Thanks to all the Blossom concertgoers who joined the musicians for a pre-concert picnic Sunday afternoon! A great start to a beautiful evening, which culminated in Ann Hampton Callaway’s impromptu homage to Cleveland, and a not-soon-forgotten duet between the singer and Associate Concertmaster, Peter Otto.
Five good friends, all members of The Cleveland Orchestra, step out of Severance Hall and into The Happy Dog for one night only, June 23, 2010.
Join us for an evening of quirky chamber music, beer, tater tots, and the best gourmet hot dogs $5 can buy.
Amy Lee, violin
Joanna Patterson, viola
Charles Bernard, cello
Joshua Smith, flute
Frank Rosenwein, oboe
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On June 6th at 4:00, ten current and retired Cleveland Orchestra Musicians will be joined by 65 kids aged 5-14 for this performance at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The concert is presented as part of the museum’s Wild Music: Sounds and Songs of Life exhibit, which explores the ways that humans and animals have created sound and music from pre-history to the present.
Taco, The Awesome Children’s Orchestra was created in 2006 by Isabel Trautwein, violinist in The Cleveland Orchestra. The idea: creating a group of kids and professionals that want to simply meet and play music together. For the kids this is a wonderful way to feel the energy of high-level playing. For the adults a way to share the passion that inspired us to make this our lives.
See the flier for this event, and read more on the TACO blog.
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Thanks to all who attended and performed at the memorial service and concert for Leon Lazarev on Sunday, May 30th. The hour and a half-long program was filled with beautiful performances by Leon’s friends and colleagues, along with touching remarks from Steve Rose, principal second violin, and Gary Hanson, executive director.
Especially poignant was Gary Hanson’s presentation of the engraved watch (which Leon would have received at this years’ party honoring 25-year members of the orchestra), to Leon’s son, Vladimir: ”Leon’s contribution will live on every time the Cleveland Orchestra plays. Vladimir, we know that you will wear this watch with pride, and with love.”
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The Cleveland Orchestra Musicians give their heartfelt thanks to the supporters and fans of the Cleveland Orchestra. Before and after last weeks’ concerts at Severance Hall, the musicians met with audience members in the lobby to say hello and show our appreciation. We always love to see you from the stage, but it was especially nice to get to talk with many of you in person!
We are grateful for you support and for making our concerts possible. It’s been a great season, and we look forward to seeing you this summer at Blossom.
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Anthony Tomassini, music critic for the New York Times writes:
The opening work was Beethoven’s “Coriolan” Overture, and from the first moments — three vigorous statements of a stern, sustained C in the strings, each one bursting into a slashing chord — the sheer sound of the orchestra was mesmerizing. Throughout the program, which included a sensual account of Berg’s “Lulu” Suite and a fleet, involving performance of Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony, the overall sound was so rich, deep and focused, it was almost tactile.
Read the entire review.
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On May 8th, about 25 Cleveland Orchestra Musicians and family members participated in the Cleveland CureSearch Walk around Wade Oval. The event raised almost $50,000 towards fighting childrens’ cancer. Our team contributed $3,670, putting us in second place!
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By Plain Dealer guest columnist Charles Michener
February 07, 2010, 3:00AM
Just three days had passed since the Cleveland Orchestra musicians
settled a bitter contract dispute and here they were in Miami, playing
the opening concert of their 2010 residency as though none of that had
happened.
“How do they manage to sound as though they’re all breathing at exactly
the same time?” asked a friend who was hearing the orchestra live for
the first time.
The short answer is, “Who knows?” A longer answer would have to include
the esprit drilled into them by their late Olympian taskmaster George
Szell, who enjoined them to “play like the best players in the world,
no matter who is conducting you.”
The Cleveland players are renowned for professional obedience, and so
it may be surprising to realize that fueling their discontent with the
package first offered by management was something deeper than money. In
conversations I’ve had with a dozen of them, a common theme has
emerged: They have felt largely shut out of meaningful communication
with the board and management, estranged from the decision-making that
is navigating their orchestra through difficult times.
When I asked one player if he felt “disregarded,” he said, “The better
word is ‘dismissed.’ ”
In recent years, the orchestra has encountered unprecedented
challenges. The traditional audience base has shrunk and dispersed.
Pillars of corporate and private support have become scarce. Five years
ago, the board and administration began cultivating greener pastures
with residencies in Miami and Vienna and annual appearances in Europe’s
top concert halls — a “turnaround” strategy that has paid dividends in
prestige, player morale and new sources of revenue.
Along the way, something essential got overlooked: the orchestra’s
symbiotic relationship with the city that gave it birth. During this
same period, subscription sales dropped sharply and the orchestra ran
up its current deficit of
$2 million. On Thursday nights, when many of the big donors are in
attendance, the number of empty seats has been painful to see –
especially from the stage.
What happened? For one thing, according to some of the players, too
many programs have seemed devised more for their potential bang out of
town than for nurturing local audiences. The marketing slogan, “Hear
What the World is Talking About,” has only reinforced the sense that
the orchestra is more concerned with winning approval elsewhere than in
its own back yard. The orchestra’s summer gig at Blossom Music Center
hasn’t aspired to being the “festival” it calls itself, but in its
serious programs has been content to be mostly a warm-up for Europe.
The players say that local marketing efforts have been diffident. For
example, said one, little attention has been paid to the needs of older
music lovers in the outlying suburbs who would happily come to concerts
in the city if group transportation were available. Several players
lamented the fact that Severance Hall has been mostly dark during the
orchestra’s absences — a missed chance for building new audiences and
maintaining the hall as a lively destination.
During the current season, the players have been cheered by
management’s new focus on Cleveland, notably the popular “Fridays@7″
concerts, which have debunked the myth that people under 40 aren’t
interested in classical music. But, as one went on to say, “So much
more needs to be done to fill those empty seats.”
American symphony orchestras, rooted in 19th-century music and
early-20th-century society, are just beginning to wake up to the fact
that they live in a new century of flux. Creative adaptability, not
reverence for the past, is essential to their survival. I believe that
to thrive in these times, the Cleveland Orchestra, like so many other
orchestras in similar straits, must explore ways of re-inventing itself
from within. For starters, the board and the administration might
invite the players to take a greater role in the affairs of the
organization, including fund-raising, marketing, education, program
planning and the crucial task of finding new revenue streams.
The so-called Big Five orchestras — in Cleveland, New York, Boston,
Chicago and Philadelphia — traditionally have barred the players from
such extramusical activities. Founded by business leaders, most of
America’s symphonies have followed a three-legged model: The board
gives money (and hires the executive director and music director);
management manages; the players play. There is no overlap of functions.
At three of the top European orchestras, things work differently. The
London Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna
Philharmonic are musicians’ cooperatives: The players choose the board,
the executive director, the music director and one another. “We are the
orchestra,” they say. “It’s only sensible for us to be engaged with the
institution as a whole.”
The most obvious benefit of properly channeled musician involvement is
the greater sense of ownership the players would feel, reducing the
chance of another bruising contract fight. A more far-reaching benefit
is that the Cleveland Orchestra could become a new model for other
American orchestras — one that would draw the most talented musicians
not only for its musical excellence, but also for the dynamism of its
institutional culture.
The players I talked to are bursting with ideas for developing ongoing
partnerships with local cultural and medical institutions (“And what
about the Cavs?”). They’re eager to experiment with new concert formats
designed to appeal to today’s eclectic musical tastes. They’re ready to
help devise new marketing initiatives aimed at young professionals who,
as one player put it, “might be surprised to discover that many of us
are young professionals, too.” And some of them might even be willing
to rethink the old labor contracts that lock them into inflexible
schedules and fixed compensation. For a more collaborative dynamism to
work, the trustees and management must be fully on board.
During a rehearsal in Miami, Dennis LaBarre, the recently named
president of the governing Musical Arts Association and a corporate
lawyer at the highly collaborative firm of Jones Day, went to the heart
of the matter: We, the trustees, he said, want to know you better and
we want you to know us better.
Instruments in hand, the musicians showed their approval by stamping
their feet.
Musically, the Cleveland players speak better than just about any
comparable group in the world. The orchestra’s overseers should open
their ears to what else they have to say.
Michener, a longtime cultural journalist, profiled the Cleveland
Orchestra for The New Yorker magazine in 2005. He is currently working
on a book about Cleveland called “The Hidden City.”
Conceived and spearheaded by the Musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra, with the support of The Musical Arts Association, and the co-operation of The New World Symphony.
CLEVELAND, January 19, 2010 – The Musicians’ Union and Management of The Cleveland Orchestra reached an agreement early this morning for a new three-year contract through September 2, 2012.
The agreement calls for a two-year wage freeze through August 2011, followed by semi-annual wage increases of 3% and 2% in the subsequent year. In addition, the Musicians will donate up to 10 services, which will provide cost relief and additional revenue for the Musical Arts Association. Musicians will increase their medical premium contribution beginning in July 2011.
The agreement was announced by the Musicians’ Committee Chairman, Jeffrey Rathbun, and the Orchestra’s Executive Director, Gary Hanson.
Mr. Rathbun said, “We are very happy that management has heard our message and agreed not to further erode our base compensation allowing us to stay as competitive as possible with the marketplace. We look forward to working together to build our base of support and continue our tradition of excellence.”
Mr. Hanson said, “Both sides worked effectively through a difficult process to reach an unprecedented agreement that will do much to help the Association’s finances going forward. I am very grateful for the Musicians’ passion and abiding concern for the Orchestra’s artistic excellence.”
The agreement was ratified by the musicians on Tuesday afternoon at Severance Hall. The agreement brings an end to a strike by the Union representing the musicians, Local 4 of the American Federation of Musicians, which began at midnight on January 18. The short strike caused the postponement of a scheduled Residency by the Orchestra at Indiana University. The Orchestra’s Miami Residency performances will proceed as scheduled.
The Orchestra Committee negotiating on behalf of the Musicians also included Mary Kay Fink, Eli Matthews, Jonathan Sherwin, and Paul Yancich, represented by attorney Bruce Simon. The negotiating team for Management included Gary Ginstling, James Menger, and Karen Tucholski, represented by attorney Frank Buck.
Negotiations were assisted by FMCS Mediators Jack Buettner and Laura Shepard, who provided tireless and invaluable service in helping the parties reach agreement.
The following is a statement from the Musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra
January 17, 2010
You may quote Jeffrey Rathbun, oboist and chair of the musicians’ negotiating committee
As musicians, going on strike was never something we imagined when we were in music school, and certainly not when we were fortunate enough to be selected to join the legendary Cleveland Orchestra. We expected this to be the last and best job we would ever have. Unfortunately, in recent times that has not been the case.
We are sorely disappointed that management has not acknowledged the sacrifices we have made in compensation and benefits in our last two contracts, or our offer to continue to work for the next contract year with no increase in salary or benefits. They want more cuts. They have taken reductions and say we need to feel the pain yet again — “shared sacrifice” they call it — going beyond the impact we’ve been feeling from the concessions we gave in our last two contract negotiations. We may be considered to be amongst the best in the world musically, but we are a far cry from being compensated that way or treated that way. In our judgment, if we were to accept management’s offer it would be the beginning of the end of The Cleveland Orchestra as one of the leading ensembles in the world.
To remain competitive, and to retain the great players we have, we can’t keep slipping behind. Our reputation is at stake and we have to stay competitive in compensation in order to stay competitive in quality. Our decision to strike is not about the money in the short term. It’s about the integrity of our brand; our reputation as musicians and our pride in representing our home town, Cleveland, Ohio, as we perform around the country and around the world. As one of our members said in a recent meeting, “I came here to play with The Cleveland Orchestra, not some orchestra in Cleveland.”
We are officially on strike effective at midnight tonight. Starting tomorrow we will be picketing in front of our beautiful home, Severance Hall. The acoustics of the hall are amongst the best in the world so we expect our protest to reverberate loudly and, hopefully, to resonate with music lovers everywhere.
We regret that it appears we will not be going to our residency at Indiana University and we send apologies to the students, faculty and alumni. We also regret that we will not be playing in our winter home at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and trust that our friends and supporters in Miami understand that if we played, it would be a great series of concerts in the short term and the beginning of the end of the quality that they, and people everywhere, have come to expect from The Cleveland Orchestra.
“Regrettable things get said in the public-relations battlefield of orchestra negotiations, but it’s curious for management to suggest that it’s paying players for the hours they work rather than the talent they possess, which isn’t very smart when you’re in the business of promoting the idea that what you have is the best.”
- Peter Dobrin, Philadelphia Inquirer Music Critic
Thank you for your support of The Cleveland Orchestra.
Each of us on the stage is one of the best musicians there is on our particular instrument. We won our positions in this orchestra after highly competitive auditions. But it’s not just our individual talent that makes The Cleveland Orchestra one of the best in the world. It’s our commitment to quality and musical integrity, both individually and collectively.
Today we find ourselves at a turning point in our careers as musicians. Over the past decade, while the Musical Arts Association has promoted us around the world as “the best,” our standing in compensation among American orchestras, both in salary and benefits, has slipped from the top tier to the second tier. As we all know, no company can keep its employees, much less recruit new talent, without paying a competitive wage, particularly when these same people are being recruited by other orchestras, ensembles, music schools and other venues on a regular basis.
We understand that these are unprecedented economic times in America and that all arts organizations are feeling the brunt of the recession with a decline in attendance, in annual giving and in their endowments. We are being told by our management that we have to accept a cut in both salary and benefits, because they have shown their willingness to share in the financial sacrifice. In point of fact, we have given concessions in our last two contracts both with pay freezes and drastic reductions in benefits. It is because of these reductions that we’ve slipped so far. We never used to pay our healthcare premiums. Now we share in the cost. We used to have a defined benefit retirement plan. Now we have no guaranteed benefit, and our investments in the stock market have taken the same hit as MAA’s endowment fund, in some cases more. We also have fewer opportunities for royalties and other sources of income from our work with the orchestra.
We’re not complaining. In fact, we’re proud that we have been partners with management in finding creative ways to keep the quality of our music at the top in a fiscally responsible way. Unfortunately, if we accept MAA’s current offer to us, we believe it will be the beginning of the end of the international reputation of The Cleveland Orchestra. We’re at the tipping point. As one of our members said in a recent meeting, “I came here to play with The Cleveland Orchestra, not some orchestra in Cleveland.” If we become just some orchestra in Cleveland, I doubt that you will want to continue to hear us play.
We applaud our Music Director, Franz Welser-Möst, for his passion and his commitment to quality; also our marketing department for promoting us as “the best” wherever we travel. Although our advertising praises us in print, our management belittles us when they meet with us, for example telling people in a press release that we work only 20 hours a week. Talk about an insult; if we worked only those hours you can be sure we wouldn’t sound like The Cleveland Orchestra. Look at it this way: given the same price for a ticket, would you rather pay to see the original Broadway cast of “Les Misérables” or see the third generation road show? By the same token, would you rather hear Beethoven’s 9th Symphony played by The Cleveland Orchestra or by some orchestra in Cleveland?
Again, thank you for your support of The Cleveland Orchestra.
What’s at stake here is holding onto one of the few – one or two or three – institutions in Cleveland that can truly be listed among the best in the world.
– Cleveland Magazine
Mr. Dennis La Barre
President
Board of the Cleveland Orchestra
Severance Hall
11001 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1713
Mr. Gary Hanson
Chief Executive Officer
Musical Arts Association
Severance Hall
11001 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1713
Dear Mr. La Barre and Mr. Hanson:
I strongly oppose any effort by the Musical Arts Association (MAA) to force the musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra to take an unreasonable and unwarranted 5% pay cut following already significant reductions in their health care and retirement plans. I urge you to resume meaningful negotiations with the musicians and ensure their compensation package is sufficiently competitive to maintain or increase the caliber of the Cleveland Orchestra.
It is my understanding the workers have agreed to take a one-year salary freeze, and that the MAA has refused this offer. Furthermore, I am told that the proposed 5% pay cut would increase the gap in annual compensation between the Cleveland Orchestra and other top ranked orchestras in the United States to over $15,000 in the next few years.
As you know, the Cleveland Orchestra has long been one of the top orchestras in the nation. Following significant reductions in salary and benefits over the past few years, the Orchestra’s standing has slipped compared to orchestras across the country. I am concerned that without a top-tier compensation package, the Cleveland Orchestra will be unable to recruit or retain world class musicians.
The Musical Arts Association has an obligation to the musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra and to the Greater Cleveland Community to ensure the Cleveland Orchestra’s continued excellence. The future of the Cleveland Orchestra is at stake. I urge you to negotiate in good faith with the musicians.
Sincerely,
Dennis J Kucinich
Member of Congress
(Download PDF of the original letter from Congressman Dennis Kucinich)
Letter to the Editor, Cleveland Plain Dealer
13 January 2010
One of the things that drew me to move to Cleveland was the greatness of the Cleveland Orchestra. If that greatness is diminished in any way, it will negatively impact this community in incalculable ways.
Let me share with you what I know about orchestra musicians- they are highly trained and conditioned athletes. Most began their musical schooling when their parents still had to hold their hands when they crossed the street. Even after winning their highly competitive positions in the Cleveland Orchestra, they continue to hone their skills some 40 to 60 hours per week, not the 20 hours per week that was recently published. Not a single one of them would keep their coveted jobs if they only played their instruments the hours they are required to be on stage. Does LeBron James play basketball two hours a day only at games?
Many of these orchestra musicians own instruments that cost more than their home mortgages. This labor dispute is not between the orchestra musicians and the management or the board, this dispute is between the arts and our region. Decades ago, the citizens of Cleveland decided that they would support one of the world’s best orchestras, if not the world’s best orchestra. It is up to the philanthropy of those in this community who believe in what this orchestra and all of the arts bring to the region who need to step forward and support what is truly theirs- the musicians of the great Cleveland Orchestra.
A silent concert hall is a terrible place. Don’t let that happen in your own back yard.
Peter Landgren
Conservatory Director
Baldwin-Wallace College
Former Associate Principal Horn
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
I’m just a musician. I’m not a lawyer, a statistician, a businesswoman, a fundraiser or an arts manager. I do not come armed with statistics about other orchestras, other businesses, and other non-profit organizations, although I, as well as the community at large, have been bombarded with unsavory news regarding the economic downturn.
But I do know one thing. The Cleveland Orchestra is not, as one colleague so astutely voiced at a recent meeting, an orchestra in Cleveland. The Cleveland Orchestra is a local, national, and international cultural gem, a true ambassador for Cleveland which serves to represent our city’s and our country’s cultural and musical standards. It is comprised of musicians from all over the world who have dedicated, not 20 hours a week, but their entire lives, many since the age of 3 or 5 (like me) to being the most competitive artists for the top-notch, internationally recognized institutions. Many of us spent summers from the age of 10 or 12 in summer music programs, practicing 4-6 hours a day, playing in orchestra, playing chamber music, studying with the most eminent teachers and performers of our time. Then, those of us who continued on into musical careers, attended the most competitive schools in existence, practiciing 4-8 hours a day, continuing in prestigious summer programs, and training for weeks, months, and years, to enter into the orchestral world. I believe that it is essential for our management, the Musical Arts Association, who books us in the most sought-after concert halls in the world such as Carnegie Hall, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, the London Proms, the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, and many more, to prioritize the well-being and profile, both in the way of remuneration and benefits, of the musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra. A modest and reasonable request for a temporary pay and benefits freeze should be met with gratitude and cooperation. If we work together, the sky’s the limit!
I respectfully and gratefully acknowledge the shared sacrifice of our colleagues on the staff, in management positions of different kinds, and of our music director, Franz Welser-Most, who generously committed to a percentage cut during 2009. But, being the outstanding musician that he is, with the ears, mind, talent and dedication to this Orchestra that he has displayed since day 1, he would be terribly disillusioned by a dwindling of his recent audition winners and of other talented musicians who would be snapped up by institutions with more satisfying working conditions. The decline in remuneration and accompanying benefits precedes the artistic decline and the latter will be an eventual inevitability. And the community of Cleveland will be the first to suffer.
One of our most esteemed and frequent guest conductors with whom we won a Grammy Award some years ago, received our applause with the comment, “but what is a conductor without an orchestra?” In our industry, no truer words have been spoken!
Carolyn Gadiel Warner
Violinist and Pianist, member of TCO since 1979
The Cleveland Duo/The Cleveland Duo and James Umble
As a member of the Cleveland Orchestra I would appreciate the opportunity to present the musicians’ perspective on our contract negotiations with the Musical Arts Association.
The Orchestra is not just a group of musicians trying to maintain their livelihood. The Orchestra is what brings great music to life week after week at Severance Hall. It is the product that the MAA “produces”. If a furniture company is famous for producing handcrafted, solid wood furniture, what will happen to its reputation if it starts using particle board and veneer? Likewise, if MAA continues to downgrade the compensation and benefits offered the Cleveland Orchestra, it will not be long before the great players they are used to hiring will not even audition here anymore.
The fact is, MAA has been downgrading the Orchestra for several years. As a result of major concessions in previous contract negotiations, Cleveland has already fallen behind the other Big Five orchestras. But MAA has been eroding the integrity of the Orchestra in more subtle ways. Since cellist Harvey Wolfe retired a few years ago there has been an alarming trend to keep positions in the Orchestra unfilled. While there is no good artistic reason for this, bean-counters will recognize it as a money-saving strategy. Currently we have five unfilled string positions, and second harp has been eliminated altogether. Delays in hiring principal and associate principal trombonists saved MAA lots of money, while putting a tremendous burden on the rest of the trombone section for four years.
Despite these pressures, the Orchestra continues to perform at the highest level, bringing in rave reviews from all over the world. MAA makes the most of this golden reputation (remember “the best band in the land”?) to charge higher fees for tour appearances, while lowering the bar at home. Their new campaign of “shared sacrifice” was the drum roll for the musicians to “step up and take their turn”.
The Orchestra is taking its turn. Our proposal is now on the table to freeze salaries and benefits for one year, at which time the economy will likely have stabilized enough to provide a better framework for future planning and negotiating. MAA’s refusal to even consider this proposal reveals their true strategy: They want to use the historic recession of 2009 to completely restructure the Orchestra, make it more “manageable” and “affordable”. If the economy continues to recover, however, the opportunity will slip through their fingers. While the recession did damage the financial health of our organization, the situation is not as dire as MAA claims. The endowment has recovered much of its former value, a large parcel of Blossom land has been sold to the National Parks, and there are other resources available to help weather this economic storm without compromising the quality of the product. In addition, new programming and marketing strategies are bringing new listeners, and hopefully making more life-long fans of classical music and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Yet MAA chooses to play hardball in this negotiation. Last week, numbers appeared in the paper, and in letters to patrons, which are very misleading. The salary figure published was not the base salary currently under discussion, but probably that of the highest-paid and most senior principal player. More alarming is the statement that the musicians of the Orchestra only work 20 hours per week, a blatant put-down, as MAA knows full well that every one of us puts in many hours of individual practice each week. This statement also ignores the fact that we routinely volunteer our services for chamber music concerts and outreach or development events. These tactics make one wonder if MAA really values The Cleveland Orchestra, or if they would be satisfied with just an orchestra in Cleveland.
In conclusion, I want to let you know that I am willing go on strike over this, not for my own sake, but for the sake of the musicians who will replace me and my colleagues. We, the current membership of the Cleveland Orchestra, are willing to make this shared sacrifice, hoping to preserve this Jewel for a future Cleveland.
Sincerely,
Lisa Boyko, Violist
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Howard Landau
Office: 216-912-2880
Mobile: 216-647-4488
hLandau@LandauPR.com
Cleveland Orchestra Musicians Step Off the Stage and Into the Audience With Their Message
Sunday Martin Luther King Concert is the Last Performance Before a Possible Strike
(Cleveland, Ohio…January 14, 2010) Just before their scheduled performance of tonight, members of The Cleveland Orchestra left the stage to go into the audience to pass out a brochure explaining their position in their contract negotiation with management. The Orchestra has been playing without a contract since September 1. Talks have broken down with management which is insisting on an immediate 5% pay cut. The members asking for a status quo, or pay freeze contract for the next eight months, after which bargaining would start again.
“We wish it hadn’t come to this,” Jeffrey Rathbun, oboist and co-chairman of the orchestra committee, said. “We have accepted concessions in both salary and benefits for the past two contracts, covering the past five years. Because of our concessions, we’ve helped management save millions of dollars. At the same time, unfortunately, our ranking has slipped from the top tier to number eight in the nation. There’s no way a city like Cleveland can stay competitive to attract and retain the best talent in the world without paying a competitive wage. We love living here, but not everyone agrees. We’re not doing this for ourselves as much as for the future reputation of this great orchestra,” Rathbun concluded.
The orchestra is scheduled to leave for a residency at Indiana University on Monday, followed by a sold-out engagement at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Unless meaningful talks resume in the next three days, a strike seems unavoidable.
“A strike is a lose/lose situation,” Rathbun said, “But we are passionate about protecting our reputation as one of the best in the world. The orchestra can’t maintain its level of quality in the future without the ability to compete financially with our peers. We apologize to our many fans, particularly those who have tickets and who were hoping to hear us play. We hope they understand that we are doing this for them too, so when they buy ticket or a CD that says The Cleveland Orchestra on it, they will be truly hearing the best musicians in an ensemble that is unparalleled in its precision and quality.”
At the conclusion of this Sunday’s Martin Luther King Concert, the musicians’ offer of a one year freeze to MAA will expire. As we approach this crucial deadline, it is critical that we stay united as a group.
It is also the time for all of our supporters to express their views by calling board members, writing to the Plain Dealer, and talking to your neighbors and friends. Please let MAA know that you are disappointed at their determination to “demote” us.
Help us keep The Cleveland Orchestra great.
Thanks.
Anyone interested in the arts and arts management should be familiar with Michael Kaiser, who is known as “The Turnaround King” since taking over several arts organizations on the brink of failure and making them thrive again. London’s Royal Opera House had a deficit of 30 million dollars when he took over. When he left a few years later, it was a healthy organization.
He is currently President of the Kennedy Center. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the National Symphony (under his management) is surpassing the Cleveland Orchestra in compensation. One of Michael Kaiser’s current “miracles” is raising the status of the National Symphony from the second tier of orchestras into the first.
In the first chapter of his book, The Art of the Turnaround, Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations, Kaiser presents the “Ten Rules” that any arts organization must follow in order to be healthy enough to sustain difficult times.
How closely is MAA following these “rules”?
Well we can’t help but notice that there are at least two of the rules that MAA has chosen not only to disregard, but to do just the opposite.
Rule 3: YOU CANNOT SAVE YOUR WAY TO HEALTH
Kaiser states “The first inclination of most boards and staffs is that they will save their organizations by saving money . . . . In only the rarest instance is excessive spending the true root of the problem of an arts organization . . . . Revenue is the problem with most arts orgainizations, not cost. Organizations focused simply on reducing costs will continue to get smaller and smaller and will never create the economic engine that is required for long-term stability and growth.”
To their credit, MAA has recently given more attention to audience expansion and creative programming. But cutting musicians salaries and leaving vacancies unfilled indefinitely is, according to Kaiser, the wrong approach.
Rule 7: THERE MUST BE ONLY ONE SPOKESMAN AND THE MESSAGE MUST BE POSITIVE
Kaiser speaks to this at length. Donors don’t want to give to an unhealthy organization. He says “Negative news coverage discourages your supporters from involving their friends and associates even if they continue their own personal support . . . .The message for every arts organization must focus on its reason for being, its mission . . . .[It] must focus on the wonderful projects . . . .rather than on the latest financial crisis.”
Wow. Gary Hanson has been preaching about the dire financial situation for many months, even at donor dinners. Not only has it been mentioned in the news, but it has appeared in the concert programs week after week.
If the role of management is to present a positive image, does it seem wise for them to try to convince the public that the musicians work only 20 hours a week? Hmm.
Through the Kennedy Center, Michael Kaiser has launched an Arts Management Program, training the arts leaders of tomorrow. He travels worldwide speaking on Arts Management.
To learn more go to: http://www.kennedy-center.org/about/kaiser.html
How far apart are things?
Unfortunately, we’re pretty far apart, which is why we have reached this crucial point. Management has taken the position that the musicians should bear the brunt of the economic downturn. Management has taken a pay cut from their extraordinary compensation packages, and we applaud them for that. That’s what they should do, as well as look to every way to cut overhead expenses and trim the fat wherever possible. The economics textbooks tell you that the last thing you want to do, even in these challenging times, is to cut into your business’s product.
The musicians are the product of the orchestra — the heart really — and our heart is not healthy. During much of the 20th Century The Cleveland Orchestra was among the top five orchestras–the top tier–in the country. Our salaries were not exactly the same as the other four, but they were comparable. Over the past decade our compensation has diminished so that now we are among second-tier ensembles with respect to salary and benefits. If this trend continues, the quality of our performances is likely to be affected as well, maybe not immediately, but soon. Our artistic integrity hasn’t suffered yet, but it is definitely getting difficult to attract the best musicians to Cleveland when they can go to other cities for significantly more money. To remain competitive, and to retain the great players we have, we can’t allow this to happen. Our reputation is at stake and we have to stay competitive in compensation in order to stay competitive in quality.
You offered a one-year salary and benefit freeze. Why didn’t management take it?
We can’t answer that. Frankly, we thought we were being very responsible, and we are surprised they didn’t accept. In our opinion, a freeze is a pretty strong cost control measure. We’re willing to defer discussion of compensation for another year, which for us is unprecedented. We took a one-year freeze in 2004, but we did so as a part of a package that included a raise in 2005. Our offer of a freeze now has no assurance of anything in the future.
Do you feel the economy will rebound in 2010 and that you’ll be asking for an increase next year at this time?
We certainly hope for a rebound in the economy–for everyone’s sake. Plus, management and board of trustees in Cleveland are being more creative in the way they structure our programs and the way the orchestra is marketed. We have confidence in the future and we look forward to working with management to review our contract again next year.
In a strike or lockout scenario, what is the impact on the musicians? How long can you hold out?
We are not in this for a short-term gain. We believe that sooner or later management will understand that keeping us in the top tier will benefit all parties. It seems best now to take a deep breath and try again this summer as the economy – and the orchestra – has a chance to recover.
What is the impact on your audience? How do you imagine your audience will feel if you do not play your scheduled concerts?
We hope our audience understands that we are fighting for them, too. They pay good money to hear the best music there is. We can’t keep our commitment to providing the quality that we are known for without a competitive wage. Maybe the audience won’t hear any difference this year, but they’ll start hearing it soon. Without a competitive salary and benefits, our brand will erode and our audience will abandon us for other entertainment unless they can trust in the quality of our playing and in the Cleveland Orchestra’s commitment to putting only the best players on stage.
Does the orchestra operate in a democratic fashion, that is do the musicians have any input in what repertoire is chosen, and which conductors and soloists are hired for any given season?
No. Repertoire is chosen by the Music Director and the Artistic Administrator, and at times, with input from guest conductors, soloists and the Executive Director.
Do the musicians have any input into who is hired in upper management?
No.
Do the musicians have any voice as to marketing strategies or who potential donors may be?
No.
How many orchestra positions are currently unfilled?
Currently, there are seven: Three First Violins, one Second Violin, One Viola, One Cello and Second Harp.
Is it true that there are more employees in the management of the Musical Arts Association than there are in the orchestra?
It is currently unclear how many employees are in management. There have been periods of time over the last ten years when management outnumbered the orchestra.
Do the musicians speak directly to the board members or does the board hear only from upper management?
Rarely does the board hear from orchestra members, unless such a conversation happens to occur in a social setting.