When San Diego Opera decided to replace its in-house orchestra with the musicians of the San Diego Symphony last year, some in the city’s arts scene were dubious. But one year into the partnership, the symphony and opera both pronounce themselves well pleased with the results.
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Louisville Orchestra Threatens Musicians With Shutdown
The management of the cash-strapped Louisville Orchestra pulled out of contract negotiations with its musicians last week and went public with what it says is the musicians’ “complete disregard for the challenges facing the orchestra.” The orchestra’s executive director says that the ensemble may shut down before the end of the current season and reorganize in bankruptcy. The musicians say they were “stunned” by the announcement.
Dug In Over Health Insurance
The stalled contract talks between the Louisville musicians and management can be summed up in two words: health care. “The orchestra now pays 99 percent of individual players’ health-care premiums. In its first offer, management sought a $50,000 savings in overall health-care expenses through a variety of options. The musicians’ Dec. 23 counterproposal included phased-in coverage for dependents — calling for the orchestra to pay 100 percent of dependent/family premiums in the 2008-09 season. The orchestra deemed that absurd.”
Fort Worth CEO Resigns Under Pressure
The president and CEO of the Fort Worth (Texas) Symphony Orchestra has been forced to resign after less than two years at the helm. Katherine Akos, who came into the job with an impressive resume including stints as a professional violinist and as a top fundraiser for the San Francisco Conservatory, reportedly had a hard time replicating her success in Texas, and her relationship with FWSO music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya was described as “frosty.”
Wondering What Rush and Hannity Will Be Talking About This Week?
In his latest audio message to the world, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden singled out a certain left-wing Washington historian as being worthy of praise. You might think that having the world’s best-known terrorist as a fan would be a nightmare scenario for such an author. But 72-year-old William Blum isn’t running from the endorsement: in fact, he says he’s quite pleased.
Wilson Pickett: Screaming His Way Into Our Hearts
“In a classic soul era largely defined by crooners and shouters, [Wilson Pickett, who died last week at 64,] was a screamer, a throat-shredding force of nature who always seemed about to bust a gut or blow a gasket. He called what he did ‘grits music,’ and it could scald a listener or fire up a fan’s imagination.”
Midori’s Teachers Go On Strike
“Music teachers who carry out the work of the foundation established by the violinist Midori went on strike on Thursday, denouncing what they said were a lack of raises, unfair pay and attempts to limit pensions.” Teachers in the program are paid $40 an hour, but say they are given only a few hours of work per week and are asked to travel for hours between classes. “The foundation countered that the teachers were making unreasonable demands on an organization created to do good.”
Is NYC’s Armory Project A Zero-Sum Game?
The announcement that New York’s eye-catching Seventh Regiment Armory will soon be transformed into a 55,000-square-foot “visual and performing arts institutions” was greeted happily across much of the city’s arts world. But not everyone is happy: “for dozens of dealers and show organizers across the country and abroad, the cavernous Park Avenue space [has been] a crucial sales point for their wares.”
Princeton Gets $101 Million Arts Gift
“Peter B. Lewis, the Cleveland philanthropist known for his tough standards, is giving his alma mater, Princeton University, $101 million to expand its creative and performing arts activities, including the creation of an artists-in-residence program… Mr. Lewis, who said he chose the figure of $101 million to top the last large donation to the university ($100 million), called the arts ‘an important part of life I didn’t know when I was at Princeton and didn’t know when I was a kid.'”
Is ABC Pandering To The Christian Right?
More than a year ago, ABC Television began production for a new reality show featuring a gay couple and their adopted son moving into an exclusive neighborhood in Austin, Texas. The show wound up being, by all reports, a fascinating look at American society and the ability of neighbors to change and adapt to the people around them. But ABC yanked the program off its fall schedule and has yet to announce whether it will air. Now, there is speculation that ABC pulled the show to avoid offending four major “religious right” groups which recently lifted their boycott of the Disney-owned ABC.