proven true. There has been some turnover in personnel on the negotiating committees, but there is hope that a draft contract can be presented to the musicians by the end of this summer. Plans to expand a series of smaller afternoon chamber music concerts are in the works. There have been some questions regarding how to apply hiring order rules meant for full orchestra services to these types of presentations. This is being worked on in IBB negotiations. Generally the overall mood continues to be very positive here and it is refreshing to report continuing healthy relationships between the orchestra musicians and our Music Director and Executive Director. – Steve Highland, DSSO ROPA Delegate EASTERN CONNECTICUT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
REPORT TO THE ROPA CONFERENCE, JULY , 2015
Christine Coyle
$750,000 !
$0!
Subscription Series – 6 concerts!
Young People’s Concerts – 1 Double concert
!
Musicians:
60!
Per Service rate:
$87.57 increasing to 92.47 over 4 yrs (We are in the last Year)!
Services:
35!
Music Director:
Toshi Shimada!
Executive Director: Caleb Bailey!
Description:
The Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra serves the city of
New !
London and surrounding towns.
Budget:
Deficit:
Season:
2014 -15 Season
Our Big news is that for the first time in 30 years we have a new Executive
Director, Caleb Bailey. The board included musicians in the interview of the final
candidates. About 6 musicians got a private interview session with each of the finalists.
We reported our opinions back to the board. It was very nice to be included in the
process. The musicians thanked Isabelle Singer for her years of devotion to the
Symphony with a platter presented at the final concert.
We are in the final year of a 4 year agreement. We are hoping that our next
negotiations with our new ED goes as smoothly as the last. We shall see.
We had only one issue come up related to altering the substitute list when our
principal horn stepped down. The acting principal thought they could change the list,
removing and reordering and adding names. The personnel manager did not tell him no,
which is where the breakdown happened. We never had this situation come up before so
there was a disagreement as to how to interpret what was in the contract. This was
resolved after a number of discussions. A policy statement on what to do, was the final
outcome which we were all happy with.
This season has been one in a long series of years in which the artistic excellence
of the orchestra continues to reach ever greater heights. We have gotten great reviews
and performed some interesting works. This is the first year in many that we have
increased the number of service by adding a concert at a Norwich Cathedral. It is planned
again for the coming season. I hope we do more run-outs as it is a great way to increase
the reach of the orchestra. The orchestra has a core of outstanding musicians who have
contributed decades of service. We look forward to our next season.
Respectfully Submitted By
Christine Coyle, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra
Elgin Symphony Orchestra Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Season Length: 12 Weeks
Budget: 2.2 Million
Number of Musicians and guarantee: 68(69) no guarantee
Service Rate: $161.85 Principal
$143.18 Assistant Principal
$124.50 Section
Concerts: 9 Subscription weekends (Saturday and Sunday) at Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin
-2 Subscription weekends include additional Friday evening performance at
Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg
Family Concert
Holiday Concert
Kidz Concerts
Description
The Elgin Symphony serves the city of Elgin, IL. (pop. 110, 000) and many of the Western and
Northwestern suburbs of Chicago by upholding its mission:
TO SERVE AND BUILD A BROAD AUDIENCE THROUGH PERFORMANCE OF POWERFUL
SYMPHONIC MUSIC AND DYNAMIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
Year in Review
The 2014-2015 Season ended on a high note of sold-out performances, reflecting the spirit of
excitement the orchestra has been generating under Music Director Andrew Grams.
Audiences, donors, and musicians alike continue to respond positively to the energy Maestro
Grams has brought to the podium and the community. In recognition of all of his
accomplishments in his first two seasons with the ESO, Maestro Grams was named the
Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. The orchestra continues to have a
very congenial relationship with Executive Director Dave Bearden. Maestro Grams has signed
on to a contract extension that keeps him in Elgin until 2021; likewise, Dave Bearden will
continue to lead as Executive Director.
EL#PASO#SYMPHONY#ORCHESTRA#
#
Report#to#the#ROPA#Conference,#July#2015#
Toledo,#Ohio#
#
Donna#Loomis,#Delegate#
#
Season:#
#
SeptemberJApril,#approximately#50#services#
Concerts:#
#
6#Subscription#Pairs,#1#additional#guaranteed#pair,##
Young#People’s#Concerts,#4th#of#July#Concert,#some#Pops#
Guaranteed#Serv.:## Tier#1=42#services,#Tier#2=36#services,#Tier#3=no#guarantee#
Budget:#
#
approximately#$1#million#(no#figures#given#for#2#yrs)#
Service#Rate:# #
$84.06#Section,#$92.46#Asst.#Principal,#$100.88#Principal#
#
DESCRIPTION#
#
The#El#Paso#Symphony#Orchestra#serves#the#greater#El#Paso#area#and#is#the#oldest#
arts#program#in#the#city.#
#
YEAR#IN#REVIEW#
#
This#was#our#second#season#with#our#new#Music#Director.##The#honeymoon#of#the#
first#season#seemed#to#fade#with#mixed#feelings#in#the#ranks#on#stage.##Our#
Concertmaster#quit#mid#season#and#the#auditions#at#the#end#of#this#season#produced#
no#winner.##We#had#several#musicians#who#made#the#final#round#of#auditions#last#
season#rotate#through#their#positions#this#year,#but#this#was#made#more#complicated#
by#the#loss#of#our#Concertmaster.##Three#of#the#rotated#positions#were#at#the#front#of#
the#violin#sections.##Everyone#was#weary#of#that#process#by#the#end#of#the#season.#
#
We#are#negotiating#our#contract#now.##The#OC#has#surveyed#the#orchestra#but#we#
have#a#long#way#to#go#before#finalizing.##Management#has#been#more#eager#to#move#
this#along#and#our#side#has#been#sluggish.#
#
Our#biggest#concerns#this#season#were#in#regards#to#the#rotating#candidates#and#how#
hard#that#was#on#the#group.##I#think#the#fact#that#there#were#7#folks#in#the#rotations#
for#four#chairs#(plus#concertmaster)#was#part#of#why#it#was#so#difficult.##If#there#had#
been#fewer#positions#with#less#people#involved,#it#would#have#been#easier.#
#
No#grievances#were#filed#that#I#know#of.#
#
Moral#is#mixed#on#stage,#depending#on#whom#you#talk#to#and#mostly#in#regard#to#the#
MD.##The#board#and#management#seem#happy#with#the#MD#as#he#is#good#at#
marketing#and#community#relations.##He#lives#here#and#is#very#invested#in#the#
community#and#is#hands#on.##Communication#and#relations#between#the#orchestra,#
board#and#management#continue#to#be#positive#overall.#
Although the organization is still recovering from dismal setbacks in recent history, there have
been considerable strides made toward financial security. While the endowment is still small,
ticket sales and donations are up, and we finished this second of a three year contract on a
considerably more hopeful note.
In addition to the Subscription and Family and Holiday concerts, many musicians continue to
participate in the Musicians Care and Music Heals partnerships with several area health care
systems, which saw added services this season. Likewise, musicians continue to bring quality
school shows to area classrooms.
There have been no dismissals or grievances filed this season.
Erie
Philharmonic Orchestra
2014-2015
KAREN BARKER FERREN, DELEGATE
5 Classical concerts
5 Pops concerts
2 YP Concerts
2 Edinboro University
* 3 chamber orchestra concerts
1 Run-out concert
3 outdoor summer chamber ensemble programs
Budget: $ 1.25 million
Performance venue: Warner Theater, Erie, Pa.
MD: Daniel Meyer
ED: Jeff Collier October 2013 - July 2015
Contract
5 yr. CBA, from 2013/14 to 2018
Guaranteed services: 40, except for instruments not regularly required,such as harp, tuba, bass clarinet
Per service pay:
2013-14 - $96.
2014-15 - $98
2015-16 - $100.
2016-17 - $102. 2017-18 $104.
Mileage: $.25 per mile (or medical IRS rate) whichever is greater up to 100 mi.
Per Diem: $10. paid when 2 service are held on one day
The ERIE PHILHARMONIC has served northeast Pennsylvania for more than 100 years, with brief
interruptions during periods of war, and is one of the older orchestrs in the United States. For more than 30 years
the orchestra has performed in the Warner Theatre, located in the heart of Erie. The Warner was built by Warner
Bros. in the early 1940’s and is known for its beautiful art deco interior. Some renovations in the hall have taken
place in the past few years making it much more appealing and comfortable for the audience. However, backstage it
is a different matter.
Our music director, Daniel Meyer continues to be well like by audience and musicians alike and attendance
remains good. In spite of the snow and wind that blows from the lake, the people of Erie are a hearty group and
attend faithfully even in bad weather. Our concert fare this past season included such crowd pleasers as the Fourth
Symphony of Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, as well as modern works such
as Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto and Harmonielehre by John Adams. Our Pops series tends to draw a
younger, different crowd, and this was particularly noticeable at the Best of Michael Jackson concert in March.
Our ED, Jeff Collier showed that he could bring new ideas to fruition by arranging programs for a smaller group
of musicians at the Erie Zoo and health care centers. Mr. Collier also got grants for a chamber sized orchestra to do
a series of spring concerts at a cancer treatment center, a large downtown church, and a neighborhood school.
Because of his efforts several musicians were offered more than the 40 guaranteed services for the season and the
audiences at these places were most enthusiastic. However, we didn’t get the hoped for July 4th engagement or
another summer concert at the Pepsi Pavillion near Lake Erie. We were sorry to learn in May that Mr. Collier has
accepted a similar position with Orchestra Iowa and will be leaving us this summer. Our loss is Iowa’s gain.
MOST OF THE MUSICIANS commute to Erie within a radius of just over 100 miles. They drive from
Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo, with occasional musicians from Toronto, Canada, Rochester, and elsewhere.
The pool of local musicians has shrunk over the years. Our most recent settlement achieved some monetary gains,
but did not achieve any improvement in parking, or housing for out of town musicians. However, through some
discussions with those who live in Erie, I do think that progress is being made on improving guest housing.
I discovered that the initiative of one feisty patron has resulted in free trolley service to the Warner Theater and
nearby restaurants on concert evenings from a free parking area about a mile from the concert hall and it has been
suggested that use of this trolley might be made available to musicians also, alleviating the problems of parking and
getting to restaurants between rehearsal and concert. Patrons and musicians compete with sporting events for
parking places Now, if we can just get the backstage and stage renovations to take place.
Flint Symphony Orchestra/ Report to the ROPA Conference Toledo, Ohio – July, 2015 Mark Flegg, delegate Budget: $1.2 million Season: 6 Subscription concerts, plus Nutcracker, Holiday Pops, and two outdoor summer parks concerts Orchestra size: 71 member core, guaranteed 34 services, 5 additional members guaranteed 28 services Compensation: $88.82 per service 20% overscale for principals This year has been quiet and uneventful. We spent much of the year getting to know our new orchestra Manager, Lindsay Pearson. There were no grievances filed during the 2014-­2015 season. This coming year is a negotiation year for us. This will be the first time the contract has been opened for negotiations beyond compensation in several years, so it should be an interesting time. Fort%Wayne%Philharmonic1Report%to%the%ROPA%Conference,%July%2015%
Scott%Verduin1%Delegate%
Season'Length:'35'weeks'(33'winter,'2'summer)'
Musician'Count:'62'(45'full'time,'17'part'time)'
Services'Guaranteed:'260'cap'for'full'time'and'81'minimum'for'part'time'
Service'Rate:'Full'Time'Principal'$125.93,'Full'Time'Assistants'$114.95'
''''''''''Full'Time'Section'$104.51,'Per'service'$104.51,'Extra/import'$89.59'
Concerts%
PopsS5,'MasterworksS10,'FreimannS8,'FamilyS3,'Ballet/Chamber/ChoralS5,'Educational'and'community'
outreach'programs'
Description'
The' Fort' Wayne' Philharmonic' serves' Fort' Wayne,' Indiana' and' the' surrounding' north' eastern' Indiana'
area.' The' city' population' is' 254,000' with' small' rural' towns' surrounding.' It' has' just' completed' its' 70th'
season.%
Year%in%Review%
The'Philharmonic'had'a'successful'season'with'many'concert'highlights.'Some'of'the'most'well'attended'
and'received'include'Pixar'in'Concert'and'The'Ben'Folds'Orchestra'Experience.''
'
In'the'beginning'of'the'2015'season'the'orchestra'was'in'debt,'but'this'spring'the'Fort'Wayne'
Philharmonic's'board'of'directors'approved'using'interest'from'the'orchestra's'endowment'fund'to'pay'
off'its'$2.85'million'debt'so'the'organization'can'get'a'fresh'start'financially'and'with'a'new'operating'
approach.'The'orchestra'is'still'in'the'process'of'negotiations'between'the'Philharmonic'and'the'local'
union.'Current'details'are'listed'below.'
'
Representatives'of'Local'58'met'with'representatives'of'the'Fort'Wayne'Philharmonic'on'June'30'to'
continue'discussions'for'a'new'Master'Agreement.'The'Philharmonic'made'a'new'proposal'for'a'fourS
year'contract'that'would'expire'on'December'31,'2018.''The'proposal'included'restoring'one'week'to'
the'winter'season.''The'week'would'be'added'in'the'2015–2016'season.''The'proposal'also'included'the'
restoration'of'one'violin'position,'which'would'occur'in'the'2017S2018'season.''The'proposal'also'
included'new'language'to'be'added'to'the'Master'Agreement'provisions'about'dismissal'for'artistic'
reasons.'This'proposal'by'the'Philharmonic'does'very'little'to'restore'the'cuts'(17.5%)'we'have'taken.'''
''
In'response'to'the'Philharmonic’s'proposal,'Local'58'offered'a'modification'of'its'previous'proposal'for'a'
long'term'contract.''Our'modified'proposal'would'take'us'through'the'2018S2019'season,'and'would'
expire'August'15'of'2019.''It'would'restore'the'winter'season'to'38'weeks'by'adding'one'week'in'2015S
2016;'1'more'week'in'2016S2017;'2'more'weeks'in'2017S2018;'and'one'more'week'in'2018S2019.''It'
would'restore'the'3'violin'positions'by'adding'one'back'in'2015S2016;'one'more'in'2016S2017;'and'one'
more'in'2017S2018.''Our'proposal'provides'for'a'raise'in'rates'of'pay'by'1%'in'2015S2016;'another'2%'in'
2016S2017;'another'3%'in'2017S2018;'and'another'3%'in'2018S2019.''Finally,'our'proposal'includes'
contributions'by'the'Philharmonic'to'the'Flexible'Spending'Account'of'musicians'who'enroll'in'the'
health'insurance'policy.''The'contributions'would'be'$1000'each'year'for'musicians'who'have'individual'
coverage'and'$2000'each'year'for'musicians'who'have'family'coverage.'
''
The'two'sides'then'agreed'that'it'is'time'avail'ourselves'of'the'services'of'the'Federal'Mediator.''We'
expect'the'mediation'to'occur'in'late'September.''The'purpose'of'mediation'is'to'help'the'parties'to'an'
agreement.'''
Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra
Report to the July 2015 ROPA Conference--Laura Porter, delegate
Season:
Budget:
Guaranteed service tiers:
Per service pay:
9 sets (September to May)
$1.66 Million
43, 40, 35, 29, 20 and 10
$104.00, $112.32 and $127.92
Concert series: 3 singles; 3 triples
2 Pops series concerts: singles
1 Youth concert set: 4 short shows
Pension: 7.68%
The Fresno Philharmonic is in the heart of Central California, an area that has been affected by the Western
drought. We are about 3 hours from either Greater LA or the SF/Bay Area—thus we are a Freeway
Philharmonic orchestra. We have an orchestra that is comprised of 57% import players and 43% local
resident players. We started our season with the unexpected resignation of our Principal Trumpet, and held
auditions for five open positions: Principal Oboe, 2nd Clarinet, and 3rd Oboe/EH plus two French Horn
positions (2 & 4). These were our first auditions since 2010, which were advertised within our Local, and
nearby locals, but not the IM; word of mouth definitely played a part in bringing in audition candidates. We
successfully seated all five positions from an impressive field. In our 2013 settlement, we have an
agreement to hold auditions for our open string positions this Fall 2015.
Another unexpected announcement was made by our Music Director, Theodore Kuchar. He has resigned
effective the end of the 2015-2016 season, having been on the podium for over 13 years. A search for our
next MD was announced in the spring, and a search committee (5 Board, 4 Musicians, plus alternates) is
hard at work, pouring through a field of candidates. Our ED has completed his third season/fiscal year with
us. Leaving us this past year for other opportunities were our Development Director, and Financial officer.
A revamped development position was created (Development Manager) and a new person hired, formerly
with the Fresno Art Museum. The Finance position has not yet been filled, being vacated only at the end of
the fiscal year (June 30).
This past season also marked another year without attendance requirements, one of the settlement terms.
As such, it meant that we saw a fair number of substitutes throughout the orchestra, including move ups of
staff musicians into higher chairs on a temporary basis. Additionally, it was the first year that we operated
without our instrument insurance benefit. (We have been one of the few orchestras of our size that had such
a benefit.) As a token compensation for this loss of a benefit, tenured musicians received an additional $2
per service during the 2014-2015 season. In part, this was meant to offset the cost of insuring our own
instruments. Instrument insurance was an uneven benefit, in that not all of our musicians availed themselves
of it, and some instruments cost more to insure, or some had multiple instruments insured. It was difficult to
argue that we keep it, since it was so uneven.
Our ’14-’15 season featured two concerts which were firsts for us: in March, we had a set where we
performed all 5 piano concerti with Antonio Pompa-Baldi as soloist, on three succeeding days. It was
intense: 3 rehearsals and a dress rehearsal on the day of each concert. The concerts were well received, and
performed in the smaller of our two venues. In April, we performed an emotionally charged concert in
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. The repertoire featured a cantata by Serouj Kradjian, featuring
a soprano soloist (Isabel Bayrakdarian) and our local Master Chorale, along with the Khatchaturian violin
concerto (Catherine Manoukian, soloist), a set of beautiful a capella works sung in Armenian, and the
Dvorak Te Deum. We have the second largest Armenian-American community in this country, so it was a
natural fit. The concert was enthusiastically and warmly received by the audience (for me personally, it was
a satisfying artistic experience). The Fresno Phil may be the only professional orchestra in North America
that performed a commemorative concert, with a newly written work expressly commissioned for the
occasion by an Armenian-American composer.
In an odd but welcome twist, we had a run-out to repeat the concert the next day: at the Palace of Fine
Arts in San Francisco. So the Fresno Phil went ‘on tour’ to Frisco! The specific terms of that run-out were
negotiated, designed to fit that occasion. As many of our subs and import staff musicians reside in the Bay
Area, challenges were figuring out who should get how much travel pay and per diem, bus ride
accommodations and afterwards, another hotel stay, since the buses returned to Fresno just before midnight.
It was important that the run-out broke even; it did generate a little income, so it was overall a positive
venture.
For the second year, we were a Link Up site, the largest in California, and the 10th largest in the US, with
8,000 students joining us in our large venue. In June, due to the Link Up partnership between Central
Unified School District and the Fresno Philharmonic, the Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award went
to teacher Bill McKee and our ED, who were among 30 honorees honored at the Yale Symposium on Music
in the Schools. Link Up is currently our only educational programming at this time, spearheaded by our
ED, acting as our education coordinator. It has been well-received by the local school districts as all fourthgraders are taught the recorder, which is an integral part of the Link Up programming. Our student
participation expanded by 2,000 this year over last year, and only has the potential to keep expanding.
Financially the organization is in a much better space: the structural deficit has been cut in half from the
past year ($200k down to $100k). With respect to earned revenue, ticket sales were higher, but that is in
large part due to individual ticket sales, while subscription rates are continuing the decline we have seen
over the past decade. The ED likes to talk about the strategic structuring of seating capacity, and bringing
the supply and demand of tickets in closer alignment. Evidence that this is working is that in 2010-2011 we
had 43% capacity; in 2014-2015, we had a 68% capacity. The use of the smaller venue (Shaghoian Hall)
has assisted us in this venture, despite its drawbacks from a production standpoint. From the musicians’
view, it means having shorter sets for the large venue (Saroyan Hall), where we perform one concert, and
having fewer rehearsals but three concerts in the smaller venue.
The drought, which dominates our local news, has had an effect on unearned revenue. Some donors have
held back, citing the drought as the cause; the Annual Fund campaign came in low too. Also with a flat year
in the market, the endowment was affected, which in turn affected the balance of drawing on the
endowment (in support of the budget) versus the income it generated. It should be noted that our
endowment is highly restricted as originally set up. While we had subscription ticket sales on track at this
time last year, those sales did not come in as projected in the end; this left the Board and ED wondering if
these were all one-time losses that would reappear next year (currently we are again on track for this
upcoming season’s subscription ticket sales).
Other issues that the OC dealt with were: pushing for better security and lighting in our downtown
parking (which was achieved at least in lighting), dealing with inter-personnel issues, and preparing for our
next round of negotiations as well as the conductor search, which are both ongoing processes at this time.
Our 2014-2015 Season welcomed back several guest artists: Zuill Bailey, Lukas Vondracek, and the
intrepid James Buswell (who was a last minute replacement for didjeridu artist, William Barton) as well as
conductor Carl Topilow for our Broadway pops concert. One Masterworks concert had a guest conductor
(Jose-Luis Novo). This concert was a blockbuster for the season, with a sold out crowd enjoying some new
music with the composer present (Gabriela Frank, Three Latin American Dances), some Piazzola, Rodrigo
and the surefire Bolero. So artistically, the season was successful on the whole, with good reviews and wellreceived performances. We continue to have a more engaged and realistic Board, with new members
joining, and a continuing “cautious optimism” from Management.
!
!
!
!
Glimmerglass!Festival!Orchestra/Report!to!ROPA!Conference!
2015!
Season!Length:!9!weeks!(summer)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Service!Rate:!!$169.55!Principal!$146.34!Section!
Number!of!Musicians:!47!Core,!5!Expansion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guarantee!5.3!services/week!
Performances:!4!opera/musical!productions!T!41!performances!
!
!
The!Glimmerglass!Festival!is!located!in!a!rural!area!of!New!York!State.!In!addition!to!
operas,!the!festival!includes!cabarets,!guest!recitals,!various!performances!involving!
singers!in!the!Young!American!Artists!Program,!and!activities!such!as!lectures!and!
arts!shows!that!engage!other!local!arts!organizations.!The!audiences,!as!well!as!the!
orchestra!and!other!performers!in!the!festival,!include!local,!statewide,!national,!and!
international!residents.!
Our!new!Music!Director,!Joseph!Colaneri,!took!over!officially!in!2014.!!2014!also!saw!
the!longTawaited!signing!of!a!CBA!that!had!been!in!negotiation!since!2011.!!A!
handshake!on!major!points!took!place!in!April,!but!the!final!details!were!still!being!
hashed!out!throughout!the!summer!festival!season!and!beyond.!!The!new!agreement!
was!signed!on!October!17.!!
A!3%!raise!in!service!rate!was!retroactive!to!the!beginning!of!the!2014!season,!and!
will!increase!another!1%!in!2017!(the!final!year!of!the!agreement.)!!Housing!
allowance!will!increase!19%!incrementally!by!2017.!The!guaranteed!weekly!
minimum!is!increased!from!4.5!to!5.3!services;!expansion!players!now!receive!the!
same!minimum!as!the!core!players.!!There!is!a!minor!raise!in!pension!contributions.!
The!financial!details!vary!only!slightly!from!management’s!original!proposals.!!Much!
of!the!time!spent!in!the!3Tyear!negotiation!was!devoted!to!saving!guarantees!of!
tenure,!size!of!the!orchestra,!and!other!important!clauses!that!the!orchestra!had!
won!in!previous!negotiations.!
The!2015!season!is!under!way!and!includes!productions!of!three!operas:!Magic!
Flute,!Macbeth,!and!the!first!Vivaldi!opera!produced!at!Glimmerglass,!Cato%in%Utica.%%
The!musical!for!this!season!is!Candide.!!%%
The!orchestra!continues!to!build!good!relations!with!our!summer!neighbors.!On%our%
own,!we!present!annual!free!concerts!for!the!local!residents!and!take!part!in!local!
chamber!music!performances.!Some!of!our!members!own!property!in!the!area!and!
are!permanent,!established!members!of!the!summer!community.!
On! July! 2,! 2015,! the! Glimmerglass! Festaval! Orchestra! appointed! a! new! ROPA!
delegate:!Katrina!Smith.!!It!has!been!my!pleasure!to!be!associated!with!you!all.!
!
submitted%by%Victoria%Stewart,%ROPA%delegate%12/2012A07/2015%
Green Bay Symphony Orchestra
2014-2015 Season
ROPA Report
Steve Westergan, ROPA Delegate
In early May of 2014, the Executive Director of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra contacted
our Orchestra Committee and said that later in the day he would be announcing to the media that
the Board of Directors had decided to cease operations at the end of the 2014-2015 season; in the
Board’s view, the orchestra just wasn’t financially strong enough to be viable in the long run.
All the members of the orchestra were quite disappointed by this decision, especially since none
of us – including the OC – had been consulted (we no longer had a musician on the Board).
Thoughout the 2014-2015 season, the OC held many meetings to explore ways of sustaining
the orchestra. The committee is currently planning programs for 2015-2016, and we are
heartened that a number of our colleagues are passionate about keeping the orchestra going and
have stepped forward to help. We are also relieved that the music library is staying in the
community and will be available to us and to other ensembles; although our bid for it was not
accepted, a Board member bought it and has donated it to the library at the University of
Wisconsin–Green Bay.
The 2014-2015 season, our 101st, included several fine concerts, presenting light classics,
some hidden gems of the repertoire for brass, and a tribute to the Beatles. But it was the concert
at the end of the season that, for a number of reasons, was particularly striking. One of them had
to do with what happened a couple of hours beforehand. Our Executive Director had invited a
number of organizations to staff tables in the lobby of our hall, in order to let members of the
audience know of opportunities to hear live classical music in 2015-2016 and beyond. The
musicians of the GBSO were also given a table, so we could provide information about our
website and talk one-on-one about our plans. Close to 100 people gave us their e-mail address,
so we could contact them in the future, and they were all thrilled to hear that we were working
hard to sustain the orchestra. In fact, many started their conversations with us by saying how sad
they were that the orchestra was dissolving, but then they became more and more upbeat and
excited when we told them that, on the contrary, we were not going away and were looking
forward to continue providing orchestral music to the Green Bay community.
The performance that followed these conversations was extraordinary. It was designed not
just as a farewell to the GBSO but also as a celebration of the Green Bay Symphony Youth
Orchestra (GBSYO) program, which will be continuing. The first half of the concert featured
three professional musicians who had grown up in the Green Bay area and who had participated
in the GBSYO. Each of them played a solo with the orchestra: Bartok’s first rhapsody for
violin, Goossens’s oboe concerto, and Saint-Saëns’s Morceau de concert for harp. All three
soloists played beautifully to an appreciative and supportive audience (some of whom had
known them since they were kids).
But what made the concert even more memorable – and bittersweet – was the second half, in
which the GBSO was joined by about twenty members of the current Youth Symphony (the top
orchestra of the GBSYO program) in order to perform Shostakovitch’s Fifth Symphony. When
our conductor, Octavio Más-Arocas, walked onstage, he stopped midway in front of the first
violin section, instead of stepping onto the podium. The audience understood why and turned
their warm applause into a prolonged standing ovation for the orchestra.
When they sat down, Mr. Más-Arocas thanked them and handed the mike to our principal
violist, who also thanked the audience and told them about our plans: “We are moving forward,
and we will be performing in this hall next year! The musicians of this orchestra are excited
about the prospect of our continued service to the Green Bay community and in supporting
young talent such as these students who are performing with us tonight.” He also mentioned our
website and encouraged people to sign up, if they hadn’t already. The audience responded to his
well-delivered, positive comments with enthusiastic applause.
Next, Mr. Más-Arocas provided background information about the Shostakovitch symphony,
pointing out that it was a very appropriate piece for the orchestra to perform in this particular
concert because of its emotional intensity and the circumstances it responded to. And then he
said, “I know I’ll make many enemies – but I am very disappointed in all of you.” He said that if
the Packers were to announce that they were leaving Green Bay, there would be riots; so why
weren’t there riots when the announcement was made almost a year ago that the orchestra would
not be continuing? Green Bay, he said, needs culture; gesturing towards the orchestra, he added,
“You need this.” The members of the audience listened respectfully and politely (though it was
not possible to tell how any of them felt about his comments).
The audience then listened very attentively to our performance of the Shostakovitch, which
Mr. Más-Arocas ended with a slower than usual last couple of pages, communicating the
composer’s desire to express forced joy. The response to the whole piece was a standing
ovation, but what was amazing was that when Mr. Más-Arocas stepped off the podium, he said a
few words to our concertmaster and then left the stage and never returned, so that the audience
would clearly be applauding the orchestra; their ovation went on and on and on.
Our hope is that their warm support and deep appreciation will sustain us as we work together
with them and with many others to shape a future for professionally performed orchestral music
in Green Bay.
Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
Report to the ROPA conference, July 2015
Erik Jacobson-Delegate
Season Length: September through May
Budget: 2.7 million
Number of Musicians: 77
Service Rate: Principal 132.99
Assistant Principal 123.78
Single Stand Players 118.17
Section Players
112.53
Players are also offered per diem rates based on round trip mileage. Large instrument
players are offered cartage. Players traveling more than 60 miles are offered free hotel
accommodations.
Concerts: 7 Masterworks, 4 Pops, 1 Nutcracker Concert w/Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, 1
July Fourth Series of free concerts, 1 Chamber (Stuart and Friends).
Description: The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra serves the city of Harrisburg and the
outlying cities in central Pennsylvania.
Year in Review:
The season began positively with acoustical remodeling to our hall, The Forum, which
resulted in the musicians being able to hear more effectively around the stage. As acoustical
tile was added to the floor in the first twenty rows of the orchestra audience seating, many
people were pleased with the now more "live" or "wet" acoustic. The bathrooms were also
remodeled. Perhaps most importantly, although the orchestra management was able to
supervise the remodel, the state of Pennsylvania paid the bills.
The orchestra continued the runout extra concert at Messiah College with the Brahms
Reqiuem in April.
In midseason our music director, Stuart Malina signed a new five year contract with the
orchestra, which will take him to 2020 and a twenty season tenure with the orchestra.
The orchestra will play out the fifth and last year of the current contract, so this coming
season will be a negotiating year.
At his "state of the orchestra" speech at the end of the season, our Executive Director, Jeff
Woodruff revealed that the orchestra accumulated deficit is now $300,000. Although the
orchestra had sold out all of the Pops Concerts and is doing well with box office revenue
concerns linger as to how this debt will be managed.
The orchestra will audition for Assistant Principal Bass and Principal Oboe this season.
Hartford Symphony Orchestra Report to the ROPA Conference, August 2015
Stephen Wade, Delegate
Season: 34 weeks with 1 week vacation, September-June; 5 weeks, June-July
Budget: $5,000,000 (under rewiew)
Players: 31 Core orchestra players guaranteed 180* services
22 Basic orchestra players guaranteed 108* services
23 Service players guaranteed 51* services
*These numbers represent a temporary concession from a contract re-opener 5 years ago. They
the end of the current contract. The original numbers are 191, 111, and 55.
sunset with
Service Rate: $128.55/section players; + 15%/assistant principals; + 35%/principals
Concerts:
9 Masterworks (4 performances each)
6 Pops (1 performance, 2 for Holiday Pops)
3 Discovery (1 performance each)
Symphony in the Schools ensembles (circa 30 services per small chamber group in 2013-14, reduced to a few
services in 2014-15)
Overview
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is the second largest orchestra in New England, the Boston Symphony being the largest. The
greater Hartford area has a population of over 1.2 million, according to the 2010 census. According to “Arts & Economic Prosperity
IV” published in 2012 by Americans for the Arts, arts and culture organizations and audience expenditures totaled over $230 million
in FY2010, supporting almost 7000 jobs.
Year in Review
The HSO is beginning the second season of a strategic alliance with its performing venue, The Bushnell Center for the Performing
Arts. In April 2014 the Orchestra contracted with the Bushnell Center to take over operations and back office functions. The first full
season of the alliance was the 2014-15 season. The alliance has been turbulent, to say the least. Many educational services were
never booked by the new management, which called them un-sellable, and a series called Jazz and Strings was cancelled outright.
The board and the new management have spent months developing a new strategic plan in a process that involved four different
consultants as well as two rounds of musician focus groups. Negotiations on the CBA that expired in June of 2013 began in January
2015. The initial offer to the players was a disastrous combination of a 40% reduction in the guarantee for the core orchestra of 31,
combined with changes in work rules that would require us to be available much more, as well as a much tighter absence policy.
The players have ten musician board representatives on the board, and they voted against the new strategic plan and budget in
June 2015. Since then the players have gone public with their issues on Facebook, Twitter, and other places. Needless to say,
relations between the parties are tense.
Music Director Carolyn Kuan signed a new 6-year contract this summer. Her agreement requires her to be in Hartford for 16 weeks
per season. Plans to hire an assistant conductor are under way. Her programming ideas have proven to be innovative and effective.
Management is hiring more people with increases in salaries and benefits in an effort to retain them.
The centerpiece of the new strategic plan is called the Institute for Digital Performance Art. Implementation would require some
millions of dollars for a fiber optic theater refit and renovation of an adjacent building for studios, equipment and storage.
The HSO continues to perform its Masterworks series in the Belding Theater, a 950-seat addition to the Bushnell Center. The Pops
series is done in the Mortenson Theater, the 2700-seat venue next door. While the small capacity of the Belding hurts earned
revenue, audiences love the intimacy of the room and the immediacy of the interaction with the players. Masterworks weeks are
tough on the musicians, however – the schedule works out to Saturday morning, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday rehearsals,
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon performances.
The HSO has eleven vacant string positions and one vacant bassoon position. Auditions are planned pending the outcome of
negotiations.
There is one outstanding grievance.
Most popular: Holiday Pops collaboration with Cirque de Soleil; and continued success of Sunday Serenades, a chamber music
series at the prestigious Wadsworth Atheneum;
Houston Ballet Orchestra
ROPA Conference Report
July 2015
Sarah Ludwig – Alternate Delegate
Annual budget:
$27 million
Per Service Rate:
$156.17
Orch. Budget:
7%
Musicians:
61
Guaranteed Services: 116
AFM Pension:
6.54%
Season Length:
21 weeks
Contract Expiration: 6/30/16
Endowment:
$69 million
Benefits:
Free parking, paid sick days, 4% Flex Plan contribution
The performance series includes six main stage productions as well as 35 Nutcracker
performances.
Houston Ballet, under the artistic direction of Stanton Welch and the musical direction of
Ermanno Florio, is one of the leading ballet companies in the nation and plays a major role in
the vibrant arts community of the country’s 4th largest city.
Most productions include five rehearsals and six to nine performances. This season began at
the end of August and ran through the fourth week of June. All of the main stage performances
take place in the Wortham Theater. The Houston Ballet also does a weekend of free
performances at Miller Outdoor Theater.
This season, the company celebrated the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth with three of
his classic tales: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and
Juliet. There were also two world premieres: Zodiac with music by Ross Edwards and The
Letter V, set to Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 88.
At the beginning of the season, a new lighting system was installed in the pit. We no longer use
incandescent bulbs. The new light is more focused on the music and less reflected on the floor
and walls. However, it has created some visibility issues for musicians needing to see their
instruments, such as the harp and percussion instruments. Other changes to the pit include a
new overhang that extends substantially farther across the pit than the old overhang.
The Ballet Foundation is financially healthy. The endowment is very large in comparison to the
budget.
2014-2015 Season: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, From Houston to the World, The Nutcracker,
Romeo and Juliet, Modern Masters, Morris, Welch & Kylian, The Taming of the Shrew.
www.houstonballet.org
Houston Grand Opera
ROPA Conference Report
July 2015
Sarah Ludwig – Alternate Delegate
Annual budget:
$25.8 million
Per Service Rate:
$239 (core)
Orch. Budget:
8.2%
$175 (substitute)
Musicians:
49 core musician
AFM Pension:
10.9%
Season Length:
24 weeks
Contract Expiration: 8/31/18
Benefits:
Paid sick days
Endowment:
$54.4 million
Guaranteed Services: All Brown Theater services guaranteed to core members
The Houston Grand Opera just completed its 60th anniversary season. By the numbers, HGO
can boast fifty-six world premieres, seven American premieres, 247 individual operas, and 198
new productions. HGO, a leader in the Houston arts community is accessible to a metropolitan
area of over 6 million people.
This year’s HGO performances included six main stage productions, one small stage
production, two weekends of outdoor opera free to the public, and a special 60th Anniversary
performance featuring Joyce DiDonato. This season, we performed Wagner’s Die Walküre to
sold-out audiences as part of our four-year Ring Cycle project, which will continue through 2017.
In December, we launched HGO’s cycle of new holiday-themed commissions with the world
premiere of A Christmas Carol by Iain Bell.
We recently ratified a new four-year contract in April. All core members of HGO are guaranteed
all major opera services. Language was added to the contract to equitably rotate the non-titled
core strings for all non-Brown Theater productions. Per service compensation was increased by
9.75% over the length of the contract. Health insurance is offered to all orchestra members with
Management paying a portion of the premium.
At the end of 2014, HGO completed the Inspiring Performance campaign, surpassing the
fundraising goal of $165 million, raising $172.9 million over a seven year period. Approximately
55% of the funds raised goes to artistic excellence with the remainder going towards legacy
gifts, the endowment, affordability, outreach (HGOco), and the company’s studio training
program (HGO Studio).
Patrick Summers is the Artistic and Music Director of HGO. Perryn Leech is our Managing
Director.
2014-2015 season: Otello, Cosi fan tutte, A Christmas Carol, Madame Butterfly, The Magic
Flute, Die Walküre, Sweeney Todd.
2015-2016 season: Tosca, Eugene Onegin, The Little Prince, The Marriage of Figaro, Rusalka,
Prince of Players, Siegfriend, Carousel.
houstongrandopera.org
Hudson'Valley'Philharmonic'2015'orchestra'Report'
'
2014;15'Season''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Poughkeepsie,'New'York'
'5'Classical'Series,'25'services''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''60'contracted'musicians,'1'vacancy'
Messiah,(5'services'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Budget,'600,000.''
Young'Person’s'Concerts,'3'services'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''$30./'rehearsal'hour,'$110.'concert'
2'outside'bookings,'7'services'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Average'at'82./service'''
'
The'Hudson'Valley'Philharmonic'contract'with'the'Bardavon'1869'Opera'House'expires'
in'September'2015.'We'are'currently'in'the'process'of'negotiation.''We'have'expressed'
our'very'great'concern'for'the'future'of'the'orchestra'as'our'pay'falls'further'behind'
that'of'other'area'orchestras'in'which'our'musicians'also'perform.''The'hiring'has'
become'increasingly'difficult;'members'and'our'many'substitutes'cancel'frequently'
when'better'paying'work'arises.''
'
The'Bardavon'has'managed'the'orchestra'since'taking'it'over'in'bankruptcy'proceedings'
sixteen'years'ago.''They'operate'two'performance'venues'in'historic'buildings,'the'1869'
Opera'House'in'Poughkeepsie,'and'Ulster'Performing'Arts'Center'(UPAC)'in'Kingston,'
NY.''At'the'top'of'their'list'for'the'next'few'years'is'the'renovation'of'UPAC;'they'are'
diverting'every'nickel'toward'that'effort.''This'leaves'us'in'a'very'difficult'position.''
'
Titled'chairs'have'been'paid'overage'only'for'the'concert'(20.'for'principals),'and'this'
has'not'been'adjusted'since'the'Bardavon'assumed'management'of'HVP.'Our'mileage'
system'involves'a'set'of'codes'rather'than'actual'mileage.'We'are'seeking'to'change'the'
pay'system'to'a'per/service,'insure'overage'pay'for'titled'chairs'on'ALL'services,'and'
switch'to'per;mile'mileage'with'a'20;mile'exclusion.'The'change'to'actual'mileage'would'
make'it'more'equitable'than'codes,'and'help'our'many'musicians'who'travel'great'
distances.''However,'the'exclusion'will'hurt'the'local'musicians'and'very'likely'amount'
to'their'getting'smaller'paychecks'next'season'than'currently.'There'is'a'great'deal'to'
work'out.''
'
Management'has'guaranteed'five'classical'series'(previously'four),'and'added'a'
performance'of'the'Messiah'in'December.''They'broker'concerts'for'us'at'the'Bethel'
Woods'Arts'Center'in'summer.'There'were'two'in'2014,'and'will'be'one'in'August,'2015.''
They'also'broker'a'concert'for'HVP'at'the'Piano'Summer'Festival'in'New'Paltz,'NY.''
'
Our'2014;15'season'included'two'big'works,'Mahler’s'Symphony'No.'5,'and'Stravinsky’s'(
Rite(of(Spring.(The'Bardavon'continued'a'trend'toward'programming'with'projected'
images'in'performances'of'Copland’s'Lincoln(Portrait((narrated'by'local'David'
Strathairn),'and'Dave'and'Chris'Brubeck’s'Ansel(Adams:(America.'
'
Successful'auditions'were'held'this'past'season'for'titled'viola'seats,'section'cello,'and'
fourth'horn.'An'audition'for'tuba'was'unsuccessful'and'that'spot'remains'open.''
'
HUNTSVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
ROPA CONFERENCE REPORT 2015
MAYA STONE, HSO ROPA DELEGATE
Season: October– April Budget: approximately 1.9 million (Orchestra portion 24%)
Core Musicians: 14
(Core strings guaranteed 80 services; core winds guaranteed 70 services)
Concert Series:
6 Classical
Young Peoples’ Concerts (3 performances)
3 Chamber Orchestra 1 Family Concert
3 Pops
Usually 1 concert contracted by 3rd party
The Orchestra
The Huntsville Symphony is the oldest continuously operating orchestra in the state of Alabama,
serving a population of 400,000. Music Director Gregory Vajda is responsible for all artistic
decisions. While the HSO is a popular cultural attraction, declining audiences have some
concerned. This past year the many seats were empty, some say due to our adventuresome
programming. While the Chamber concerts expected and had lower turnouts, they were
performed in different venues, and were quite popular. At the present time, the orchestra consists
of approximately 45% local and 55% traveling players.
Education and Outreach
The Symphony School of the HSO provides a free (to the students) 10-session set of violin
instruction in 3rd grade classrooms in 5 counties as well as private and semi-private lessons in
strings for children as well as adults. The HSO presents a Young Peoples’ Concert for over 5000
fourth graders from all over North Alabama. There is not much crossover attempted or
accomplished between Symphony musicians and teachers for the Symphony School.
Status of Current Contract and Current Issues
We just finished our fourth year with our Conductor, Gregory Vajda. The musicians remain
impressed with him musically, but many issues concerning absence requests and reseating
continue to cause low morale among the orchestra.
The HSO just concluded the third year of a 4-year contract. Last summer, our Local filed an
Unfair Labor Practice against our management for failing to provide information asked for
during discussions concerning absences. We had grieved their recent practice of unreasonably
denying absences (that should not have been denied, as long as they fell within the deadlines of
the contract) and then penalizing players that asked off by removing them from entire concert sets
later in the season. The lawyer from the NLRB said we should come up with a solution instead of
carrying on with the grievance, so our Local Secretary/Treas and management worked out an
“agreement” by which players would submit a list of five viable ensembles that they might have
gigs with in the coming year. If they asked off for gigs with these ensembles, they would have to
be granted the absence. We never could agree among ourselves whether this was a side letter or
addendum to the contract, and counsel was sought from within the AFM and outside labor
attorneys. It was a long, expensive and time consuming process that has not had a satisfying
ending.
It’s unfortunate that management decided to crack down on absences at the same time they cut
services for many folks, resulting in even less loyalty to the organization. We will be negotiating
a new contract before the end of this season, so hopefully the kinks will be worked out and we’ll
all come to some kind of agreement.
The Board President instigated a Labor Management Relations committee, and we met at each
concert set to voice concerns and solutions to problems.
ILLINOIS PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
REPORT TO THE ROPA CONFERENCE, JULY 2015
William Olsen – delegate, Andrew Simco - alternate
Type of season:
Per Service – 5 Classics, 2 Holiday Pops, 1 Educational concert
Budget: $800,000
Number of Musicians and Guarantee: 75, 38 – 24 services, 30 – 12 services, 7 – 6 services
Per service rate: $112.75 Principal, $101.48 Assistant Principal, $90.20 Section
DESCRIPTION: The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra serves the southern suburbs of Chicago.
YEAR IN REVIEW:
The 2014-2015 season began with the hiring of new Executive Director, Eska Koester. Ms.
Koester came to the IPO from the Development staff of the Pacific Symphony.
This season featured collaborations with the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center and Project
Trio as well as a fine performance of Mahler 5 at the final concert.
Next season will mark the return of Music Director Emeritus Carmon DeLeone as well as guest
conductor Victor Yampolsky. The 2015-2016 season will also be the last for Music Director
David Danzmayr as he will become the Music Director of the Zagreb Philharmonic in the fall of
2016. Four musicians will be part of the search committee for the new director.
Poor attendance will cause the elimination of “IPO Presents”, a recital series featuring non-IPO
musicians. Poor attendance continues to plague the series of concerts the IPO performs in
Joliet, although they will continue next year.
With the possibility of the IPO’s primary venue closing in two years, the IPO has begun looking
at alternate concert sites.
There was an operational deficit at the end of the fiscal year which was addressed by the IPO
board of directors. The current contract expires May 31, 2016.
No grievances were filed this season. Most of the complaints centered on working conditions at
our primary concert venue.
At the insistence of the Music Director, the IPO attempted to alter their policy on tardiness.
That was brought to the attention of our Local. After discussion and the realization this was a
subject of bargaining, this issue was withdrawn. It likely will surface again in negotiations next
summer.
On May 30, the musicians of the IPO voted to sign on to the new Integrated Media Agreement.
We were signatories to the first IMA, but the IPO was not part of the management group.!
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra Report, ROPA Conference
2015
Annual Budget ~ $2.9 million
Endowment ~ $18.3 million
Contracted Musicians ~ 69 (8 Salaried musicians)
Four Tiers:*Artist in Residence (3 salary levels)
*Principals
*Assistant Principals
*Section musicians
Concert Series: 6 Classical, 2 Chamber Orchestra, 4 Chamber Music, 3
Family Series, 2 Pops, 1 week of Youth Concerts, Holiday Concerts,
Occasional Special Concerts, Gilmore Festival Concerts (every other year),
Artists-in-Residence also perform a number of educational services through
the string quartet, woodwind quintet, brass quintet, percussion trio, and
individual performances at various schools; Total of 20-180 services per
year.
Note:
-Negotiations have been on going for about a year now. They have been
slow and difficult and recently they have been working with a mediator
(which has been a slight improvement). Our Executive Director (who is
called the CEO), Peter Gistelinck, has been with the KSO for about a year
now.
-There were some problems with musician representatives on the the Board
as well. The Board wanted musician reps to be full members (including
voting and donating money) and the musicians felt this would be a conflict.
They have resigned and the board refuses to change any bylaws regarding
musician representatives or talk about it at the negotiation table.
-There has not been much improvement in the size of the orchestra in our
concert series. They seem to consistently program a smaller (almost
chamber sized) orchestra with an occasional full sized group.
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
ROPA Conference Report
July 2015
Steve Benne – ROPA Delegate
Annual budget: $3.763 mil.
Season Length: 35 weeks
Musicians:
Level 1 (Core or string chamber orchestra): 22 required.
Salary: Section players: $28,860, Principal players: $32,323.
Health Insurance contribution: 50%.
Paid leave: 4 days personal, 3 days audition leave/season.
Unpaid leave: 18 total accrued family and 4 days bereavement leave/season.
Level 2* (Part-time core or Principal WW Quintet): 5. No minimum number required.
Compensation: $115/service. Guaranteed services: 140. Paid semi-monthly.
Unpaid family and bereavement leave.
*Although our contract stipulates Level 2 players, our Level 2 players (WW quintet) are
entering their third season as members of the core on the strength of a grant
specifying that it be used to bring the principals’ quintet into the core for five years.
However, the quintet’s core status is not guaranteed beyond the provisional period.
Level 3 (Per-service): 48. No minimum number required.
Compensation: Base pay: $85/service, Assistant Principal: $99, Principal: $115.
Guaranteed services vary from 20 to 104 according to position.
Unpaid emergency leave.
KSO Pension (TIAA-CREF) Contribution for any player electing pension plan: 3%
Contract term: 3 years: September 1, 2014-August 31, 2017. Ratified Dec. 2, 2014.
The Knoxville Symphony performs, as a full-orchestra, in the Masterworks and Pops
series, and as a chamber orchestra in Chamber Classics series and side-by-side concerts
with local school orchestras. The woodwind quintet performs with the string principals’
quartet on a series called the “Q” series as well as augmenting the KSO’s outreach and
education program. The concertmaster headlines and hosts a chamber music series that is
part solo recital and part chamber music using members of the orchestra.
The members of the core form into quartets that perform hundreds of education and
outreach concerts annually in schools, libraries, nursing homes, and shopping malls.
Musicians working in the Music & Wellness program have completed training through
the Music for Healing and Transition Program. They are currently completing
practicum clinical hours and in 2015-2016 will become Certified Music Practitioners
recognized by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians.
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Report to the 2015 ROPA Conference, Toledo, OH
Annual Budget:
$1.1 million
Season length: approx. 9 weeks, 40 services
# of musicians
and guarantee:
A: 45 players/30 services
B: 23 players/25 services
C: 1 player/20 services
D: 2 players/15 services
Concerts:
Pay rate, 2014-15:
Principal, contracted or sub: $96.50
Asst, contracted or sub: $89.00
Section, contracted: $82.00
Section, sub: $77.00
6 Masterworks (1 night)
3 pops
1 young people's concert
About the LSO
The Lansing Symphony serves the capitol area, including Lansing, East Lansing, the Michigan State
University community, and outlying areas.
2014-2015
Our season was generally well-received, and included music from the standard repertoire and music of
living composers. Highlights included Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite, Beethoven's Sixth Symphony,
Michael Gandolfi's The Willowtwist, Aaron Kernis's Musica Celestis, Marjan Helms's Seven Ascents
for flute and orchestra, and the world premier of Robert Aldrige's Variations on a Folk Tune for piano
and orchestra. 2014-15 was Timothy Muffitt's ninth season as Music Director, and the Symphony's
85th.
Issues arose this season surrounding our rehearsal and performance spaces. The LSO is not a resident
organization at the MSU Wharton Center, where we perform, and as such does not get scheduling
priority over campus events or touring broadway shows. The orchestra has had an in-kind agreement
with the East Lansing schools for the use of their facilities during rehearsals, but due to a change in
school board leadership that will not continue. LSO management is researching rehearsal venues that
are both within the budget and up to appropriate working conditions.
Our current contract runs from 2013-2016. 2015-16 will be a negotiating year. We are a recently
unionized orchestra, and last year Michigan became a RTW state. The roster sees a lot of turnover, due
in part to the fact that this is a university community. These and other factors lead to generally
lukewarm levels of interest in service and involvement on the part of much of the orchestra
membership. This is an issue L-56 and the OC is trying to address. To this end, this year AFM
sponsored a RTW presentation to our membership given by Todd Jelen.
Las$Vegas$Philharmonic/ROPA$Conference$Report$
Toledo,$OH$–$July$2015$
Cory%Tiffin,%delegate%||%Lauren%Cordell,%alternate%
%
BUDGET:%$1.5M%
SEASON:%5%Masterworks,%5%Pops,%Children’s%Concerts,%Nutcracker%and%
Midsummer%Night’s%Dream%w/%NV%Ballet%Theatre%(NBT)%
ORCHESTRA%SIZE:%74%members%–%45%guaranteed%services%for%the%season,%
no%fewer%than%20%services%per%member%
COMPENSATION:%$124.52%reh/$137.02%perf%for%section%||%$141.88%
reh/$154.38%perf%for%asst%principal%||%$154.01%reh/$166.51%perf%for%
principal/assoc%CM%||%Double%principal%scale%for%CM,%+15%%first%double%
&%+5%%for%additional%doubles%
%
The%2014a2015%season%welcomed%new%Music%Director,%Donato%
Cabrera,%following%a%twoayear%search.%He%completely%revamped%the%
string%sub%list,%much%to%the%chagrin%of%many%string%players%despite%the%
perceived%artistic%necessity.%The%acoustician%that%designed%Reynolds%
Hall,%our%new%home%in%The%Smith%Center%(TSC),%visited%pro%bono%to%teach%
us%about%the%hall’s%features%and%to%optimize%acoustics.%We%continued%our%
collaboration%with%NBT%under%the%auspices%of%a%commercial%agreement%
(the%hiring%entity%is%able%to%hire—or%not—whomever%they%wish),%which%
added%17%services%for%most%members.%In%April%we%lost%our%personnel%
manager,%who%was%ostensibly%acting%as%contractor,%librarian,%personnel%
manager,%and%occasional%ED%(a%position%that%has%been%vacant%for%several%
years).%In%the%wake%of%his%departure,%management%ended%up%cancelling%a%
highly%publicized%July%4%performance.%The%2015a2016%season%features%
the%removal%of%the%Masterworks/Pops%designation,%the%addition%of%
Sunday%matinees%for%some%cycles,%two%soloists%from%within%the%orchestra%
(the%concertmaster%and%myself),%a%piece%of%new%music%by%American%
composers%on%almost%every%program%(including%a%world%premiere%from%
our%principal%trombonist),%and%a%new,%threeaconcert%“Spotlight”%chamber%
music%series%in%the%intimate%Troesh%Studio%Theater%at%TSC.%%Season%ticket%
sales%for%2015a2016%have%already%eclipsed%sales%from%all%previous%years.%
Lexington Philharmonic/Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Dave Shelton – delegate
Season Length:
Budget:
# of Musicians:
Guarantee:
Service Rate:
n/a
$1,295,570
73
Min. 55 plyrs-3 rep concerts
Min. 70 plyrs-2 rep concerts
Principal
$109.28
Middle Tier $89.21
Section
$83.36
Concerts:
6 Classics
4 Pops Concerts
Chamber Concerts
Education Specials
DESCRIPTION
The Lexington Philharmonic serves Lexington and the surrounding area. Lexington is in central Kentucky
and 80 miles south of Cincinnati. According to recent census data, the population of Lexington is app.
300,000 with a median age 0f 34. The population of Lexington and its surrounding areas is app. 700,000.
YEAR IN REVIEW
Following twenty-nine months of dificult negotiations and a work stoppage narrowly avoided by an
eleventh-hour agreement, a four-year CBA was signed only hours before the first concert of last season.
The musicians addressed several concerns via the current CBA including a return of lost services,
stagnated compensation levels, substitute hiring and audition procedures, the right of first refusal, and
management’s failure to communicate with the musicians’ elected representatives. Attempts by
management to remove Peer Review from our appeals process and to impose draconian non-compete,
attendance, and minimum acceptance policies were unsuccessful, although reasonable, scaled-down
versions of the latter two were accepted in return for the first minimum service guarantee in our history.
Our appeals process, wherein an elected Peer Review committee makes the final and binding decision,
remains intact and is strengthened by more clearly delineated procedures. Four positions have been
added to the orchestra. Wages, mileage, per diems, overtime rates, and chamber ensemble compensation
increase. No version of non-compete language was accepted, as the musicians declined to bargain over
work restrictions that are the exclusive province of the Union.
While these extended talks resulted in productive relationships with several influential board members,
the musicians’ relationship with management remains troubled. Union leadership continues to work with
members of the board to open avenues of direct dialogue between the musicians and the board in an effort
to balance the rhetoric of an adversarial Music Director angered by a recent Peer Review reversal as well
as a musician vote of “no confidence” in 2013.
Three grievances were settled last season. In May 2014, management violated federal law by unilaterally
modifying 2014-2015 Individual Contracts to include language threatening an illegal lockout if the
musicians failed to “agree to renew or extend the CBA or negotiate a new CBA by June 30.” When AFM
counsel advised management that Local 554-635 would file an Unfair Labor Practice charge unless the
contracts were corrected, management quickly reissued contracts absent the illegal language.
In June 2014, the Union Local filed a grievance on behalf of a musician who was not afforded the right of
first refusal on multiple occasions despite our past practice. This grievance was settled in favor of the
musician, who recouped lost wages. Formal language codifying our longstanding practice of first refusal
has been added to our current CBA.
In July 2014, management attempted to schedule auditions without proper advertisement. When advised
that the musicians would not participate on the audition committees and that a formal grievance would be
filed, management agreed to reschedule the auditions and advertise them with sufficient advance notice
in International Musician.
Our Local is currently investigating three additional concerns: (1) recordings of a LexPhil service were
released absent of mutually agreed upon terms, (2) management’s violation of the CBA regarding
substitute hiring practices, and (3) whether or not the Music Director has affected the employment of a
musician due to union activity.
Despite declining ticket sales and management’s aggressive posture toward the musicians, the solidarity
of our musicians has never been greater, and the morale of our orchestra remains strong. We hope that
direct communication between musician representatives and members of the board will result in a return
to the cooperative, familial zeitgeist that our orchestra once enjoyed.
LONG BEACH SYMPHONY
Report to 2015 ROPA Conference in Toledo, Ohio
Submitted by Leslie Lashinsky, LBSO ROPA Delegate
Budget:
2012-2013
$3 million
2013-2014
$2.8 million
2014-2015
$2.76 million
Concert Season: October to June - TOTAL SERVICES: 37
6 Classical Concerts (3 rehearsals and 1 performance)
5 Pops (1 rehearsal and 1 performance)
Concerts for young People (1 rehearsal, 2 performances)
Elementary Education Ensembles
83 Musicians (tenured) per service orchestra
Performances at the Terrace Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center
2013-2014
$167.25
$127.46
Concert Scale
Rehearsal Scale
Concertmaster 200%
Assistant Concertmaster and Principals 150%
Associate Principals 125%
2014-2015
$170.60
$130.01
2015-2016
$174.01
$132.61
2014-2015 Year in Review
The LBSO 6 Classical concerts were lead by guest conductors. Instead of committing to a formal "Conductor
Search" and timetable, management has formed an "Artistic Transition Committee" (including 4 musicians
elected by the orchestra) to oversee the change in artistic leadership. This vague and open-ended process is of
great concern to us players. Fortunately, we negotiated protections for musicians: In the ABSENCE of a Music
Director, NO hires, fires, auditions, changes in sub and extra lists etc. shall occur (there are emergency
procedures). There are currently 11 vacancies. The symphony saves money by NOT hiring a Music Director.
Next season will have 6 guest conductors, 3 of whom will return from the 2014-2015 season. (the various
LBSO constituencies are surveyed regarding each conductor). 3 new guest conductors will round out the
season. Pops concerts are lead by guest conductors.
Notable management successes include reducing the accumulated deficit by $250K in 2 years (about $500
remains). Kudos to Executive Director Kelly Ruggirello, Board, and Staff. "Crescendo" fundraiser earned
$216K (much more than expected). Music education programs are expanding, including master classes by
guest conductors, instrument petting zoo, elementary ensembles, internships, Sounds and Spaces series, youth
concerts, and performances at Miller Children's Hospital. 10% of the budget goes to education and community
involvement.
LBSO will host the 2015 ACSO Conference (Association of California Symphony Orchestras) next month,
August 6-8. A woodwind quintet of LBSO members will perform on the Queen Mary for attendees. Engaging
musicians for this gig wasn t easy. Issues arose when management followed policies which conflict with our
CBA. The appropriate symphony members were finally engaged as employees rather than independent
contractors. The CBA ruled the day!
Los Angeles Opera Orchestra
ROPA Report, June 2015
Theresa Dimond, Delegate
2015 - 2016 Upcoming Season:
*38 performances of 6 productions, approx. 90 services total
*New Productions: Heggie’s Moby Dick; Bellini’s Norm; Puccini’s Madame Butterfly
*Returning Productions: Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi coupled with Leoncavallo’s
Pagliacci; Mozart’s Magic Flute; Puccini’s La Boheme
Our CBA expired after the 2012-2013 season. Our negotiating team and the Opera
reached a new 4-year agreement that was ratified in December, 2014. The agreement
provides for a 1% increase (retroactively) for 2013-14, a 1% increase in 2014-15, a 2%
increase in 2015-16, and a 2% increase in 2016-17. In addition, seniority pay was
increased.
2015-16 Compensation (third year of the 4-year contract) will be:
$306 per 3 hr. rehearsal, $400 per 3.5 hour performance
Musicians: 62 tenured musicians, per service orchestra
New & Ongoing Projects:
1. The 2015-16 Season is LA Opera’s 30th Anniversary.
2. LA Opera will perform a 30th Anniversary Concert featuring James Conlon,
Placido Domingo, and Renee Fleming.
3. Placido Domingo will star in Gianni Schicchi and conduct Pagliacci, which is
the season opener. One performance will have an audio/visual simulcast to Santa
Monica Pier.
4. Gustavo Dudamel will conduct 2 performances of La Boheme at the close of
the season.
5. Off-Grand Productions are continuing. These performances are not a part of
the subscription series and are designed to engage the community. Examples
include:
• The Festival Play of Daniel at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels
• Kronos Quartet performing a score by Phillip Glass to the 1931 film
Dracula at the Ace Hotel on Halloween
6. “LA Opera on Air” are radio broadcasts of LA Opera performances. They are
broadcast locally on KUSC and nationally on WFMT.
7. Opening night of the season will be broadcast live on KUSC radio in Los
Angeles.
The Principal Trumpet and Associate Principal Second Violin chairs were filled by
audition. LA Opera is now signatory to the IMA agreement.
The LA Opera Orchestra and its Orchestra Committee work hard to maintain a positive
and amicable relationship with the LA Opera management.
Madison Symphony Orchestra ROPA Report July 2015 Amanda Szczys, Delegate Season Length:
Approx. 18 weeks Budget:
4.1 million # of Musicians:
91 Guaranteed Servs: 40 services (excluding opera) -­ a service shall include only those musicians required by instrumentation Service Rate (2014-­ Class A (Principal): $127.46 reh / $166.16 perf 15 season)
Class B (tenured section): $102.83 reh / $119.88 perf Class C (probationary section and section subs): $93.90 reh / $106.62 perf Concerts:
8 Subscription concerts (3 nights each) 5 Youth concerts including The Final Forte (the final round of MSO’s Bolz Young Artist Competition) in collaboration with Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio, and Carnegie Hall’s Link-­ Up participatory educational program 3 Operas in collaboration with the Madison Opera (2 or 3 nights each) 2 Summer concerts including Concert on the Green -­ a fundraiser for MSO education programs -­ and Opera in the Park -­ a free outdoor concert of opera classics in collaboration with the Madison Opera Description The Madison Symphony Orchestra serves Madison,Wisconsin and the surrounding area. Madison, the state capital, is situated in South Central Wisconsin with a population of approximately 243,000. The surrounding area (including Madison) has a population of about 510,000. MSO is the resident orchestra of Overture Hall in the Overture Center for the Arts located in downtown Madison. Overture Hall seats 2255 people. Year in Review The most notable event of the 2014-­15 season was the 10th anniversary of the opening of Overture Hall. This occasion was marked with a celebratory collage-­style concert that included all the resident companies of Overture Center. 2014-­15 marked the best season ever of single ticket sales. This season included a completely sold-­out weekend (3 performances) of our annual Christmas concert, and a nearly sold-­out weekend (3 performances) of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. We just completed year one of a three year contract. Each year of the contract includes a 2% increase in per service pay. Player morale and our relationship with management is generally positive. The MSOPC struggles to attain participation from the musicians. The Artistic Advisory Committee meets regularly with Music Director John DeMain to discuss programming and other artistic concerns. Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra
Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Barbara Zmich, Delegate
Per Service Orchestra! !
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Budget: $8,900,000
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Number of Services 2014-2015: 49!
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Number of Bargaining Unit Musicians: 41!
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Per Service Compensation:
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Dress Rehearsal!
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Base Wage (46 guaranteed services) !
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Concerts
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4 Opera productions
(1 production of 5 performances,
3 productions of 4 performances)
Nutcracker (5 performances)
Other Ballet (2 performances)
$148.47(section) / $178.16 (principal)
$157.68 / $189.22
$ 193.47 / $232.16!
$ 8,931.36 / $10,069.63!
Description:!
Michigan Opera Theatre (“MOT”) serves a wide audience of patrons from Southeast Michigan. Opera
performances using the MOT Orchestra take place at the Detroit Opera House. Additionally, the MOT
Orchestra is designated as the Orchestra-in-Residence for Detroit Opera House (“DOH”) , using our
musicians as first-call on local instrumentation requirements for non-opera productions (mainly touring
musicals).
2014-15 Season in Review
MOT Founder and Artistic Director David DiChiera, who celebrated his 80th birthday this year, continues to
ease into retirement after 44 years at the reins. President and CEO Wayne Brown is moving the company
forward and into the public’s consciousness in a new way with an updated look on the MOT website, new
logo materials and aggressive marketing.
MOT is looking to build audiences at suburban venues with smaller productions while maintaining its opera
and dance base at the beautiful Detroit Opera House. The first such venture took place in 2014-15 with an
eleven-musician production of Frida (by Robert Rodriguez) that was performed in two suburban venues and
at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Frida was extremely successful, in no small part due to its timing, which
coincided with the DIA’s extraordinary exhibit revolving around Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit in
1932-33 when Rivera painted the Detroit Industry murals. MOT Musicians were uneasy hearing Frida
heralded as ‘The return of the fifth opera production to MOT” when so few of us participated. There were also
issues with management improperly interpreting the absence policy.
Management continues to directly deal with musicians on many issues instead of coming to the OC and
Local first. Many musicians still don’t realize the importance of communication with OC/Local and we
ultimately end up spending much more time on issues than we need to. Additionally, management has
spoken to Local 5 about musician issues without including either the OC or the musician(s) involved. Our
musicians would benefit greatly from better communications between all parties.
A small group of musicians requested the OC to look into a policy to allow certain audition candidates to
bypass the first round. The Committee carefully crafted a waiver (adopted) that will be experimented with
during the two-year term of the CBA. Musicians held strong feelings on both sides of the issue. Ironically, the
first candidate to benefit from the waiver decided at the last minute not to take the audition.
MOT is a signatory to the new IMA.
Musicians continue to return ROPA Conductor Evaluations at an impressive rate and with detailed, thoughtful
comments.
Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra/Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Deb Hanks–Delegate
Season Length:
5 weeks (for the orchestra)
Budget:
Ballet Company - $6,132,152
Orchestra costs including salary, pension, FICA, worker’s
compensation, and payroll processing fees - $238,955
Number of Musicians:
46
No guaranteed number of services
Service Rate:
Services:
Section
Principal
Assistant
Performance
$103.08
$126.62
$114.85
Rehearsal 2½ hour $ 75.09
$ 98.63
$ 86.87
Rehearsal 3 hour
$ 90.10
$113.65
$101.88
Doubling
1st Double: $22.42
2nd Double: $17.92
3rd and Subsequent Double: $15.68
Don Quixote
Giselle 1943
Cinderella
The Nutcracker
4 Rehearsals
4 Rehearsals
4 Rehearsals
1 Rehearsal
4 Performances
4 Performances
6 Performances
16 Performances
Description
The Milwaukee Ballet Company serves southeastern Wisconsin with a population of over 2
million people. Milwaukee is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, about 90
miles north of Chicago.
Year in Review
The 2014-2015 season opened with Minkus’ Don Quixote, followed by Tchaikovsky’s holiday
classic, The Nutcracker. The spring series, Giselle 1943, provided an additional week of services
for the orchestra. The season ended with the ever popular, rags-to-riches fairy tale, Prokofiev’s
Cinderella.
One grievance was filed and settled.
The musicians of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra are currently in contract negotiations.
Looking Forward
The theme for next season is literary classics. Michael Pink’s Dracula, featuring music
composed for chamber orchestra by Philip Feeney opens in the fall. Following The Nutcracker,
the world premiere of Michael Pink’s Dorian Gray features a new score being written by
Michael Torke for five strings, four saxophones, French horn and keyboard. Kaleidoscope Eyes,
a mixed repertoire program, provides no work for the orchestra. Alice, orchestrated for nine
string players and two percussionists, concludes the season.
MINNESOTA OPERA ORCHESTRA
2015 ROPA CONFERENCE REPORT
Susan Janda, Delegate
ROPA Member since 2004.
2014-15 Season budget: $10,610,000 ($9,803,000 million in 2013-14).
Operas per season: 5
Performances per production: 4-8
Services per year: no guarantee, 64 possible for most of the Core Orchestra in 2014-15 (69 in 2013-14).
Wage Scale minimums: section -$178; assistant principal - $195.80; principal - $213.60; concertmaster $231.40
Core Orchestra – 46 Musicians
2014-15 Season:
•
•
•
•
•
Puccini - La Fanciulla del West; conductor - Michael Christie. Inaugural live “Plaza-Cast” of opening
night performance, in Rice Park, immediately in front of Ordway Center for Performing Arts.
Coinciding with Gala night activities for opening of the season.
Humperdinck - Hansel and Gretel; conductor - Anne Manson.
Donizetti - The Elixir of Love; conductor, Leonardo Vordoni.
Puts - The Manchurian Candidate; conductor, Michael Christie. World premier by Pulitzer Prize
winning team of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell. A Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative Production.
Bizet - Carmen; conductor - Michael Christie.
Highlights from the 2014-15 Season:
•
•
•
Second year of a four-year Master Agreement, 2013-17. Per-service rate increased from $175 to $178.
Nina Archabal, former director of the Minnesota Historical Society, appointed interim General Director
in November, following resignation of Kevin Ramach as President and General Director.
Former Minnesota Opera President and CEO Kevin Smith appointed CEO and President of Minnesota
Orchestra, November 2014.
Upcoming 2015-16 Season
•
•
•
•
•
Strauss - Ariadne Auf Naxos; conductor - Michael Christie.
Mozart - The Magic Flute; conductor - Michael Christie. Includes run-out to Duluth, MN.
Dvorak - Rusalka; conductor - Michael Christie.
Puccini - Tosca; conductor - Michael Christie.
Moravec - The Shining; conductor - Michael Christie. Workshops in November 2015. World Premier
May 2016. Composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell collaborate on an operatic adaptation
of Stephen King’s 1977 best-selling novel, launching the second generation of Minnesota Opera’s New
Works Initiative.
MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
REPORT TO THE ROPA CONFERENCE, JULY 2015
Lisa Davis-delegate
Season Length: 38 weeks
Budget: 1.7 million
Conductor: Crafton Beck
Executive Director: Michael Beattie
Season Concerts
5 Bravo (classics)
3 Pops
4 Chamber
9 Run-outs
15 Education
DESCRIPTION
The Mississippi Symphony serves Jackson,as well as the entire state of Mississippi. It was founded in
1945 as a per-service orchestra, and 70 years later has grown in to a professional orchestra with 27 core
players and extra per-service players to supplement for full orchestra concerts.
YEAR IN REVIEW
The most notable event of the 2014-2015 season was the orchestra's return to its home concert venue,
Thalia Mara Hall in downtown Jackson after performing in churches and private school auditoriums in
the Spring 2014. TMH was renovated in five months, starting in January of 2014 and completed right
before the opening of the International Ballet Competition which is held here every four years in June.
The $5 million renovation included: new seats, renovation of the lobbies and bathrooms, new
carpeting, upgraded lighting, and new paint.
The orchestra's subscription sales which had historically experienced minor annual increases, went
down for the first time in years. Single season ticket sales experienced a strong uptick with significant
sales for the Motown, Elvis tribute, and Pepsi Pops concerts, but was not enough to cover the gap
between the subscription sales target and the actual. The orchestra completed an endowment drive that
began in 2013 raising $2.5 million, effectively tripling the size of the orchestra's endowment.
The musicians ratified a contract in October 2014: 2 year wage freeze and a 2% increase the third year.
The core musicians voted to let the orchestra discontinue the medical insurance plan (Association paid
50%/Musician paid 50%) which would save the orchestra $15,000 a year. The availability of
reasonable plans under the Affordable Care Act was a factor in choosing to drop insurance rather than
take salary cuts.
Four positions will filled at the end of the season with the hiring of 2 core violinists, a new principal
flutist from Rice University and S.F. Conservatory (after the retirement of our former principal flutist
of 43 years), and a new principal trombone from Indiana University.
Last season saw the following collaborations: The annual composers reading/discussion forum, where
composition students from Belhaven University, Mississippi College, and Millsaps College get to hear
the orchestra read their compositions at the Ms. Museum of Art. The was the first year of the Millsaps
Conservatory of Music, a community music school based at Millsaps College that includes MSO
musicians on the faculty. An outdoor concert for the Biennial Eudora Welty Festival at the Museum of
Art art garden.
2015 ROPA Monterey Symphony Report
Six concert sets: 4 rehearsals + 3 concerts; in October, November, February, March, April, May.
Youth Concerts: 1/2 of a subscription concert program repeated for kids in the morning (2 roughly-1hour performances = 1 service). Chamber concerts: new last year pilot program; small groups,
personnel rotated; funded separately through sponsors and grants; repeat concerts in San
Francisco; hoping to develop and expand, more concerts and more musicians up to chamber
orchestra size; 3 programs this year.
Budget: $1,871,000. 61 contracted musicians (have some vacancies); no service guarantees.
Section base pay $112.00/service; Assistant Principals get 10% more; Principals 17%. Chamber
music concerts pay only performances not rehearsals, $200/musician; concertmaster determines
repertoire and rotating personnel.
Serving the Monterey County, the orchestra is mostly comprised of musicians from "Freeway
Philharmonic" orchestras of the San Francisco Bay Area, or Southern California but we have a few
musicians who reside locally. Travel reimbursements, by county of residence, range from $8.25 to a
maximum of $56.01 per diem (2 double-service days per set, normally). CBA Negotiation starts
now: late getting financial info due to a change in auditor firms, our Union President suggested a
contract extension with a minor increase in wage scale, not play and talk.
The first two sets of the season brought in more audience, donors, and individual ticket sales,
than ever before: the season opened with "Fantasia," screened above us as we played, trying to
recreate Stokowski's version, with morning concerts for kids (each group saw half of "Fantasia"), and
4 times the income we usually have in single ticket sales; next set featured Lindberg's "Chick 'a'
Bone Checkout" concerto for trombone, performed by the trombonist for whom it was written, Charlie
Vernon, coming out from Chicago Symphony.
Our MD wants our Youth program to repeat part of a concert for the kids, so that we have already
rehearsed it. This year for these "pilot" youth concerts, the original calendars indicated the Youth
services were tentative and to be confirmed--but they forgot to confirm--so the morning youth
concerts could not be required, but they hired a sub for any musician who wanted to play the set but
not the Youth part. They offered 1 1/2 pay for these morning concerts, as incentive because they
thought musicians wouldn't want to play morning concerts, and also because they were made aware
(I told them) that attendance at such concerts could involve other financial loss, such as absence
from another hourly-paid job, or additional child care services, plus the longer commute in morning
"rush hour" traffic. Some wind players expressed concern about "turn around" time between
services, when for "Fantasia" we had a night rehearsal and the next morning a set of kiddie
performances.
In management's Long Range Plan, they wanted this year to start paying back (to the
Endowment) the accumulated deficit which is close to a $1 million now. We failed to achieve last
year's budget goal (break even), but our President managed to minimize any damage to our image
in the eyes of donors and foundations, it was so close.
With no Executive Director at this time, saving money on an ED salary, our President of the
Board has volunteered his services for those duties. Our Board has just announced that they are
renewing the contract of the Musical Director, Max Bragado-Darman, for another five years.!
OAKLAND SYMPHONY
Report to the ROPA Conference July 2015
Deborah Steiner Spangler, Delegate
Season length: 5+ weeks (30 services)
Concert series: 5 Masterworks
Budget: $2.33 million
Young People’s concerts
Endowment: $2.29 million (incl. Chorus+Youth Orch.)
December/ July 4th concerts
# of musicians: 70 contracted
Nutcracker for Oakland Ballet
DESCRIPTION: Oakland East Bay Symphony was founded in 1988, succeeding the
former Oakland Symphony; recently the name was changed back to the former
moniker. Education and Outreach comprise a third of the budget: MUSE (next
section), large and small group concerts, 50 school visits per year by the Music
Director, Michael Morgan, a biennial Young Artists’ Competition to solo with the
Orchestra, and Side-by-Side concerts. It is the 15th largest performing arts
organization in the San Francisco Bay Area.
MUSIC EDUCATION: The MUSE program (MUSic for Excellence) provides employment for approximately 30 musicians to teach in 20 under-served schools.
It is funded by foundations, individuals, the City of Oakland, and fundraising.
RECENT DONATIONS: Major donors include Wells Fargo, Bernard Osher,
James, William, and Flora Hewlett, the Gordon Getty Foundation, and the
Wallace Foundation (next section).
MAJOR GRANT AWARDED: The Orchestra was one of only five—the other four being
major Orchestras--to get a “Building Audiences” grant from the Wallace Foundation, a 4-6 year program. After designing and implementing programs, the
Foundation provides financial and technical support to develop, analyze, and
learn from their audience-building work.
DIVERSITY: Oakland (population 400,000) is the 7th largest city in California and the
most ethnically diverse in the U.S., according to a University of Wisconsin
study, with over 80 languages and dialects spoken, and the League of American
Orchestras has declared the Orchestra’s audiences the most diverse nationally.
RECENT CHANGES: A new Executive Director has been in place for two years, he is
providing new energy, ideas, and structure to the organization.
!
www.oaklandsymphony.org
facebook.com
!
Omaha Symphony
ROPA Orchestra Report, 2015
Season Length: 38 weeks Budget: $6,975,258
Endowment: $23,621,556 Inv. Earnings: 3,078,277
Expenses: $6,657,016 Income: $6,440,317 Deficit: (-$216,699)
Roster of musicians:
70 Core musicians - 41 salaried, 16 Full Per Service (106 services),
13 Aux. Per Service (61 services)
Core rates (2014-2019):
Principal: $38,920-$42,730.02 Section: $31,901.76-$35,024.54
Per Service Rates:
Principal: $130.78-$146.09 Section: $110.88-$121.73
Concerts:
7 Masterworks, 6 Chamber Orchestra, 6 Pops 4 Rocks 4 Family
3 Opera, 3 Movie, and 7+ different educational series
totaling over 40 concerts
The Omaha Symphony is located in Omaha, Nebraska, on the
eastern edge of the state right next to the Missouri river. The city of
Omaha has a population of 411,000, but there are 1.3 million people
living in the Greater Omaha area (50 mile radius).
We perform in the Holland Performing Arts Center, a downtown
venue that opened in 2005.
We concluded negotiations on a new 5-year contract in May, 2014.
The new agreement provides modest increases throughout the life of
the contract. This marks the first time a new agreement has been
reached before the old one expired in over 15 seasons. The new
agreement is now in effect through 2019, and included a one-time 1%
signing bonus.
This season resulted in record attendance numbers, totaling just
under 69,000 patrons averaging 1,369 attendees per concert.
ROPA Rep: John Klinghammer
Alternate: James Giles !
Orchestra Iowa 2015 ROPA Conference Report
Toledo, OH
Matthew Ransom delegate, Casey Maday alternate
Budget: $2.8 million
Season: 5 symphonic series concerts, 2 ballets, 1 opera, 2 youth concerts, 3
chamber concerts, music in the schools. 80/50/15 services (group A/B/C)
Orchestra size:
14 member core, 58 member full orchestra
Compensation:
Per service, $80.85 base, $112.50 principal
In the 2014-2015 season Orchestra Iowa added 2 pops concerts to the
season. A “Rodgers and Hammerstein in Concert” set was modestly well
attended, while a “Cirque Musica” set suffered very poor attendance.
The orchestra scaled back its run-out concerts this past season due to poor
attendance at some of the concert venues. Some of the more successful
runout locations continue to hold concerts, while the least successful ones
have been eliminated.
This season was the last season with CEO Robert Massey, who left in
February. Orchestra Iowa will welcome Jeffrey Collier as the new CEO in
August 2015.
The upcoming season will be the last season under our current 3-year
agreement.
There are no outstanding grievances at the present time. Some issues have
been put on hold while we have an interim CEO.
Pacific Symphony
Costa Mesa, Orange County, CA
ROPA Conference Orchestra Report – Toledo OH, July 2015
David Wailes, delegate
Winter: 12 Classics (3 perf. each set), 7 Pops (3 perf.), 6 Family (2 perf., counted as a single service), 4
Classical Connections (1 perf.), other engagements including Soka University concert series (3 concerts) 1 week
of ballet for ABT, 3 set with Pacific Chorale, 4 Chamber Orchestra concerts, “OC Can You Play with US” sideby-side concert with amateurs, various concerts/clinics for the Education Department programs.
Summer: 5 Amphitheater concerts (1 perf. each set), 2 Parks concerts
Service Rates 2014 - 2015
Service Type
Section
Asst. Principal
Principal
Rehearsal (2.5 hr)
$187.34
$234.18
$281.01
Performance
$254.25
$317.81
$381.38
Pacific Symphony is located in Orange County, CA just south of Los Angeles. Music Director Carl St.Clair
celebrates his 25th anniversary season with the orchestra. The Symphony presents close to 100 concerts a year
at the Segerstrom Concert Hall and other Southern Californian venues. Classics sets include a semi-staged opera
initiative, a multi-media concert called “Music Unwound” (funded by a Mellon Foundation grant) and an
American Composers Festival, which this year featured four film composers. In addition to concerts, the
Symphony has a wide range of educational programs. The Symphony’s community outreach programs meet the
needs of all types of people, from toddlers to senior citizens.
We are currently in the third year of the contract which ends August 31, 2016. This year’s raise was 2% raise. In
next year there is a 1.5% raise in each of two 6-month periods.
The Pacific Symphony is comprised of 88 musicians and currently there are presently vacancies for Section
Violin II and Section Viola; auditions to be held in September 2015. Bass Trombone and 2nd Oboe positions
were filled last September. Of two librarians one is also a musician in the orchestra, the other is an AFM
member, but neither position is covered in the bargaining unit.
There were six grievances regarding musician payment and five regarding “right of first refusal” and substitute
list hiring issues; all were settled favorably without proceeding to arbitration. The Union demanded to bargain
regarding management’s unilateral implementation of a policy forbidding electronic devices onstage during
“rehearsals and performances”; the policy was modified to “performances.”
Relevant legislation: CA AB 1522—Sick Leave
The contract does not provide for Sick Leave. In August of 2014, the California Legislature passed Assembly
Bill (AB) 1522. Most employees, including part-time and temporary employees, are now entitled to paid leave.
This is very good news because sick leave has been proposed for years and management “has not been
interested” in agreeing to it. Specifics and a webinar can be found on the California Department of Industrial
Relations website: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/ab1522.html.
Pacific Symphony
Costa Mesa, Orange County, CA
ROPA Conference Orchestra Report – Toledo OH, July 2015
David Wailes, delegate
There are some exceptions; Pacific Symphony is one; it must comply with the law. Other California orchestras
may need to comply, too. The Orchestra Committee and Local 7 are in discussion with Pacific Symphony
management about a policy or non-precedential agreement that would address sick leave to both parties
satisfaction and comply with the law.
Palm%Beach%Opera%Orchestra%
Report%to%the%ROPA%Conference%2015%
%
Season%Length:!!3!full!opera!productions,!1!outdoor!stage!concert,!30!services!
!
Budget:!$4.1!million!
!
Number%of%Musicians:!!58!
!
Service%Rate:!2.5!hr!service:!!section!$114.98!assist!princ.!$126.48!princ.!$143.73!
!
!
3!hr!service:!!!!!!section!$137.98!assist!princ.!$151.77!princ.!$172.47!
!
!
3.5!hr!service:!!section!$160.97!assist!princ.!$177.07!princ.!$201.22!
!
Description:%
!
The!Palm!Beach!Opera!Orchestra!performs!in!West!Palm!Beach!Florida,!which!is!on!
the!east!coast!of!South!Florida.!!The!temperate!climate!attracts!a!large!seasonal!
population!from!the!months!of!November!to!April.!
!
Year%in%Review:%
!
The!highlight!of!this!season!was!the!production!of!a!world!premier!opera;!Enemies,(
A(Love(Story!by!composer!Ben!Moore.!!This!groundbreaking!event!was!well!received!
and!earned!many!positive!reviews!and!international!recognition.!!The!Opera!also!
produced!two!other!main!stage!operas!as!well!as!an!outdoor!concert!at!West!Palm!
Beach’s!Meyer!Amphitheatre.!!The!waterfront!concert!was!free!to!the!community!
and!was!very!well!attended.!Palm!Beach!Opera!will!present!the!third!annual!“Opera!
on!the!Waterfront”!concert!next!season.!!!!!
!
After!several!years!with!out!a!music!director,!Palm!Beach!Opera!has!appointed!
David!Stern!as!Chief!Conductor.!!His!duties!will!include!conducting!one!opera!per!
season!and!maintaining!the!orchestra.!!!During!the!last!opera!of!our!season!Maestro!
Stern!contacted!our!concertmaster!and!requested!that!he!resign!to!avoid!demotion/!
dismissal!and!tried!to!schedule!a!meeting!without!union!representation.!The!
concertmaster!has!since!resigned!but!the!event!has!caused!a!lot!of!bad!feelings!and!
low!morale.!!In!our!next!season,!two!of!the!four!productions!require!reduced!
instrumentation.!!This!has!caused!some!discussion!and!concern!regarding!hiring!
order.!
!
We!have!filed!no!grievances!at!this!time.!!We!have!met!with!management!to!ask!that!
they!reschedule!upcoming!auditions!in!order!to!provide!enough!notice!as!required!
by!our!contract!and!to!discuss!the!non[renewal!procedures!in!our!CBA.!!Current!
open!positions!in!the!orchestra!include!concertmaster,!section!second!violin,!
principal!viola,!section!cello,!section!bass!and!assistant!principal!horn.!Palm!Beach!
Opera!management!has!agreed!to!begin!contract!negotiations!prior!to!the!expiration!
of!our!current!contract!in!May!2016.!
The PASADENA SYMPHONY and POPS
REPORT TO THE 2015 ROPA CONFERENCE, Toledo, Ohio
Maurice Grants - delegate
Donald Foster - alternate
Season Length: 52 Services over 13 Weeks
Budget: $3.678M
Number of Musicians: Classics: 71 down from 94 in CBA(basic instrumentation), Pops:
avg 50 from 45-65 Guarantee: no guarantees
Concerts: 6 Classics, up from 5 (2 performances each)
6 Pops (1 free public performance) 2 Holiday, up from 1
0 Extra contracted Pops, down from 1(includes show at another venue)
Minimum Service Rate
• 2014-15 Section/AssociatePrincipal/Principal:
• Rehearsal: $136.89/$171.11/$205.34, Performances: $164.47/$205.59/$246.70 • 2015-16
In Negotiations Section: Section/Associate Principal/Principal:
• Rehearsal: TBD, Performance: TBD
2nd Chair Wind, Percussion, 3rd Trumpet, 4th Horn 135% of section
Principals exist in every section and are paid as such. 2nd chairs are all paid as such.
DESCRIPTION • Founded in 1928, the Pasadena Symphony and Pops serves the
communities of the San Gabriel Valley and surrounding areas. This area covers over 200
square miles and includes 31 cities and 5 unincorporated communities. This region serves
over 1.5 million people, or roughly 1/5 of the population of Los Angeles County. The
Pasadena Symphony performs its Classics series at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena.
The pops summer season is held at the Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia. The orchestra has
also performed at the Greek Theater and the Ford Amphitheater in the Hollywood Hills.
YEAR IN REVIEW • Conductor and Principal Music Director David Lockington and
Principal Guest Conductor, Nicholas McGegan both completed their first full season
in their perspective roles leading the symphony. After the August 2012 passing of PSO's
Pops conductor Marvin Hamlisch, the baton was offered to award-winning entertainer
Michael Feinstein who after ticket sales soared by mid summer 2013, signed a three year
contract extention through the conclusion of the 2016 season.
Beginning our sixth "Classics" season at the 1700 seat Ambassador Auditorium, the
"Carnegie Hall of the West", the size of the hall has made it possible for the PSO to continue
matinee performances. In 2015-16, the Symphony will add one additional classics set. The
Pasadena Symphony continues to improve financially. Fund raising is improving, with Pops
ticket sales and subscriptions up in all areas of performances. A string rotation system
continues to provide a more equitable rotation of services for string players but management
continues to reduce strings per set. Pension remains at 11% and Health & Welfare at 8%. A
full contract reopener will commence in August of 2015 after a most difficult one year wage
re-opener that concluded in June affording musicians a 1% increase accross the board
retroactive to February 2015 through September.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra
ROPA Report, June 2015
Cynthia Babin Anderson, Delegate
Current contract: 2 years, 2014-2016
Although the contract expires in June 2016, it is likely that the orchestra will request an
extension, given the timing of a major fundraising campaign to raise an endowment for music
(see below)
base pay for 2014-2015 = $139.56/reh, $167.47/perf
PBT continues to use full orchestra for a minimum of 2 main stage productions per season.
According to management, funding for the orchestra is primarily derived from gifts from donors.
In 2014-2015, a donor gave money to provide live orchestra for a new ballet of "Beauty and the
Beast," which would run in Pittsburgh for 2 weeks (instead of the usual 1-week production). PBT
asked the orchestra to make a recording of the music (Tchaikovsky) to be used for regional
touring and rental to other companies. The orchestra did not consent to making a recording to be
used to replace live music, and live orchestra for this production was cancelled. The funds given
by the donor were instead used to provide music for 2 other productions. In the 2015-2016
season, the orchestra played for 3 productions instead of the usual two ("Sleeping Beauty";
mixed repertory including "The Concert," "Petite Mort," and "Sandpaper Ballet"; and "La
Bayadere.") There is still no live orchestra for The Nutcracker, although PBT presents
approximately 25 public performances, including student matinees.
PBT has launched a major fund-raising campaign ("The Campaign for Pittsburgh Ballet
Theatre") to fund multiple endeavors for the company: build an annex to provide space at PBT's
studio for the Ballet school, funding for student scholarships, increase repertory, increase
outreach and educational programs in the community, and secure live music. A dedicated
endowment for the orchestra will secure live music for the status quo of two productions each
season. Only if the endowment exceeds expectations will PBT be able to use orchestra for more
than two productions on a regular basis. The first step is to secure funding for live music for 2
productions, then 3 productions, then finally a return of live music for The Nutcracker.
For 2015-2016, live music will be used for 2 productions: a mixed repertory program (including
Janacek's "Sinfonietta" and Hershey Kay "Western Symphony"), and "Le Corsair."
Although the committee made suggestions for using the orchestra for single performances of The
Nutcracker, or student matinees only, these were rejected by management. The committee is
presenting other ways to increase visibility of the orchestra, including a holiday pops
ballet/orchestra performance for a dark night in the theatre, but this is still in negotiation.
Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra
ROPA Report, June 2015
Cynthia Babin Anderson, Delegate
Current contract: 3 years, 2014-2017
base pay for 2014-2015 = $188.57.65/reh, $235.54/perf
Pittsburgh Opera gave 3 main stage opera productions with full orchestra at the Benedum Center in
Pittsburgh, PA's Cultural District during the 2014-2015 season: Otello, Carmen, and Daughter of the
Regiment. A "Gala Concert" was presented in lieu of a 4th opera production, using the full orchestra and
guest singers. In addition, an opera production for the Resident Artists' program was presented at a
smaller hall in Pittsburgh: Handel's Rodelinda, presented at the CAPA Theatre. Mohammed Fairouz'
opera Sumeida's Song was presented in the performance space at the Opera's headquarters as part of a
"Second Stage Project." A New Year's Eve Gala concert was presented at Carnegie Hall in the Oakland
section of Pittsburgh, using a chamber orchestra drawn from the opera orchestra.
A grievance was filed on behalf of a violinist who auditioned and was awarded a position with the
orchestra. Opera management advertised 4 violin openings and named 4 "winners" at the audition, even
though the musicians on the committee repeated told the opera there were only 3 openings. The opera
insisted they would not hire the 4th winner as it was a "mistake." The grievance was resolved when the
opera agreed to stand by the hiring of the 4th violinist even though it resulted in a larger violin
complement than the opera had previously agreed to. In the settlement, the opera offered the 4th violinist
employment and progress to tenure and would wait for attrition in the section to return to the normal
number of violin positions. However, this same violinist later violated the contract when she asked to be
excused from one performance of the final opera of the season and was denied -- she was given
permission to be excused from the entire production, but could not be excused from a performance. She
nevertheless agreed to play the production but didn't show up for the final performance. The union agreed
to the just firing. Another musician was fired for failure to meet the terms of the contract by abusing the
excused absence policy; again, the union agreed to the firing.
The orchestra continues to express concern over the season offerings of the Pittsburgh Opera. Not too
long ago, there were 6 main stage productions. Now there are typically 4 productions at the home hall and
other, smaller productions using a much reduced orchestra in other venues -- sometimes the orchestra
comprises as few as 5 musicians.
Season for 2015-2016 includes: Nabucco, Cosi Fan Tutte, Little Women (Resident Artist production), The
Barber of Seville, The Rake's Progress, and the New Year's Eve Gala (again using a chamber orchestra);
the Second Stage Project production is Ricky Ian Gordon's 27.
!
Portland Opera Orchestra Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Casey Bozell, Delegate
Annual Budget: $7.1 million
Musicians: 41 core, 27 expanded core
Productions: 5 productions, 50 services
Service Rate: $177.03/concert, $52.78/rehearsal hour
Principal: $59.83 addl.
Description
The Portland Opera Orchestra is the pit orchestra for the Portland Opera’s productions. Most
productions take place at Portland’s Keller Auditorium, except for one smaller production
featuring Portland’s resident vocal artists and a reduced orchestra, which takes place at the
Newmark Theater. Next season, the model will change to four productions, two at the Keller
and two at the Newmark. Most musicians reside in the Portland Metro area, though some
commute all the way from Eugene, which is 110 miles away. There are even musicians from as
far away as Memphis, Tennessee, who fly in for productions.
Year in Review
We are currently in production of our last opera of the 2014-2015 season, Elixir of Love, which
will run through August 1st. This extended season of the Portland Opera's is the first to have
shows that run through the summer. Next season will be a great shift in scheduling, and the
services for all four productions will be held from April to August. The 2015-2016 season will be
Die Zauberflöte, Sweeney Todd, Eugene Onegin, and L'italiana in Algeri. Since the start of the
season is so far away, not all musicians have yet been contracted for it. Management is
reportedly still searching for an appropriate arrangement for Algeri, since it will take place in our
smaller theater, the Newmark, which only holds about 25 people in its pit. This is also where
Onegin is scheduled to take place, and management has found a reduction that evidently
employs only twelve musicians in the orchestra. It's going to be quite a shift for the company,
and there has definitely been some tension between musicians and management over how
much work is being lost. Negotiations for the 2015-2016 season are expected to begin later this
summer.
Ticket sales this season were underwhelming, with the exception of Showboat, which seemed to
fill the majority of the house each night during its 5-night run. Reviews for every show have
alluded to some kind of speculation about the change in season; it seems the entirety of the city
is awaiting the result of this experiment.
No grievances were filed this year. There was a ULP submitted to the NLRB based on the fact
that a change in schedule was a mandatory subject of bargaining that the musicians were
entitled to know and negotiate about. The ULP was denied, and Local 99 is currently in
discussions about whether or not to appeal the decision.
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READING(SYMPHONY(ORCHESTRA(
Report!to!2015!!ROPA!!Conference!
July!28830,!2015!!!!!!!!!Toledo,!Ohio!
Paul!Rosenberg,!!!!!ROPA!Delegate!
!
Budget!for!201482015:!!$1,238,629! !!!!!!!! !
!!!Approximately!!35!Services!
67!Contracted!Musicians:!$144.14!Principal,!!$129.97!Asst.!Princ.!!$118.15!Section!
!
!
The!Reading!Symphony!Orchestra!is!the!most!visible!performing!group!in!the!Greater!
Reading!area,!and!provides!over!90%!of!the!Local’s!work!dues.!!
!
We!have!a!high!level!of!responsibility!in!promoting!the!ongoing!survival!of!classical!music!
to!all!ages!of!our!city!and!its!surrounding!suburb!communities,!especially!as!our!challenge!
in!growing!and!developing!the!next!generation!of!listeners!and!participants!increases,!
while!our!opportunities!may!be!decreasing!for!reasons!below.!
!
!I!am!happy!to!say!that!the!Reading!Symphony!Orchestra!Board!is!working!to!maintain!new!
ideas!to!overcome!some!recent!hurdles!in!getting!our!traditionally!popular!and!active!
annual!children’s!concerts!to!area!school!districts.!Our!Board!is!working!with!a!new!
subcommittee!to!attempt!ensuring!educational!development.!Our!Principal!Bassoonist,!
who!is!fully!immersed!in!music!education!on!all!levels,!is!on!the!committee.!!The!
subcommittee!is!created!in!response!to!our!local!schools’!cancellations!of!our!traditional!
kids’!concerts!starting!two!years!ago,!which!prompted!the!cancellation!of!our!formerly!
well8attended!Children’s!Concert!Series!last!season.!It!was!reported!that!the!school!districts!
lacked!the!time!to!carve!out!for!its!varied!field!trips!and!apparently!they!chose!to!knock!out!
the!concert!series!to!fulfill!their!Core!Educational!Testing!requirements.!
!
If!the!new!Congressional!Bill!that!replaces!the!expired!No!Child!Left!Behind!Act,!the!Every!
Child!Achieves!Act,!reduces!merely!scholastic!achievement!pressures!and!redirects!some!
focus!back!on!music!and!the!arts’!vital!role!in!child!education.!!
!
My!other!concern!for!the!RSO!is!worth!comment,!since!it!involves!the!general!morale!of!
players!who!are!usually!very!strongly!bonded!as!a!musical!“family”!and!this!sentiment!is!
shared!with!our!Board!and!subscribers.!!The!music!director!enjoys!hiring!outside!subs!
whenever!possible.!This!makes!the!area’s!talented!musicians!feel!confused,!snubbed!and!
unimportant,!and!group!morale!declines.!!An!MD!can!be!doing!his!job,!yet!create!a!sort!of!
depression!when!he!chooses!insensitively!to!in!the!leadership!role.!RSO!players!continue!to!
maintain!our!high!level!of!musicianship!and!performance!quality,!and!concerts!are!not!
compromised!at!this!point,!for!we!are!professionals.!But!eventually,!players!can!sour!and!
get!to!a!point!where!they!may!not!want!to!continue!playing!in!a!demoralization!climate.!
!
No!grievances!were!filed!this!last!season.!Two!are!in!the!works.!!It!is!difficult!since!the!MD!
operates!in!the!gray!areas!of!our!Contract.!The!problems!above!occur!within!the!gray!areas!
of!our!Contract.!This!delegate!wants!to!help!prevent!situations!that!can!easily!split!wide!
open!and!erode!the!success!of!our!Reading!Symphony.!
Rhode Island Philharmonic
2015 ROPA REPORT
The projected expense budget totaled $5,191,684. This includes both spending for the
Orchestra and the Community Music School.
Services for the coming season are similar to the previous one (8 Classical concert series, with
4 partial repeats, and 1 Messiah), We also played 2 Pops concerts, and a Gala featuring Joshua
Bell. Last year s Carnegie Hall branded children s program sold out 8 performances this spring,
up from 6 the previous year. We also play 4 summer outdoor concerts.
Our long term CM passed away since the last report, our development director just left, and our
MD, Larry Rachleff, is not extending his contract past the 2016-17 season.
We will be in the last year of our CBA, ending mid-2016. We are waiting to ratify the IMA.
The Local remains supportive and engaged.
In Solidarity,
Eliot Porter
Delegate
Richmond)Symphony/Report)to)the)ROPA)Conference)
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))July)2015)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Martin!Gordon+!Delegate!
Season!weeks:!!38!(During!a!40!week!period)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Concerts:!!!!!!8!Masterworks!weeks!
Budget:!!5.3!Million!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4!Pops!!
#!of!Core!Musicians:!36!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4!Metro!(smaller!orchestra!series)!
#!of!Per+Service!Musicians:!33!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4!Lollipops!(children’s!series)!
Core!Salaries:!!Section!$31,!412.32,!!
Assistant!Principal!$35,811.20,!Principal!$42,246.88!
Per!Service!Guarantees:!Range!from!34!to!152!
!
Description)
The!Richmond!Symphony!serves!Richmond!VA!and!surrounding!areas.!Richmond!is!located!in!
central!Virginia,!and!the!population!of!the!metropolitan!is!around!1.2!million.!
Year)in)Review)
We!just!completed!year!one!of!a!4!year!contract,!which!replaced!the!management+imposed!
contract!we!were!previously!in,!which!called!for!significant!salary!cuts,!per+service!guarantee!
cuts,!and!a!season!reduced!by!2!weeks.!The!new!contract!has!put!us!back!to!a!38!week!season,!
increasing!to!39!weeks!in!year!4!of!the!contract.!Per+service!guarantee!reductions!will!!be!
completely!restored!to!their!previous!counts!in!the!15/16!season.!
During!this!season,!our!Board!voted!to!offer!our!Music!Director,!Steven!Smith!another!3!year!
contract,!which!begins!in!the!16/17!season.!!
The!RSO!is!currently!working!on!“The!Big!Tent!Project”,!which!consists!of!raising!money!for!a!
large!outdoor!performance!tent!to!be!used!to!perform!in!yet+to+be+determined!locations!for!
the!purpose!of!community!outreach.!The!funding!has!been!secured!via!a!250K!matching!grant.!
The!money!raised!shows!our!fiscal!year!14/15!as!a!significant!surplus,!but!if!you!subtract!the!
funds!earmarked!for!this!project,!the!RSO!came!in!about!74,000!short!of!making!budget.!
!
SANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY
Report to 2015 ROPA Conference in Toledo, Ohio
Submitted by Leslie Lashinsky, SBSO ROPA Delegate (Laury Woods, Alternate Delegate)
Budget: Approximately $2.81 million
Concert Season: October to May
76 musicians defined in Basic Instrumentation (no service guarantees)
7 Classics Concerts (4 rehearsals and 2 performances each, totaling 42 services)
New Year's Eve Concert (+1 rehearsal)
2 Youth Concerts (4 Services)
No Musical Theater this season (Management continues to seek collaborations)
All performances at the Granada Theatre, downtown Santa Barbara
2013-2014
2014-2015
Concert Scale
$164.78
$167.00
Rehearsal Scale
$124.00
$127.00
Principal Concertmaster 200%
Associate Concertmaster and Principals 150%
Assistant Concertmaster and Assistant Principals 125%
Mileage: per mile for those living 25+ miles from venue
(max 250 miles roundtrip)
2015-2016
$167.00
$134.00
2013-2014
$0.32
2014-2015
$0.34
2015-2016
$0.35
2014-2015 Year in Review
Santa Barbara enjoys an affluent and cultured community that attends and supports its orchestra. Fundraising
and the organization seem to be on track. Musician/Union/Management dynamics are cordial. Administration
and operations run smoothly and Music Director Nir Kabaretti has maintained four rehearsals per Classics
Concert and advocates competitive wages to attract high caliber musicians. He just finished his 10th season as
Music Director and has been re-engaged through 2020. New Executive Director David Pratt comes with
exceptional experience and expertise. General Manager Susan Anderson and personnel manager Ryan Sweeney
remain the Gold Standard in operations. There were 10 vacancies this season with 7 filled in May auditions. In
my opinion, the turnover rate in the SBSO is healthy for a regional orchestra, where players come and go for
career and life changes. The SBSO is a balanced group of experienced pros and young talent. Orchestras are
evolving organisms - rejuvenation is good - change stimulating - natural attrition respectful and legacy building.
SBSO prognosis is excellent. Our contract improves each term. Our lucky SBSO OC (a diverse representation
of players) and Local 308 negotiators have been spared having to face a SBSO management plagued by
financial woes. The SBSO is not yet a signatory to the Integrated Media Agreement - maybe next round at the
bargaining table.
Santa Rosa Symphony ROPA report, July 2015 Santa Rosa Symphony, the third oldest professional orchestra in California, currently in its 87th season, is the largest regional symphony north of Los Angeles. We ​completed our third season as resident Orchestra of the Weill Hall at the Green Music Center in Rohnert Park, CA, just nine miles south of Santa Rosa. The orchestra continues to enjoy excellent public support, and this year the SRS contributed over $3.7 million into the local economy. The 2015/16 season has a record level operating budget of more than $4 million and the endowment exceeds $10 million. Based on ticket sales relative to population, Sonoma County residents far exceed the national average for attendance at classical concerts.​ T​he Symphony’s performance schedule includes 21 Classical Series concerts (7 sets), 7 "Discovery" Dress Rehearsal concerts, a 3-­concert Family Series and a 4-­concert Pops Series. ​Music Director Bruno Ferrandis has three years left in his tenure, the last two years of which begin a new conductor search. Our ​Musician’s Union Local 292 recently merged with local 6 of San Francisco.​ ​We've signed a new five-­year contract, from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2019, including the highest minimum guarantee of paid orchestral services among Northern California regional orchestras; total 14% service rate increase over five years; the addition of three string musicians, a first violin, second violin and bass, and the Orchestra Librarian position became a union position covered by the collective bargaining agreement. The Orchestra performs seven triple sets of its classical concerts from October through May, a Symphony Pops series, a Saturday afternoon dress rehearsal series, and a Family Series. ​We're still in the black. Our education department serves​ nearly 20,000 youth annually. ​The "Simply Strings" program (inspired by "El Sistema") is still gaining support. The SRS Association supports four youth orchestras, 3 full orchestras and one string orchestra. The main Orchestra went on a tour of China this year.​ More than 100,000 people attend concerts or music education programs each year. The orchestra is run by the Santa Rosa Symphony Association, under the auspices of a 39-­member volunteer Board of Directors and 15 professionals. Paid staff is supported by volunteer and fund-­raising efforts of the Santa Rosa Symphony League. Orchestra Structure​: 81 contracted players. Term of current CBA agreement: ​2014 -­ 2019 Guaranteed Services​: Group A (28 musicians/60 services) Group B (37 musicians/55 services) Group C (8 musicians/50 services) Group D (6 musicians/35 Services) Group E (2 musicians/30 services) Per service (2.5 hours)​: Principal: $173 Assistant: $159 Section: $138 Season​: 2​015-­2016​: 7 Classical Sets (3 performances per set 4-­5 rehearsals) 3 Family Concerts (1 performances/1 rehearsal) 4 Pops (1 performance per set/1 extended rehearsal (OT), a free community concert, July Fourth Pops, 1 Gala. Service Area​: SRS serves Sonoma County pop. 325,000. Also serves residents from Napa, Lake, Marin and Mendocino counties. Jurisdiction: Local 6 AFM. South Bend Symphony Orchestra
Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Kay Schilling - Delegate
Season Length August 15th-May 31st
Budget
$1.5 million
# of Musicians 78 contracted, per service
Concert Series: 4 Masterworks
3 Chamber
3 Pops
1 Summer Pops
2 Young People’s Discovery
1 Family/MLK (Martin Luther King)
1 Holiday Pops (Double)
Description: South Bend is a city of 110,000 people located in northern Indiana approximately
one and a half hours east of Chicago. The South Bend Symphony Orchestra will begin its 83rd
season this year and is a 78 member orchestra that performs on a per service basis. The members
of the orchestra are a mix of traveling and local musicians.
Services:
All musicians receive service guarantees ranging from 6 to 54. Members of the
woodwind and string quintets are guaranteed an additional 25 services. Members of the brass trio
are guaranteed 13 extra services. Service rates for the 2014/2015 season range from $80.80 to
$101.00.
Educational Program s: The South Bend Symphony has a woodwind quintet, a string
quintet, and a brass trio that provide in-school educational concerts. The Symphony performs two
sets of "Discovery" Concerts for area elementary children. In addition, the orchestra hosts the
weeklong “Donald A Dake Summer Chamber Music Academy” in June for aspiring student
chamber musicians.
Perform ance Venues:
The orchestra plays most of its concerts in the 2,500 seat Morris
Performing Arts Center in downtown South Bend. Chamber concerts are performed on the
campus of the University of Notre Dame.
News from 2014/2015:
Our last CBA expired at the end of the 2013/2014 season. With the assistance of Barbara
Owens from SSD, we ratified a “Bridge Agreement” in December 2014, which will expire
December 2015. We have worked with mediators from FMCS over the past year using Modified
Traditional Bargaining. This was exceptionally productive and we are close to finalizing this
process ahead of the expiration of the Bridge Agreement. We also recently ratified participation
in the new IMA.
The South Bend Symphony is going through a period of transition, with changes in
management and leadership. Our Executive Director is retiring August 2015. A search for her
replacement is underway. Our Personnel/Operations Manager departed at the end of July. Our
Music Director announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2015/2016 season.
2016/2017 will be a search year for his replacement. The musicians are confident that we will
remain solid as we transition to new leadership. We look forward to opportunities that the new
faces will bring.
Join us on Facebook: southbendsymphonymusicians, or
Visit our website: southbendsymphonymusicians.com
Respectfully,
Kay Schilling, ROPA Delegate
ROPA Report
Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra
(Celebrating 55 Years)
8290 College Parkway, Suite 103, Fort Myers, Florida 33919
www.swflso.org
2015-16 Season
Five Masterworks Concerts
Four Pops Series
Eight Chamber Concerts that also serve as outreach concerts to
parts of Fort Myers and neighboring Cape Coral
Summer Staycation Series in August of 2015 that features three concerts in
Fort Myers and Cape Coral
Two Ensembles in the Schools
The Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra (SWFLSO), located in Fort Myers,
Florida, has experienced an amazing comeback from its potential dissolution in
the spring of 2013. Through the concerted and dedicated efforts of its
musicians, board members, staff, and other stakeholders, the organization
pulled itself together for the following season that was devoted to finding a music
and artistic director.
The 2014-15 season was the first season for the orchestra’s new music director,
Nir Kabaretti, who is also the Music and Artistic Director for the Santa Barbara
Symphony in California. The pops series is presently conducted by Lief Bjaland,
former music director of the Sarasota Orchestra. Certain staff positions are
being reorganized to ensure a more efficient operation of the orchestra. The
organization commenced with an executive director search in the spring of 2015,
which will be continued in the fall.
The orchestra has initiated a summer “staycation” series this coming August
that will hopefully connect with the local audience. This series represents a
revolutionary approach to audience development that seeks to build long-term
relationships with the year-long residents rather than connecting only with the
snowbird populace that winters in the area between November and April.
The orchestra is also enjoying its second tour of St. Augustine with two concerts
this year as part of its Holiday Pops Series.
The youth orchestra program, which boasts three orchestras, will reach another
milestone in the spring of 2016. Two years ago, the Youth Orchestra was invited
to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In the spring of 2016, the Youth
Orchestra will be performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
One grievance was filed during the 2014-15 season. The SWFLSO board of
directors refused to offer a contract to one of the orchestra members, who is the
founder and conductor of a community orchestra in the area known as the Gulf
Coast Symphony Orchestra. The board cited competition among the orchestras
in the community as its reason. The results of the grievance proceedings are not
yet resolved.
Southwest)Michigan)Symphony/Report)to)the)ROPA)Conference,)July)2015)
Sean%Diller%–%Delegate%/%Susan%Dietrich2Reed%–%Alternate%
%
Budget:%$679,500% %
%
#%of%Current%Musicians:%53% %
#%of%total%services%offered:%24%
%
Service%Rates:%%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
Types%of%concerts:%%
%
%
%
Other%Concerts:%
%
%
%
3%Classical%
3%Pops%
5%Beach%
6%Casual%Classical%
2Concertmaster%2%$192%
2Principal/Associate%Concertmaster:%$83.20%%%
2Assistant%Principal/Intermediate%(Winds)/Assistant%Concertmaster%$72%%%
2Section:%$64%
Description:%The%SMSO%serves%the%Southwestern%Michigan%community%with%a%variety%of%music%programs%and%
educational%opportunities.%This%region%is%a%vacation%destination%region,%which%allows%us%to%reach%a%wide%audience%all%
year%round.%
%
Year)in)Review%
2Our%32year%contract%ends%8/31/15%with%Negotiations%beginning%on%7/24/15.%
2Orchestra%voted%to%join%ROPA%for%the%first%time%ever%and%now%have%a%delegate%and%alternate.%
2The%2014215%Main%Stage%Season%consisted%of%3%Classic%&%3%Pops%concerts.%Pops%are%presented%at%the%Mendel%Center%
at%Lake%Michigan%College%on%Saturday%evenings%and%Sunday%afternoon%Classic%concerts%are%held%at%the%Howard%
Performing%Arts%Center%at%Andrews%University.%In%addition%there%is%a%Summer%Beach%Series%held%in%two%beautiful%
outdoor%pavilions%and%a%Casual%Classics%Series%held%at%the%Saint%Joseph%Heritage%Center.%%
2Our%February%cycle%began%with%a%snowstorm%cancelling%our%first%rehearsal%which%management%agreed%to%
pay%for.%For%the%next%rehearsal,%the%SMSO%management,%the%SMSO%Orchestra%Committee,%and%the%Local%
2322278%agreed%that%there%would%be%an%extra%15%minutes%of%non2paid%overtime%in%order%to%help%make%the%
concert%a%success.%
2Music%Education%programs%include%the%Lake%Michigan%Youth%Orchestra%which%performs%an%annual%Side2
by2Side%concert%with%SMSO,%Music%Makers%program%at%the%Benton%Harbor%Boys%&%Girls%Club,%Musicians%in%
the%Schools%programs%and%Master%Classes.
2There%have%been%4%vacancies%in%First%Violin%section,%which%has%been%the%case%for%repeated%seasons.%There%are%also%a%
high%number%of%substitute%players,%which%can%make%up%to%1/3%of%the%orchestra%at%times.%%Three%Principal,%1%Assistant%
Principal,%and%section%vacancies%open%for%auditions%8/29/15.%%
2Orchestra%voted%for%International%Media%Agreement%but%the%management%did%not%agree%to%adopt%it.%%
2One%Grievance%filed%involving%a%musician%who%was%unjustly%disciplined.%Resolution%is%removal%of%the%disciplinary%
letter(s)%from%personnel%file%July%2015.%%
2In%our%last%contract,%pay%was%negotiated%favorably%for%the%section%musicians%with%a%$6%raise%over%a%three%year%
contract%period.%Percentage%of%Principal/Associate%Concertmaster%and%Assistant%Principal/Assistant%
Concertmaster/Intermediate%pay%went%down%to%30%%and%12.5%%above%section%pay%respectively,%and%this%did%not%
lead%to%a%pay%cut%due%to%the%$6%section%pay%raise.%Raising%the%base%scale%continues%to%be%a%priority.%
SPOKANE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
ROPA Orchestra Report – July 2015
Ross Holcombe, delegate
Season: 35 weeks plus a 2 week summer series (core only)
Expenditures: $3.98 million (FY '13-'14)
Concerts: Classics (10 cycles, 2 performances per cycle), Super Pops (6 cycles, 1-2 performances per cycle), Education (4
cycles, 1-3 performances per cycle), Symphony With a Splash (chamber orchestra) (3 cycles, 1 performance per cycle),
Chamber Soiree (small ensembles) (3 cycles, 2 performances per cycle), Nutcracker (1 cycle, 5 performances), Movie
Concerts (2 cycles, 1 performance per cycle) various other “special” and “neighborhood” concerts.
Musicians: 72 musicians in total; 36 Core Orchestra musicians, 160 service guarantee; 15 Reduced Orchestra musicians,
125 service guarantee; 16 Full Orchestra musicians, 87 service guarantee; 5 Auxiliary musicians, no service guarantee.
Service Rates ('15-'16): Principal, $132.28; Assistant Principal, $112.83; Section, $104.41
Description:
The Spokane Symphony serves Spokane, Washington and the surrounding area. Spokane is in eastern Washington near the
Idaho border. The population of the metropolitan area is approximately 680,000 but the region as a whole is rural and
lightly populated.
Year in Review:
Following the strike of two years ago, the management seems to have been responsive to community and patron
complaints that symphony musicians were not being treated respectfully. In order to appeal to these groups in ways apart
from increasing salaries, the management enacted several projects and strategies, including: featuring several orchestra
musicians as soloists on Classics programs; adding photos and bios to the musicians' page on the SSO website; hanging
portraits of all the musicians in the South Gallery of our concert hall, now known as the “Musicians' Gallery,” and inviting
musicians to make a speech to patrons and donors at post-concert receptions. In addition to these non-monetary shows of
goodwill, our two-year contract, ratified last year, and currently in its final year, raised per-service rates by 7.5% over two
years. We are currently entering a negotiating year, and hope to recoup more of the 11% cut made in our previous contract.
This season saw the departure of multiple staff members. First, our general manager left to accept the same position with
the Buffalo Philharmonic. Many musicians and staff members commented on an increase in morale and effective
communication throughout the organization after his departure. As such, when selecting his replacement, our executive
director prioritized the hiring of a candidate who would be a respectful communicator between musicians and staff
members. We had a candidate in place during the middle of the season after a prolonged search, but after incidents between
the new manager and conductors, musicians, and guest soloists, the decision was made to let her go. In her place, the
runner-up from our general manager search, the second clarinetist in the orchestra, was offered the position. It is the
musicians' hope that by maintaining his role as a performing member of the orchestra, our new general manager will bridge
the gap between musicians and management and contribute to a climate of respect and trust that flows both ways in our
orchestra, which has already seen a marked improvement over the last year. In addition to our general manager, we recently
learned of the departure of the head of our marketing department, who was much beloved by the orchestra musicians, as
well as our executive director, the highest ranking member of the staff. A national search is currently underway for her
replacement. Under her tenure, the symphony acquired and payed off the mortgage for our new home, the Fox Theater.
Special projects this year included the start of a new series made up of classic films accompanied by the orchestra playing
the musical score live in our theater. Ticket sales to our first movie concert were underwhelming, but the response from
those that attended was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. The series will be renewed next year with two new film concerts and
more advanced marketing of the series. The orchestra also hired a new assistant conductor after a prolonged search, and
under his leadership will be piloting a new El-Sistema-inspired program to send orchestra musicians into an inner-city
school for coachings three times per week with their school orchestra. Our new assistant conductor will lead the orchestra.
Fundraising efforts, including an ambitious Kickstarter campaign, have been put in place to fund this new initiative.
Musicians who apply to teach in this new program will be compensated beyond their regular salary.
Please visit the players association website, www.spokanesymphonymusicians.org and like the “Musicians of the Spokane
Symphony” page on Facebook!
SYMPHONY SILICON VALLEY
Report to the ROPA conference July 2015
Deborah Steiner Spangler, Delegate
Season length: 75 services
Budget: $3.6 million
Endowment: $1.3 million
# of Musicians: 71 contracted
Concert series: 7 weeks Masterworks
3 pairs Children’s Concerts
3 weeks film accompaniment
2 weekends Target Summer Pops
DESCRIPTION: Symphony Silicon Valley (the former San Jose Symphony) serves the
San Jose/ Santa Clara County region, south of the San Francisco Bay
Area. San Jose is the 10 largest city in the US, Santa Clara among the
wealthiest counties in the US.
th
RECENT DONATIONS: $150K Target, $150K one-time gift, $150K city grant, $150K
Silicon Valley Creates, $75K Applied Materials, $50K Shortino
Foundation, $30K from the old San Jose Symphony Foundation, $25K
Kieve Foundation. Every tenured Musician’s chair is sponsored.
Accumulated deficit is $400,000.
MUSIC DIRECTOR NON-SEARCH: Management plans to carry on without a Resident
Conductor, and there are many pluses to that: they want the Orchestra
to be about the Musicians (approx. 1/2 the soloists are from within the
ranks), a better caliber of Conductor (it’s expensive to live here), and
variety on the podium. An Artistic Committee works with the General
Director on programming and Guest Conductor selection. Issues such
as Auditions, Dismissal, evaluating Tenure, etc. are decided by the GD,
with recommendations from the relevant committees of Musicians.
SAN JOSE BALLET: Noticeably missing from the schedule last year were 15
performances of Nutcracker, danced to tape for the first time since their
residency, and likely to continue in 2015.
LORD OF THE RINGS: In April, SSV accompanied two cycles of the entire trilogy on a
48x20 screen, the first American orchestra to do so. It was a $850,000
project involving 250 Musicians (including Chorus and Soloists) and
2 weeks of rehearsal, attracting 12,000 customers in 4 days from 20
states and much international attention.
www.symphonysiliconvalley.org
facebook.com
Tacoma Symphony Orchestra
ROPA report, July 2015
Beverly Setzer, ROPA delegate
TSO at a glance
Budget: projected 2014-2015: $1,103,117 (I don’t have 2015-2016 budget and
endowment numbers)
Endowment: $813,513
Orchestra Structure: 79 musicians. 47 strings. All musicians complete a Personal Service
Agreement.
Per service fees: 2014-2015 (based on 2 ½ hour service) Principal: $115.82
Associate: $108.10 and Section: $96.52, 2015-2016 subject to results of current
negotiations.
Season: 29 guaranteed services. Four Classics cycles; Holiday I Sounds of the Season;
Holiday II Handel’s Messiah; Family concert with Peter and the Wolf; 1 Pops Concert;
Educational Concerts. Classics cycles are for full orchestra. Other performances are with a
reduced orchestra.
Service area: The TSO provides symphonic music for audiences from the South Puget
Sound area, including Tacoma, Federal Way, Olympia, and Fife.
The TSO is under the jurisdiction of the Musicians’ Association of Seattle, Local 76-493,
AFM.
Season
TSO enjoyed its first season with the new music director, Sarah Ioannides. Many concerts
were sold out and one had to be moved to a larger venue. For the season opener, Dame
Evelyn Glennie performed the world premiere of Portraits of Immortal Love, a new
percussion concerto written expressly for Ms. Glennie by composer Sean O’Boyle.
The Mini Maestros family concert series, debuted in 2013, is a joint project of Tacoma
Symphony, Ted Brown Music, and the University of Puget Sound Community Music
Program. The series is designed for young children and their families, and each program
introduces one of the ‘families’ of instruments that makes up the symphony orchestra:
woodwinds, strings, brass and percussion. Additional support has been provided by the
Bamford Foundation, the Washington State Arts Commission, and the National Endowment
for the Arts. Attendees are invited to participate in an instrument petting zoo.
Tacoma Symphony continues its popular “Super Subscriber” program for subscribers who
make a gift of $100 or more per household and receive the following benefits:
• Free attendance at all Music Mixers: exclusive, donor-only receptions with Sarah
and the guest artists, featuring special behind-the-scenes presentations and
premium refreshments. Music Mixers take place 90 minutes prior to all five
Classics concerts.
• A $25 discount on up to two reservations for the Season Opening Gala on Oct. 2.
This fundraising event, held at Tacoma Art Museum, will include dinner, silent and
live auctions, and an exclusive performance by Andreas Boyde of the original solo
piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition.
TSO used the Carnegie Hall Link Up program for educational programming this year. Most
of the area schools send their 5th graders to these concerts. It was very popular with the
kids, well structured, participatory and there are extensive free curriculum materials
available. We enjoyed watching the kids play along.
There were no grievances.
Auditions were held for one 2nd violin position and one section viola position. There were
several good candidates and the positions were filled. There are more unfilled positions
for which auditions weren’t held due to scheduling difficulties. They will be held in spring
of 2016. The administration was very active in fundraising and finding opportunities to
introduce Sarah Ioannides to the community. TSO partnered with Tacoma Ballet again for
the Nutcracker after several years of it being done by a different orchestra so many
orchestra members got more services last year. It has not been announced whether or not
we will get this work again this year.
Katherine Cosgrove, ROPA Representative
Classics Programs: 9
(18 performances)
Mozart Programs: 4
(4 performances)
Pops Programs: 6
(6 performances)
Chamber Programs: 4
(4 performances)
Special Events: 3
(3 performances)
Including featured artist Joshua
Bell, the end of our Bruckner
Cycle, and our annual Messiah
Neighborhood Concerts: 12
The TSO performed at local
churches and community art
centers. (8 of which were during
December)
Run-Out Performances: 10
The TSO performed in small
towns throughout Ohio, mostly
at church venues, some of
which were 3.25 hours away
each way. (5 of which were
during December)
Educational Programs
Young Peoples: 3
Side by side: 1
Pro-am concert: 1
Family Programs: 3
(Continued use of smaller
venue for these)
Small Ensemble
Performances: 112
Contracted Programs
Opera: 3 (5 performances)
Ballet: 1 (4 Performances)
With the close of the 2014/2015 season, the Toledo Symphony comes to the end
of its first year of a two year contract, which included a reduced number of
services, reduced EMG payment and 403b match. Musicians have been providing
a 25% marketing fee and will be providing a 50% marketing fee that previously had
been covered by the orchestra. Salary was stagnant this past season, but the
musicians will have a 2% salary increase for the first time in many years. The
string rotation for our hectic winter holiday weeks is still in effect. The board seems
to be focusing chiefly on increasing revenue rather than cutting expenses. Next
season we will begin negotiations again for our 2016/17 contact and beyond.
Sara Jobin conducted us this past December during the busy holiday schedule.
She has also been hired as an interim one-year resident conductor for our 2015/16
season. The symphony is in the final stages of searching for a resident conductor
and that process will be finished by the end of this season. Meanwhile, the Toledo
Opera has recently hired Maestro Jobin as its resident conductor
Over the past year we explored new ways to present our concerts, in part by
encouraging a more audience-interactive approach. This was achieved by
installing two high-definition jumbo screens to the left and right of the stage. A live
camera crew navigated the stage for several concerts, allowing the audience to
see the musicians and soloists up close, as well as the conductor from the
orchestra’s point of view. It is hoped that this new approach to modernizing the
concert experience will attract a broader audience. We are also currently exploring
the mixing of genres in our Classics series, an effort that was demonstrated most
notably last season when the orchestra backed rock singer Storm Large
performing a concert of songs written by George Gershwin. This show ended up
being one of the best ticket-sellers of the year, on par with our special-event
concert featuring Joshua Bell. We have tried to improve the auditory experience of
our hall by hiring an acoustician. Before anything can be done to the hall, both the
symphony and museum board need to approve the proposed plans. Currently, the
estimated costs are very high.
Similar to last year, the members of the orchestra have continued pursuing extra
work outside their TSO duties. For many, this has meant spending more hours
teaching privately. Others have supplemented their incomes with non-music
related part-time jobs. This was partly necessitated by the reduction of services
from our 2014 contract.
Two married symphony musicians, Sally and Bart Dunning, retired this year after
48 and 49 years, respectively, with the symphony. And although we were sad to
lose him, we congratulated our principal bassoonist Gareth Thomas on his new
position with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. We will greatly miss the
leadership, wisdom, and musicianship of these three outstanding colleagues.
We have held several auditions this year to fill core positions, including multiple
principal horn auditions. Unfortunately, a suitable candidate was not found for
principal horn, and the search for someone to fill this key seat goes on. The next
horn audition will most likely take place this spring. On a positive note, we were
able to fill a one-year position, possibly permanent, for our principal bassoon.
Casey Gsell, from Oregon, will join us in September. Last fall one of our current
first violins, Tea Prokes, won the associate concertmaster audition; this allowed for
the runner-up, Laura Longman, to assume the newly-vacated first violin section
seat. Upcoming auditions include section positions for both cello and bass which
may be scheduled this coming fall.
Along with several new faces in the symphony we have welcomed many new faces to our
personnel staff: Nick Dian (Orchestra Operations Coordinator), Robert Cummerow (Box
Office Associate), Anna Sankovich (Special Assistant to the CEO), Catherine Hann
(Development Associate). Recently left us: Ashley Mirakian (Marketing Director), Michelle
Devine (Fund Drive & Development), Michelle Keller (Box Office).
Tri-Cities Opera/Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Daniel Hane, delegate / Sarah Chandler, alternate
Season Length:
Budget:
# of Musicians
and guarantee:
Service rates:
4.5 weeks
1.021 million
44
No guarantee
2.5 hr min call
$77.5 section, $96.88 principal
3.25 hr service
$100.75 section, $125.94 principal
all time above min call compensated at $7.75 section / $9.68 principal per 1/4 hour
Concerts:
2 performances each of 3 productions, 6 in total
DESCRIPTION
The Tri-Cities Opera serves Binghamton, Johnson City, Vestal, and Endicott, all located in
Broome county in the Southern Tier district of New York. Broome county’s population is 198K
and the area is 74% urban and 26% rural.
YEAR IN REVIEW
In July 2014, TCO hired Susan Ashbaker as the company’s new GD, and Steven Crawford as
the new MD. However, 3 weeks prior to the beginning of orchestra rehearsals for the first
production of the season in October, Crawford resigned as MD. Ashbaker hired 3 guest
conductors for the season. The 2015/2016 season will also run with a revolving door of guest
conductors for each production.
Local 380 and TCO signed a new 3 year CBA running June 1 2014 through May 31 2017.
Highlights of the new agreement include a 10% raise in service fees over the life of the
agreement, divided equally among the 3 years, an increase from 20% to 25% for principal
premium, and the introduction of additional pay for Banda, onstage, offstage and pit-to-offstageand-back again situations.
At the end of the 2014/2015 season, there were 8 vacancies in the orchestra, a large number
due to postponing auditions until a new MD is hired, which is not expected within the next few
seasons according to management. Vacant positions include Concertmaster, Principal Flute,
Principal Bassoon, Principal Trombone, section violin, trumpet and bass trombone.
In May 2015 we filed a grievance over the number strings hired for the spring 2016 production
of Sweeney Todd. Our CBA includes a Base Orchestra article that mandates 22 strings for each
production unless the original composer’s score calls for fewer or if the full complement of 22
will not fit in the pit. As neither of those conditions apply to this situation, TCO should hire all 22
string positions per the CBA. Their initial hiring was only 7 strings for Sweeney Todd. The
grievance remains unresolved, with TCO’s latest offer bringing the string count only up to 13.
2015/2016 will run with only two “main stage” productions using full orchestra instead of 3, and
there will be a third production of two one act chamber operas, The Telephone by Menotti and
Trouble in Tahiti by Bernstein. This Double Bill production will use an orchestra of only 13
players.
Tucson Symphony Orchestra
Report to the ROPA Conference, July 2015
Ellen Chamberlain, Substitute Delegate
Season Length: September 22, 2015-May 14, 2016
Budget: 4.46 million
*Number of Musicians & Guarantees Based on Position:
23 salaried with chamber ensemble(s), between 128-180
25 salaried without chamber ensemble, between 129-188
2 per service with chamber ensemble, 108 & 128
26 per service without chamber ensemble, between 77-110
*Rate of Pay
Concertmaster and Principal: $127.42
Associate/Assistant Concertmaster and Assistant Principal: $115.98
Section: $104.01
Substitute/Extra: $101.99
* = Pending contract ratification
Full Orchestra
8 Classics (2 performances)
1 Classic Special (1 performance)
5 Masterworks (Varies, 3-6 performances)
1 Masterworks Special (3 performances)
4 Pops (2 performances)
4 Pops Specials (Varies, 1-2 performances)
2 Runouts to Green Valley & 1 Run out to Ajo (Pops)
Nutcracker (4 performances)
KinderKonzerts (9 performances)
Young People's Concerts (6 performances)
Celebrate the Future (1 performance)
Young Composers Project (3 performances, two orchestra & one string quintet)
Cotillion (string orchestra)
Chamber Ensembles (Brass Quintet/Opt. Percussion, Flute/Viola/Harp Trio, Piano Trio, Percussion
Quartet, String Quartet/ Quintet, Wind Quintet)
Young Composers Project Workshops
Recitals and sold concerts
Music in Schools Concerts
Just 4 Kids Concerts
Moveable Musical Feast
Educational Events
Young Artists Competition
Masterclasses
Description
The Tucson Symphony Orchestra serves Southern Arizona, including Tucson and other surrounding
communities. Tucson is in Southeast Arizona, almost two hours from Phoenix metro and one hour from
Nogales and the Mexican border. The population of the City of Tucson is 520,000 but it is estimated that
the combined populations of Tucson and all the surrounding areas, suburbs, cities & rural communities is
close to 1,000,000.
Year in Review
The negotiating committee once again had a productive session with management this year. Pending
ratification, we agreed to a 3% increase for salaried musicians, and a 1% increase for substitutes and extras.
No services were lost, and most musicians will see a 1-2% increase. Contracted musicians will also receive
an additional 25% coverage on insured instruments ($25,000 up from $20,000). Musicians will now be able
to accumulate up to 2 paid leave days for use in subsequent seasons. The committee agreed to a side letter,
donating 2 services for the production of a benefit concert. The proceeds from this concert will be used
only to increase musicians’ salaries, and all print material marketing this concert will note the donation of
services by musicians.
Our Music Director search is still in progress, though we are nearing the final stages. We will have several
of the top candidates back to conduct early in the season, and we hope to announce around the end of the
calendar year. The aforementioned benefit concert may also serve as a special introduction of the new
Music Director.
We hired Mark Blakeman as our new CEO. We also hired Tim Lynch as VP of Operations. Tim has since
resigned, and the Operations Department is undergoing some restructuring. We are currently seeking a VP
of Development. The Society has opted to hire an outside consultant for programming purposes, as an
interim measure before the hiring of a Music Director, who will likely have his/her own ideas as to how this
monumentous task should be carried out.
The TSO’s Young Composers Project is the largest, longest running and most comprehensive orchestra
composition program for youth ages 9 to 18. In the 20 years since its inception, the Young Composers
Project has produced more than 275 new works by young composers. Students have won ASCAP Morton
Gould Young Composer Awards and a commission as part of Carnegie Hall’s Carmina Burana Choral
Project. The Atlanta Symphony has performed the world premiere of a work by a Young Composers Project
graduate, Charles Zoll, the 2012 winner of the Rapido! Composition Competition. The Young Composers
Project has received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for several years running.
We have filled Percussion-3, Trumpet-3, and a one-year position in Cello-6. Our orchestra has the
following upcoming auditions:
Cello-3
Assistant Concertmaster
Acting Associate Concertmaster
Acting Violin I-6
Viola-4
Violin II
Tulsa Opera Orchestra ROPA Report
Steve Craft: ROPA Delegate
Prepared for the 2015 ROPA Conference
Local 94 and Tulsa Opera, Inc. is beginning to work on a new collective bargaining agreement for the 2015-2016 season.
The negotiations between the Opera and Local in previous years have gone very well, so we don’t anticipate many
issues. However, the operas financial status has some cause for concern.
Tulsa Opera signed on with the IMA two seasons ago, which enabled them to broadcast the productions on public radio in
the Oklahoma City area as well as our local public radio station.
The opera is looking to expand services to include side by side performances for their youth opera productions. This idea
would have orchestra musicians playing alongside youth symphony members.
The Tulsa Opera is also considering an outdoor preview concert and possible rehearsals in a new Tulsa outdoor
performance space called the Guthrie Green. These plans will have to be addressed in our next agreement, since there is
no language provided for outdoor venues.
Tulsa opera seems to be going through a lack of stability in management. They hired a General Manager from the San
Francisco Opera, but he didn’t last a year. This is a cause of concern for us, and we will see what this means for our
upcoming negotiations.
Tulsa opera is continuing its new found tradition of programming one contemporary American opera each season. This
started four years ago with “Dead Men Walking” and has continued each season since. For the 2015-2016 season, Tulsa
Opera will present three productions: La Boheme, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Samson & Delilah. Because our
contract only allows for the use of published reductions, the opera requested permission to use a reduced orchestra for La
Boheme and Samson & Delilah. This was granted by the orchestra committee because the published reductions would
have used fewer players than the proposed orchestration.
The negotiating committee hopes to secure continued raises, as well as improvements to pay for educational services.
Pay for the 2014-2015 season
Base
overscale
overtime
Concertmaster
$176.31
$25.68
$26.45
Principal (strings, W W,
Brass perc, harp, incl..
Associate Concertmaster)
$106.72
$15.54
$16.00
Associate Principal
(strings, all one-on-a-part
WW, Brass, and
Percussion
and Assistant
Concertmaster)
$105.56
$15.83
All other musicians
$102.08
$15.31
WEST VIRGINIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
REPORT TO THE ROPA CONFERENCE 2015
Toledo, Ohio
Melody Rapier, delegate
Karen Barker, alternate
2014-2015 ORCHESTRA SERIES:
Classical: 6 pairs
Tours: 2
Pops: 4 pairs
Ballet: 1(3)
Family: 3
Summer: 2
PER SERVICE PAY:
PROJECTED BUDGET:
$131.30 Principal
$3,423,598
Y.P.C.'s: 3 series
Run-outs: 11
$101.00 Section
Greetings from the West Virginia Symphony! Our home is Charleston, West Virginia, the capital of the state. Most of our
contracted players come from throughout West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia.
We perform concert pairs in the Maier Performance Hall, which is part of the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences. Run-outs
are played throughout the state, including Parkersburg, WV, our "second home," where we have a regular subscription series of 5
concerts. We also perform annual concerts in Fairmont, Beckley, Institute, Hurricane, Morgantown and Lewisburg reaching over
50,000 people each year throughout West Virginia.
I should say we DID perform concert pairs. This coming year we have been reduced to single concerts. Our management
announced this change to the public before we even started negotiating our new contract with them. They also proposed
eliminating 15 contracted positions from the orchestra including one stand from each string section, all four 3rd woodwinds and
percussion III. Ultimately, we were able to come to an agreement to not eliminate any positions in the orchestra, but reduce the
guaranteed service level by about 20% overall. Individual musicians lost from 16% up to 50% in their individual service
guarantees, depending on the instrument. This was based on the actual services offered next season. Also extremely
disconcerting is massive restructuring and salary cuts to the string quartet and string educators program which serves several
schools throughout the area and state.
Management assured us that the whole organization would take cuts as part of their “master reorganization plan”. They are
moving their offices out of the hall that we perform at into office space across town, believing that this will save them up to
$80,000 per year. They also claim to have cut back office salaries. The budget deficits of $300,000 for the last 10-14 years have
been covered by our 8 million dollar endowment, and we have no debt. The board seems convinced that if we cut our concert
doubles to singles it will create a “buzz” for tickets and fill the hall again.
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra Report to the ROPA conference, August 2105 Charles Block-­ delegate, Mary Theodore, alternate Season-­ 5 Masterworks, also pops, Nutcracker, Messiah, 6 summer “Concerts on the Square” plus runouts and repeats. Available online at www.wcoconcerts.org 34 Musicians-­ by contract (we have 3 vacancies and 2 players on leave) Minimum Service Guarantee-­ 43 (Strings and WW’s) 35 (Brass). We have played many more services than the MSG this season. Service Rate-­ $155.52/concert $125.06/rehearsal (Principal overscale is 23%) “Supplemental Optional Employment” rate $130/concert $108/rehearsal Description The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra performs in Madison, Wisconsin at the Overture Center during the indoor season and outdoors on the Capitol Square in the summer for a six week series of free concerts that are attended by crowds of 20,000 plus. Year in Review We just successfully ended the first year of a five year contract. Thanks to Naomi Bensdorf-­Frisch for leading the negotiating team. The contract was settled early and without lawyers present, thanks in part to our new highly capable executive director, Mark Cantrell. Many new services have been added this season, which the players appreciate. We gave very significant financial concessions to our per service rate in order to achieve some key goals which have had a very positive impact this season. 1.Subs and extras are for the first time included in the CBA and their wages and working conditions are protected. They are closer to, but still not at 100% pay parity with core members, this remains a long term goal, however this has improved subs/extras morale significantly. 2.Our minimum attendance requirement was reduced to 70% 3.We are largely pleased with the addition of a new class of services “Supplemental Optional Employment”, or SOE. This work is totally optional, and right-­of-­first-­refusal for members, but is compensated at a lower rate than regular services. Each SOE performed allows a ½ service credit towards meeting the minimum service requirement. Management is allowed much more flexibility in scheduling SOE’s, which they have taken full advantage of, thereby offering members and subs/extras many more services than previous years. !
!
Wichita!Symphony!Orchestra!2015!Report!
Founded:!1945!
Population!Served:!!500,000!residents!in!Wichita!and!Sedgwick!County!
Annual!Budget:!$1.9!million!
Orchestra!Size:!90!Permanent!partJtime!musicians!
2014!Salary!Rates:!!Section!Hourly=!$39.84,!Section!Concert=!$129.07!
!
!
!
Principal!Hourly:!$56.97,!Principal!Concert=$205.93!
2014!Concerts:!4!Pops!Concerts,!8!Classics!Pairs,!1!Blue!Jeans!Popular!Classics,!2!
Young!Peoples!Concert!Series!(6!Concerts!each),!Concert!for!opening!of!new!
Dwight!D.!Eisenhower!Airport.!
2014!Year!in!Review:!
• We!started!the!season!with!a!media!campaign,!“Compose!Your!World”!
which!ran!on!billboards,!TV!commercials,!and!printed!ads.!!The!
campaign!was!to!generate!interest!for!the!first!two!classics!concerts,!
“Wichita!Symphony!&!Youth!SymphonyJSide!by!Side!Concert”!and!
“Karen!Gomyo,!Violinist”!with!the!Kernis:!New!Era!Dance,!
Piazzolla/Desyatnikov:!The!Four!Seasons,!Copland!Appalachian!Spring:!
Suite,!and!Marquez:!Danzon!No.!2.!
• Our!highest!attended!concerts!were!Bluebeards!Castle!by!Bartok!
featuring!Samuel!Ramey!and!Irina!Mishura.!!The!Concert!also!featured!
the!wonderful!Chilully!Glass!Doors!which!were!commissioned!for!the!
first!performance!of!“Bluebeards!Castle”.!!Our!orchestra!was!only!the!5th!
Symphony!to!feature!this!glass!!!Also!Britt!Cornett,!from!the!Chilully!
Studio,!gave!a!talk!on!!Mr.!Chilully!and!the!glass!at!the!Wichita!Art!
Museum.!
• The!Symphony!welcomed!our!new!choral!conductor,!Michael!Hanawalt!
who!also!teaches!and!conducts!at!Wichita!State!University.!Our!Classics!
3!featured!Lianne!Coble!Soprano,!Quinn!Patrick!Ankrum!Alto,!Robert!
Allen!Tenor!and!Jason!Grant!bass!with!the!Wichita!Symphony!Chorus!
and!Bethel!College!Choir!performing!“Mozart!Requiem,!K.!626.!!The!
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concert!opened!with!Salieri:!Sinfonia!in!D!Major,!Veneziana,!and!Mozart!
Symphony!No.!25!in!G!Minor,!K.!183.!
Our!Classics!4!Concert!featured!JoAnn!Falletta,!guest!conductor!and!
ChuJFang!Huang,!piano.!!Selections!included!Borodin:!Overture!to!Prince!
Igor,!SaintJSaens!Piano!Concerto!No.!4!in!C!Minor,!op.44!and!
Tchaikovsky!Symphony!No.!2!in!C!Minor,!op.!17.!
Our!February!14!Pops!Concert!was!“Pops!Goes!to!the!Movies”.!!Above!
the!symphony!were!classic!movie!clips.!!The!Symphony!played!22!
selections.!!
The!ever!popular!Time!for!Three!was!back!for!our!Classic!5!Concert.!!We!
performed!a!new!work,!Concerto!4J3!by!Higdon.!!Time!for!three!also!
performed!6!Young!Peoples!Concerts!the!same!week.!!It!was!fantastic!!
This!year!we!added!a!family!concert!and!performed!Beethoven!Lives!
Upstairs.!!!
We!had!our!4th!annual!fundraiser,!“Symphony!al!Fresco,”!to!raise!money!
for!our!educational!programs.!
At!our!Young!Peoples!Concerts!we!had!22,000!local!and!area!children!
attend.!
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Cheryl!Myer,!WSO!ROPA!Delegate!
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