Archive for the 'Off the Record' Category

David Lundberg’s Wisdom, Urging Passion

Published
by
dtclarinet
on July 16, 2008
in Behind the Scenes, Clarinet, Columbus Cultural Politics, Mastery, Off the Record, Our Supporters, Personal, The Music, columbus symphony orchestra, symphony board and symphony management
. 1 Comment

David Lundberg was educated as a musician at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. In business in Dallas, he founded the Charter Group, a property and casualty insurance conglomerate whose customer friendly and principle-rather-than-policy driven practices were significant in changing the face of the industry for the better.

Mr. Lundberg’s deep love for people and his passion for music punctuated another long career, volunteering in the support functions of music – as board member with the Dallas Symphony and Dallas Opera, as board chair for Lyric Opera of Dallas, Arkansas Opera Theater, Hot Springs Music Festival, and others too many to list. He has seen orchestras and other arts organizations dip near death, then rise to world renown. In his recent move to Columbus, David has brought a wealth of experience, perspective, and wisdom to share, as you will read in this letter.

Dear Fellow Community Members,

It was my privilege as a student at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago in the 50’s to watch Fritz Reiner bring discipline and inspiration to an orchestra that had become complacent and lethargic. At that same time Chicago had an arts critic who was convinced that nothing excellent could possibly happen outside of New York, Boston, or Philadelphia and her reviews of the Chicago Symphony (CSO) reflected this belief.

During that period, the CSO also had an extended tour of Europe. The reviews came flooding back to the States and the reviewers were ecstatic. Chicago was filled with pride and excitement for their orchestra. That pride continues to this day as the CSO remains in the Top Five in the Country, with many in the know feeling that the CSO ranks Number One.

In Dallas, as a singer in the Dallas Symphony (DSO) Chorus for 25 years and as a member of the DSO Board for several terms, I saw a very similar phenomenon happen. The DSO emerged from bankruptcy in 1974, at full strength, thanks to some farsighted people including Stanley Marcus (Neiman Marcus). During the 70’ s, the DSO had a series of short-term and guest conductors, who allowed the Orchestra to become uninspired and sloppy. Enter Maestro Eduardo Mata, a masterful technician like Reiner, who awakened the musicians’ desire to perform at a higher level. Same script - sour critic, European tour, great reviews, and wonderful community response. The whole situation in Dallas remains positive to this day – pride in and of the musicians, fiscal stability, great arts community, good endowment, a great new $130 Million venue and no debt.

In the ensuing years, many Fortune 500 companies relocated their headquarters to the Dallas area. Ones that quickly come to mind are American Airlines, JC Penney, Exxon Mobil, Kimberly Clark, Co—America Bank, Fluor, and Ericsson Telecommunications (North America). Is there a connection here? You bet there is. When major companies decide to relocate, they establish a profile of the qualities that they are seeking at the new location. Common to these profiles is the absolute requirement of a superb, vigorous cultural community (led most naturally by the symphony and opera). While this is not the only criterion, the importance of a vital classical art landscape is undeniable.

My wife Katherine and I moved to Columbus two years ago and, Eureka! what did we find but Junichi Hirokami and the Columbus Symphony, and a strong feeling of déjà vu from Dallas and Chicago. Hirokami, whom I had seen guest conduct several times in Dallas, has the same technical skills as Reiner and Mata. And the bonus is that he is highly respected and liked by the musicians. Junichi brings such infectious joy and love of the music to the podium that audiences and musicians alike are exhilarated and enchanted.

Sadly, we began to hear from some in the community that, “the CSO and the Opera don’t pull their own weight financially.” Most are unaware that American symphonies and operas earn considerably less than half of their budgets from ticket sales. The critical mass of support must come from farsighted and benevolent corporations, foundations and individuals who have a keen understanding of the tax benefits, the good will, and public relations benefits they derive from their generosity. Also, we hear questions such as, “Can Columbus support a major symphony orchestra?” Columbus - 15th largest city – state capital – home to the largest university – home to six Fortune 500 companies and fifteen Fortune 1,000 companies? The question is absurd on the face of it. If we fail to save the symphony, Columbus will be the largest city in America without one.

Traditionally, it has been the large corporations that the Symphony has turned to for regular, long-term support. Unfortunately, that is how a small group of corporate funders and board members have come to assume the power to speak for the entire community regarding the future of this rare community treasure. And amazingly, power that seems entirely disproportionate to their monetary contributions.

If given the support, Hirokami will bring fame to Columbus and challenge the Cleveland Orchestra as the best symphony in the state. This vision certainly does not appear to be shared by the Board and the current corporate funders. They are looking to the bare minimum level of funding rather than the challenging, exciting “quest for the best.” Will the community settle for mediocrity or will they step forward and fight for the very best.

Our symphony was on the cusp of a giant step forward in quality and professional respect, which would have brought incalculable rewards to Columbus, many in ways totally unrelated to the arts. Are we to let this treasure, which would take decades to rebuild, slip away because of several years of what appears to be gross mismanagement by the CSO Board and staff? (The musicians are not the problem; their wages — total artistic costs — have been at or below budget the last three years.)

In the bigger picture, if Columbus is to grow and keep pace with other major cities by attracting new business and industry, supporting the symphony right now is absolutely mandatory. This is purely a matter of civic and corporate will. Let’s just determine to do it! And generously, in ways that will ensure its long term excellence and survival.

An enormous outpouring of support is needed from community members and arts lovers from all walks of life. The emergency is real, and the consequences are enormous. Failure is not an option! I invite you to weigh in with your thoughts on this matter at www.symphonycolumbus.com.

David Lundberg

Excitement and Nervousness

Published
by
dtclarinet
on July 11, 2008
in Behind the Scenes, Musician's Life and Off the Record
. 1 Comment

I am excited to be performing some concerts today, Friday July 11, and tomorrow, July 12. Yet I am also unusually nervous and anxious. Why should I be? I know the music I am about to play and have performed those pieces dozens of times. But this feels different.

There is so much riding on the upcoming concerts for me as an orchestral musician who has been in the orchestra since 1989. The mood and perception of the crowd could make or break one of our last hopes for showing that we don’t need the board and management with their defeatist attitudes to survive and continue to play music for our beloved audiences.

Isn’t it strange that the public’s opinion has been ignored by board and management? Should that not be their goal? Especially in a democratic country? Yet, they are getting away with it, and the Columbus community needs to show them they are wrong with their attendance.

Suppose the audience is small for the huge Vets Hall? It will look so embarrassing for all of us. And the board will have their confirmation to continue as they have.

So I’m nervous for YOU, too! I want us, musicians and audience, to band together in a new kind of solidarity between two traditionally separated parts of the live music making experience.

I want to play my best for you. And I hope you want to be the BEST possible audience we could ever have. Show us how you really feel. We’ll feel it. You’ll feel it. The board will also feel it and fear it.

David

Musicians Concerts this Weekend

Published
by
dtclarinet
on July 8, 2008
in Behind the Scenes, Musician's Life, Off the Record, Our Supporters, Performances and Personal
. 0 Comments

Several folks have inquired regarding details of this weekend’s concerts by musicians of the Columbus Symphony. If you don’t have time to read my passionate philosophical explorations :-) on the implications of the phrase “musicians concerts”, all the information you need for the concerts is HERE. Also, we need volunteers to sell tickets and usher for the Saturday evening concert. Please contact Donna Gerhold at gerhold@insight.rr.com to find out what you can do. Breaking news: Now you can buy tickets at MCSO Concerts, the musician concerts website.

Now for my philosophical entreaty on the value of live classical music:

I can’t help but notice the playful redundancy of the phrase “musicians concert”; yet there it is, in all it’s ironic nakedness. It sounds so honest and real, as opposed to the “such and such symphony orchestra”, which already sounds corporate. (although the word corporate, beyond its business use, also means “united or combined into one”, an ideal for a group of musicians from a musical point of view)

When did the “musicians’ get replaced by an “institution” or an “organization”? As if they didn’t exist in the flesh, but only in terms of something else!

Has the time come when all sides will band together, no pun intended, to make the music happen?

Judging from the recent event here in Columbus and also the longterm history of professional music making, the question arises; How do we traverse this sludge of tradition and habit to attain the pure goal embodied in the phrase musicians concert? We don’t want to throw the good out with the bad. Yet, isn’t that part of the American spirit, to look unflinchingly with fresh eyes and see, or attempt to see, what is of real value and what is dead weight?

Another question; Are these upcoming concerts just a “job” for us, the musicians? After all, we have to make a living at what we do to continue to do it. Then there’s the aching question, what constitutes “making a living”? But we won’t go there just now. Let us assume the concept of “free market” thinking will fumble it’s way to some real truth, if we continue to ask the right questions. Such as, what is the value of the music we play? Can a dollar sign really be placed on the complex emotions aroused by great classical music?

The quality of the music is certainly an important factor. Any “product” (I hate to use the word here) has a “value”. But what system, or organization, determines that value? Are fads valuable because they sell well for awhile?

Continuing with the idea of fads, why is it that many, many people gravitate toward classical music as they age? Shouldn’t their wisdom and experience count as a meaningful indication of the “value” of the music they wish to hear?

Bear with me, I need to work this through.

A few weeks ago, I drove the seven hours trip to Bethesda, MD, where I grew up, to visit with my mother and sister for a few days. I always listen to music on the trip. Since classical music has trouble cutting through the substantial hum of the highway, I picked a half dozen pop/world pop CDs from the library to play during the driving time.

I didn’t listen to more than 5 minutes of any of those CDs. These CD’s were so insipid, all of them, Shafqat Ali Khan, pseudo Indian music (I grew up in India, and heard numerous “classical” Indian concerts), Jolie Holland (get a composer), Astor Piazzolla (a real classical composer) remixed (huh???!), even Steely Dan, whom I used to listen to, seemed washed out, stale. Am I getting old? At least “rock” music didn’t try to impress anyone, and won over hearts and minds with that idea!

Back to the subject: musicians concerts! I could go on with the yadayadayada of how dedicated we are, how much time we spend practicing, how much money we spend on our equipment. Even though it’s all true, we made those choices, after all. So what is all our effort worth? Is it up to the public to decide? You’re darn right? People with whom we share all our passion and dedication, the process and the outcome, the suffering and the joy, the growing pains and the growth spurts, will be like family to us, and us to them. They will love us for what we do, not the product we make.

That’s the real value of music, and especially classical music, which is by FAR the most difficult AND rewarding type of music there is, both for members of the audience and the musicians. (except for really great jazz)

OK, I’ve had my say. Now for some details about this weekend’s concerts. Friday’s concert is for kids of all ages. David Tanner, whose untiring efforts to produce the most complete web site about and for musicians and their supporters, has put all the information you could possibly need, including a big satellite photo with big red arrows pointing to parking, and red warnings of problems you might have getting there, plus really nice, big photos of the venue, HERE. (Hint: You will need to bring your own chairs/blankets)

Saturday’s 7:30 PM concert is at Vets Memorial, 300 West Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215. We need VOLUNTEERS for Saturday’s concert, at least 20, to help out with ticket sales and seating and other very important details to make this concert work for all of us! Please contact Donna Gerhold (gerhold@insight.rr.com) for how you can help.

Please forgive us all (the musicians as a group) for any glitches in this process. We are on a steep, steep learning curve. But don’t worry, we learn fast, but we can’t do it without you. We may be experts at the unbelievably complex details of phrasing Brahms, but need all of you to stay the course with us as we begin to make Brahms’ music, and all classical music, YOURS!

Who is the problem?

Published
by
dtclarinet
on June 21, 2008
in Behind the Scenes, Columbus Cultural Politics, Off the Record, columbus symphony orchestra, symphony board and symphony management
. 3 Comments

WHO IS THE PROBLEM?

Columbus is the fastest growing region in Ohio. It is also one of the richest.

Arts business produces over $330 million in economic activity in the Columbus area. That’s 11,000 jobs.

The musicians of the Columbus Symphony play at a world class level. Other orchestras at this level are paid much higher salaries.

Yet, Robert “Buzz” Trafford, president of the Columbus Symphony Board, and a lawyer with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, thinks the musicians are overpaid and are causing the problem. He has hardly ever attended the Symphony. He also uses Google to figure out how to run a symphony orchestra. He’s not interested in the professional and experienced opinions of anyone, unless they agree with his.

Tony Beadle, Executive Director of the Columbus Symphony, and supposedly a leader of the arts, called the orchestra a “dinosaur”. He mocked a passionate grassroots support base which was formed to help with the current crisis. Since he came here, the Symphony has taken a nose dive. He is incapable of doing his job effectively.

Tony Beadle and management overspent their own budget by $6.5 million in the past 4 years. That’s over $1.6 million community dollars wasted each year. None of this went to pay the musicians.

The musician’s expenses in the budget went down by $0.9 million in the past 4 years. Yet, the musicians are willing to immediately take a 7% salary cut to save the orchestra.

Buzz Trafford said he would think about accepting a thrid party mediator 3 weeks ago. He still hasn’t accepted it. What’s he afraid of? He also insists that the musicians pay for half the mediator’s fee, something which is unheard of in any musician negotiation. Management pays the fee, because management stands to benefit from the advice of the mediator. The musicians continued to do their jobs of playing music at world class levels. Management needs professional advice to solve the problems they caused and they should pay for it.

Who do you think is the problem?

When a baseball team is losing, who gets fired, the players or the manager?

Troubling Rhetoric from CSO board chair

Published
by
dtclarinet
on May 24, 2008
in Behind the Scenes, Columbus Cultural Politics, Off the Record, columbus symphony orchestra and symphony management
. 3 Comments

Mr. Robert “Buzz” Trafford and Mr. Tony Beadle were the guests for the first half hour of Fred Anderle’s 11 AM Open Line radio show on Thursday, May 22. The link to hear the archive of that is here.

It is terribly disheartening that both gentlemen skirted responsibility for current CSO issues. But especially disappointing was Buzz Trafford, who rather than using valuable on-air time to generate greater support for his own chosen ward, the Columbus Symphony, instead seemed eager to deflect public awareness away from troubling evidence regarding the financial behavior of Symphony management.

Mr. Buzz Trafford seemed eager to get the “facts” (something that actually exists; reality; truth) lined up for the discussion to continue. In fact he seemed almost desperate to have his version of the facts be factual, rather than computations and legally reported versions of them.

As Fred introduced Buzz, he quoted Mr. Trafford’s claim that the cuts being asked from musicians are more like 25%, rather than 40%.

I just Googled “how to calculate percentage”. It’s easy. To find the percentage salary cut we are being asked to take, you divide the given amount ($33,000) by the total amount ($55,000) and multiply by 100. I opened my little computer calculator and I get 40%. I have no idea how Buzz Trafford calculated it. Nonetheless, claiming as true a false statistic speaks volumes of his scruples.

Buzz later states the musicians will have 3 months fewer work obligations to the Symphony with his proposed contract. Perhaps he needs to send the musicians a list of employers which allow someone to work random hours and weeks at the convenience of the Symphony’s irregular and ever changing schedule. And perhaps he needs to research the time obligations for a musician to master his/her instrument and maintain that high level.

He later disputes the musicians use of numbers taken from the CSO’s own IRS reports. Buzz claims the number $11.1 million is “dead wrong” and it “confuses the discussion and it’s important that we not distract from the real facts with facts that confuse and delay the time when we can talk about what we really need to talk about“. In other words he doesn’t want the public to be confused by the real number, $11.1 million.

He wants to stick to the number $9.5 million as the total budget, and refuses to admit the real amount, $11.1 million, including the “in kind” donations, which are simply services donated to the symphony without any cash exchange. Why doesn’t he want the public to know the truth? It could be that the musicians expenses would appear as they truly are, which is minimal in the bloated CSO budget.

One reader, Barbara Racey* wrote to me with the following comment: “I have written many successful grants, to GCAC, OAC, Columbus Foundation and many other funding groups, and inkind contributions are always included in the budget. It is one of the categories listed on the budget form of the request, and it is expected that the requesting organization will solicit and receive this kind of contribution. It indicates support beyond giving “just money.” In my experience, inkind goes hand in hand with passion.”

He later says the salary of $33,000 being offered the musicians is “not right”. He gives some vague answer for why he thinks it should be $35,000; because the musicians can find other work, which may or may not be available, but that doesn’t matter, because it’s possible. Whether $33K or $35K, it’s still an unlivable wage for a highly trained expert in the top 5% of a field. Again, the tactic is disputation by deflection from the real subject.

Buzz announces the salary of the musicians of the Jacksonville Symphony in Florida as $28,000. Unfortunately, he failed to mention that that number is a drastic and temporary one year concession, and will be quickly restored to $38,036, with the average pay being $43,660. Details are important in telling the truth.

Tony Beadle mocks his own support base by saying “passion takes more than wearing a pink rubber band on your wrist and cadging a comp ticket from a musician and showing up at the last concerts“. Would he similarly mock the “pink ribbons” of supporters of breast cancer research? Also, is he really color blind, failing to notice the blatant “orange” color of all Symphony Strong materials, or is the color “pink” used to imply the “gayness” of so many “wimpy” (read: insignificant) symphony supporters?

Mr. Beadle later refers to the work of heading an arts institution in Columbus as being like “life in Afghanistan; you have to learn to survive it and do it and have the joy of it nonetheless”. Ah, with passionate leadership like that, who needs money and respect from donors?!

While discussing the cancellation of the Summer season, Tony Beadle says he needs “working capital” to “negotiate with artists and get vendors in line”. Buzz says there was a “complete lack of funds available to launch Picnic…” Truth is, that capital would have been there if next Season’s tickets had been sold, and it is a standard operating procedure to use it in the current season’s expenses.

Beadle and Buzz then claim the risk of rain as another reason to cancel the summer season. What both men failed to mention is that the CSO carries rain insurance to cover any financial loss from a rained out show. Yes, the truth is a sticky subject, isn’t it?

In answering a listener’s question about CAPA’s 68% increased rent charges to the Symphony, Buzz says, “there is no truth whatsoever, none whatsoever, to the assertion that was made with respect to the CAPA rent.” In fact, he went on for quite awhile trying to discredit the source, “misinformed and dead wrong”, “his numbers were both false and misleading” and saying “both CAPA and the Symphony are extremely disappointed that the musicians would sponsor that kind of misinformation” and “it’s important to have a community debate, but the debate should center on the facts” and “the report that was trumpeted at the press conference is a disservice to the community, a disservice to the media and a disservice to the Symphony”.

He was so busy trumpeting his repetitive counter-accusatory phrases he forgot to answer the question. Anderle repeated it. Trafford then stated some vague numbers, which, unfortunately, don’t agree with the IRS reports given by the Symphony. Those numbers are publicly available, since they come from the CSO’s own IRS reports, under the heading of “occupancy”. Whether “occupancy” entails more than “rent” is inconsequential, since the money was spent, and the cost went up 68%.

The pattern of rhetorical manipulation I observed throughout this interview is this: the more painfully truthful the facts which undermine Buzz’s point of view, the more emphatically he disputed their truth with repeated phrases of emphatic accusations of the other side’s falseness, which are then followed by some false statement on his part. First create a rhetorical smokescreen; then slip the lie through.

Ah, rhetoric, the lawyer’s craft, used to make white into black and guilty into innocent! No wonder the media is confused, as I’m sure you are by now.

(*quote from Barbara Racey, Former Executive Director of Cantari Singers, Services provided inkind; Founding member and grant writer, Chamber Music Society of Dublin, Services provided inkind)

Great fun with dinosaur metaphor

Published
by
dtclarinet
on May 17, 2008
in Off the Record and columbus symphony orchestra
. 1 Comment

Bruce Hembd, a French Hornist from Phoenix, had a “hay” day with Tony Beadle’s ridiculous remark comparing the symphony to a dinosaur which needed to be fed 500 bales of hay a day.

Check out his hilarious photo-shop assembled poster and a review of the comment here. It’s worth clicking on the photo to enlarge it and see the detail.

Surfboards ready?

Published
by
dtclarinet
on May 16, 2008
in Off the Record, Our Supporters, Performances and The Music
. 7 Comments

(Addendum: the music critic who reviewed last night’s concert, Barbara Zuck, didn’t stay to hear our incredible performance of Bolero, in what may end up being the Columbus Symphony’s LAST classical concert. Players, whom she’s heard for 30 years give their lives to the music, may now be forced to fall silent. She barely mentioned the orchestra in what she did write. Deadline or not, I find the gesture irresponsible and uncaring. Yet, if Zuck is behaving against her best interests in supporting fellow artists in the orchestra, it begs the question, who is pulling her strings?)

You know how a Tsunami starts with a huge VOID? The water drops away from the shore before the wave rises. Well, the water has been pulling away from the shore of the Symphony for awhile, but now it’s rising into a huge wave of support for the orchestra.

Tonight’s concert, with the amazing Yo Yo Ma leading us to ever higher levels of music making, and our beloved Junichi picking up where Ma left off, was a surge even higher than last week, which was already substantial music making (and appreciation of it) from us all.

The crowd tonight filled the house to the brim, and even Buzz Trafford, board president, felt he deserved to bask in it a bit, announcing that if we were playing in Severance Hall (Cleveland’s concert hall, smaller than the Ohio Theater), 500 people would be without seats. Keep basking Buzz, but don’t forget to zip up your wet suit. The water may be a bit colder than you like it.

The delightful Rosamunde Overture by Schubert allowed us all to settle in and enjoy the anticipation of excitement ahead. Schubert’s airy melodies floated from the orchestra like feathers in a tropical breeze. The world of music knows no budget limits or recession. And the orchestra played like a million bucks. If only we knew how to translate that wealth into greenbacks.

I didn’t have a part to play in the Haydn cello concerto, so I heard it from back stage. Ma may earn a chunk of change for one performance, but he puts out the goods. I doubt Haydn could have ever imagined his perfect concerto played MORE than perfectly. Not only was the performance flawless, at least from back stage, but it had drama, delight, intimacy, excitement and joy among its colorful moods. I watched some of the rehearsal with Ma and found myself rapt not only with his playing, but the effortlessness of his body language as he played.

Needless to say, the crowd went wild. For Haydn? As I think about this a drone plays in my ear, like some kind of repetitive torture, telling me classical music is outdated, a dying art, insupportable by the market. The market seems to be changing its tune, and those who really should be listening are tone deaf.

After intermission, Ma played the Saint-Saëns cello concerto, one of my favorite pieces by a favorite composer. Perhaps it’s because I had a crush on someone who played it for me in High School. The main melody of the first movement exudes the wavy passion of a slightly tipsy man deeply in love. He loves everyone! Ma laid it out, easy to follow, especially for a tipsy theme. Junichi was right there with him. We all enjoyed the ride. The second and third movements alternate between moods of domestic childhood bliss and a wistful theme which conjures the sweet pathos of life in a way only Saint-Saëns can.

As we rollicked to the very end, we let lose (according to plan) in a way Junichi rarely lets us do. We are just beginning to understand the control with which we are capable of “letting lose”. After nearly two years of working with him, we are just beginning to tap into our potential for controlled passion and power, the energy tapped by the greatest orchestras, from Cleveland to Berlin.

For an encore, Ma joined members of Carpé Diem string quartet, sans orchestra, to play the slow and dramatically rich second movement of Schubert’s Cello Quintet. The quartet was buoyed by Ma’s powerful presence and outdid themselves. Though the piece was a bit long for an encore, the hall was stark silent with focus during the quietest moments of the music.

It was time for the final work of the night, Ravel’s Bolero. Ma pulled up a chair and sat in the back of the cellos. He wanted to join us, and we were honored. He had briefly lauded, in no uncertain terms, our quality as an orchestra and the greatness of our city of Columbus. Junichi also offered some words to our audience. His charm and appeal grow each time he speaks. Without a microphone it was hard to hear him, but the gist was clear; he loves us, he loves the city, and believes deeply in both.

I, along with my woodwind colleagues, was a bit nervous, having to play the ultra soft beginnings of Bolero “cold” after sitting there silent for more than ten minutes. Phil Shipley, who was placed right in front of Junichi, began playing the famous bolero rhythm: tum-tupata tum-tupata tup-tup, tum-tupata tum-tupata tupata-tupata tum.

Randy Hester, principal flute, began the famous theme, which Junichi had coached us to play sensuously, without inhibition. The tempo Junichi chose seemed slow to us at first, perhaps because it’s more difficult to perform the solos effectively and control them at that tempo. Randy held perfect rhythm and added just enough enticement to invite the next soloist, myself.

I had worked on this for a few hours last night, playing it with the metronome over and over to get the control and stability I wanted, from which I could then evoke just a touch of playful flirting. Not too much, however, because I knew there was a long way to go. I was happy with how it went, passing the theme on to my friend Betsy Sturdevant, bassoon.

The bassoon states the second of the two themes the whole piece is built on. It is far more provocative and alluring. Betsy added just the right amount of heat to boost it up a notch and pass it on to Robert (Woody) Jones, my section colleague, playing the highly temperamental Eb clarinet. He repeated the theme presented by Betsy, and notched it up a bit, adding his own style and just the right amount of freedom to the undulating line.

Next up was the Oboe D’amoré, another unusual instrument between an oboe and an English Horn, played by Steve Secan. His melody went back to the first one which Randy and I had played. He laid it down superbly, rhythmic and clean, with just a hint of sensuality, just like his teacher and mentor John Mack would have done.

Junichi knew exactly how to help each person play their best. He coaxed those who needed it, and left others alone, sensing which would work best. The melody, though repeated endlessly, built in volume and color with each statement.

Ravel’s purpose in writing the piece was to experiment with unique tonal color combinations, like Monet did in his paintings, where three painting of the same scene were rendered in completely different colors and moods.

As the piece built, the tempo remained a powerful reality, the clock ticking as we all played our souls out to lure the audience into joining us in our passion. Phil Shipley and Bill Lutz held the hypnotic rhythm in perfect balance between stability and tension, wanting to move but restricted by time. Here lies the key to this piece; picking the right tempo. Junichi had set it perfectly from the first note.

The various solos, all played gloriously, built on each other as bodies heat up each other and feed off that heat to heat up more. The passion rose and rose.

The tempo never budged. The drums were pounding now, with the timpani joining in on three, one…. three, one…. three, one…. three, one. The orchestra played as one large organism. I lost myself completely and just basked in the rich aura of sound.

At the orgasmic end, our audience JUMPED to their feet.

It doesn’t get any better than that!

Are you ready to ride the wave with us?

Dispatch- Pravda of Columbus Rich

Published
by
dtclarinet
on May 11, 2008
in Off the Record
. 2 Comments

Today’s Dispatch editorial is nothing short of blatant propaganda. The motivation for such deceptive rhetoric may never be known. But the article betrays a caustic intent to destroy the Columbus Symphony and replace it with cheap, low quality players. I will attempt to interpret the hidden truth behind the propaganda.

Throughout the article, the use of the word “union” instead of “musicians elected representatives” attempts to con the public into believing our union controls us and inflicts their own twisted agenda. Nothing could be more false.

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra is at a crossroads that will determine whether it continues or folds. The outcome is in the hands of the musicians union.

The second sentence is an outright lie. The outcome is entirely in the hands of the board, which has refused to negotiate a fair contract with the musicians or with the help of a mediator.

If its members continue to ignore financial reality, the symphony will fold, probably as of June 1.

The board and management’s intentional sabotage of the institution for the past three years has resulted in the present crisis. They are to blame if the Symphony folds.

Over the years, musicians negotiated for wages and benefits that now far exceed the resources available to the symphony’s board of trustees. Operating deficits have been sizable for at least four years, growing to a record $2.3 million for the 2006-07 season. For next year, projections show the symphony with a $3 million shortfall in its $12.5 million budget.

The musicians have negotiated fair contracts which barely exceed inflation. We took pay cuts 3 years ago. Operating deficits are normal for arts organizations. Lack of effective planning caused increasing deficits.

The board understands that this can’t continue and has adopted a fiscally responsible plan to provide long-term viability.

The orchestra’s revenues come from ticket sales and the generosity of donors. The board has determined that the symphony can pay its bills only by living within a $9.5 million annual budget.

The boards failures can be satisfactorily assuaged by gutting the musician’s salaries.

To reduce spending by that much, it has made two proposals to the musicians. One would reduce the number of musicians and the length of the performance season. The other would retain all musicians, but at significantly lower salaries.

Two financially identical and equally unacceptable proposals in effect covered the minimum legal requirement to be able to claim to have “negotiated”.

The union has rejected both proposals and offered no meaningful alternative.

The MUSICIANS rejected two identically insulting and unlivable wage and/or job cuts and offered a half million dollar pay cut to begin talks.

The union disingenuously accuses the board of being derelict in its duty to seek out more donations, but the board is realistic in its estimates of what the symphony can expect from its benefactors. If anything, the refusal of musicians to recognize financial reality discourages donations because it undermines the confidence of current and prospective donors that the symphony is a sound investment.

The word disingenuously means “lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely or hypocritically ingenuous; insincere”. Perhaps the editors need a good dictionary. The musicians have sincerely attempted to communicate, with frankness and candor, the dismal failure of the current board and management to effectively run the organization. But Pravda (read Dispatch) filtered out any truth of substance to avoid confusing the public.

The musicians should stop focusing on blame and start dealing with the facts. Business as it has been conducted in the past no longer is an option.

Read: The musicians should stop nagging the city about the truth of the situation and just play good doggy and beg for the bone. The board’s catastrophic failures are well protected by the Pravda (Dispatch) of the Politburo (the partnership of rich and powerful) of Columbus.

Though many lovers of symphonic music see cultural doom if the symphony folds, the loss would not necessarily mean the end of orchestral music in Columbus.

There is a passionate local audience for the art form, and the symphony board and civic leaders will look for other ways to satisfy the demand. The music need not die.

Condescension drips from those words. Fear not, Columbus, your fearless and tireless elite will not fail you. You are too stupid to know quality when you see it. We will give you what we deem is acceptable.

Whether this becomes necessary is up to the musicians. If they continue to dig in their heels, they will have no one but themselves to blame when the symphony is no more.

Yes, stupid Columbus, we tell you what the truth is and you eat it up.

Nasty, dirty union musicians just don’t get it!

CSO Management Losing Public Respect

Published
by
dtclarinet
on May 8, 2008
in Behind the Scenes and Off the Record
. 3 Comments

Most of you may know the distressing news by now; the CSO board and management has canceled the lucrative summer Picnic with the Pops series, citing lack of funds.

It should be known that the Summer Pops pays for itself in revenue. So why cancel it? Whatever the twisted intent, it has little to do with “saving the Symphony”.

The move may be an attempt to corner the musicians into signing an insulting contract which sends the Columbus Symphony back to the dark ages.

My guess is that the public already senses the perfidious deception behind Buzz Trafford’s public pontificating that the board’s hands are tied and the musicians just refuse to cooperate. This drastic and defeatist move will further weaken public respect for the current Symphony Board of Trustees.

I had lunch today with a few reporters from the Dispatch who listened intently to my point of view. I emphasized that the musicians are VERY interested in negotiating, but not in being told what they MUST accept without question or DIE.

Among other things, these reporters have been informed that the musicians initiated “good faith” bargaining steps by offering to take some pay cuts, but were rebuffed; they have been told that we called for a mutually chosen mediator, an unbiased third party professional to monitor the negotiations, to which the answer came back from management, “NO!”.

We’ll see if the Dispatch squeaks any balanced truth in tomorrow’s paper.

I told them that if they Symphony dies, it won’t be the musicians fault. These gentlemen were baffled by our unanimous rejection of management’s insulting demands. Our solidarity truly perplexed them.

I believe the musicians’ consciences are clear. We are rational people. We’ve been reasonable. We’ve been patient. We’ve been polite and considerate. Understanding the seriousness of the situation, we have communicated our intent to compromise and our desire for professional mediation.

But we are not dealing with reasonable people, or being given fair and balanced coverage. So, what do we do now?

I will not presume to speak further for my colleagues. But I think many of them would agree with the following thoughts:

For years now, the Columbus Symphony has existed as two very different organizations.

One has been the actual orchestra itself, which has developed into a world class musical organization with an outstanding conductor and players. The Symphony Chorus has risen with the orchestra. Through education and outreach, thousands of lives have been enriched. Concert reviews have been rave, and audiences love them.

The other less visible part of the Columbus Symphony has been its Board of Directors and executive management. Unlike the orchestra, the board and management have been a dismal failure, unable to reach their own stated goals and mismanaging the administration and budget, resulting in losses.

Each time this has happened, rather than doing some soul searching about its own shortcomings and ongoing inability to maintain this pristine jewel in the crown of Columbus’ fine culture, the board and management have instead sought to dump their failures onto the backs of the musicians themselves. In the last contract go-around, management had a 15% loss, and the orchestra accepted 15% pay cuts with promises that management would do better this time. That hasn’t happened. Yet, the Columbus Museum raised an $80 million endowment and Nationwide Arena was built without tax funding. Columbus can accomplish great things with the right leadership.

This year seems to be no different, only management has gone public trying to brand the musicians as offenders that “don’t understand the reality of the situation.” Instead of self-selecting and leaving so that others may succeed where they have failed, they have entrenched themselves in a senseless campaign to crush the orchestra. The only reality here is that Buzz Trafford and the board and management don’t know how to run an orchestra, and instead are trying to point the blame somewhere else.

When a baseball team is losing, who gets fired - the players or the manager?

…but I’m with the conductor!

Published
by
dtclarinet
on December 5, 2006
in Behind the Scenes, Mastery and Off the Record
. 2 Comments

So what?! It doesn’t matter a pile of feathers if it’s not together. Many musicians, good ones, don’t understand this basic fact of life in an orchestra. You have to factor in delay time for acoustics and human response time. So staying with the conductor is not the blanket solution. But it’s not rocket science, either.

There’s a clear hierarchy of leadership in the orchestra. The concertmaster leads not only the first violins, but also has some leadership of the other string sections. Within each string section, its principal is leader. So, 1st and 2end violins, violas, cellos, basses, have their own leaders. The same applies to every other section. In the woodwinds, the oboe is usually the leader of the whole section, while each section leader is responsible for that section. The brass are similar, with the trumpet leading all the other leaders of the various brass sections. The French Horns tend to be their own section, influencing both the brass and woodwinds.

So how do all those leaders stay together? Well, the conductor leads the way, giving the musical gestures and tempo and style indications. Then each section leader must interpret to make sense of it for their sections. The section leaders moderate and codify the conductor’s lead. For example, if the conductor’s tempo is simply too fast or erratic for a section, the leader may take the sensible path and lead a steadier, more playable tempo. The other sections will follow suit.

Within each small section, the players must follow both the conductor and their section leader. In other words, they get information from both and make sense of it within their group. It’s easier in the woodwinds, where there are only a few players in each section. The second oboe will always defer to the first oboe, no matter what the conductor does. And when the flute and oboe play together, since they are both leaders, they will work out their own hierarchy of leadership.

The leaders have to develop courage and tenacity to lead their sections in times of crisis. Occasionally a conductor will get lost or befuddled, and the section leaders have to become conductors, literally swaying in time to show where the beat it.

All this processing takes some time, so there’s an inevitable delay from the time a beat is given by the conductor and the resulting music follows in the orchestra. As a kid seeing a live orchestra or the first time, I thought it was rude and lazy of the orchestra to play so far behind the conductor’s beat. Now I know why. In order to get 80-100 people in lock step doing a subtle ballet of ever changing music, it takes time.

Like a huge, delicate machine, the orchestra undulates in subtle response to the various leads within it. Like a flock of birds or a swarm of insects, the group will stay together no matter what. At least it should, if the professional hierarchy is intact. But that’s another post.