January 11, 2010

Mr. Gary Hanson
Executive Director
The Musical Arts Association
11001 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106

Dear Gary:

We are amazed by your recent open letter to orchestra supporters stating that “the orchestra’s official work week is 20 hours.” You of all people should know how much time is involved in performing at your best.

There’s an expression we all grew up with: Practice makes perfect. Children learn it in school and on the field in sports. If you do your homework, if you go the extra mile, and if you practice and practice some more, you can be the best.

The Cleveland Orchestra is praised wherever we go not just for the program we played that day, but for our work ethic and commitment to the highest quality of music-making. Each of us spends countless hours outside of rehearsals and concerts to be prepared to perform and to stay proficient at our chosen instruments. Can you imagine what The Cleveland Orchestra would sound like if our work consisted of only those twenty hours?

Hourly workers are paid by the hour. Musicians are not hourly workers and our compensation is not based on a mathematic formula designed to generate a “minimum wage.” There’s another maxim we all grew up with: You get what you pay for.

Sincerely,

The Cleveland Orchestra Committee
Jeffrey Rathbun, Chairman
Mary Kay Fink
Eli Matthews
Jonathan Sherwin
Paul Yancich

On behalf of The Members of the Cleveland Orchestra