The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is back!

[the_muse]

coldjensens: I didn't say that there is a giant conspiracy. There are some people on the executive board who seem to want to dismantle the union.

If this was simply about money, the musicians have already said they would make a ridiculous sacrifice to save the institution. But, management is going further than that, requiring the removal of the formal process of firing someone so it can be done at management's will. They want to have the musicians do "community work" that will not be defined. Many of these things will make for a very unpleasant work environment, and great players will want to leave.

The trick is this: the DSO has traditionally been a destination orchestra - the type of job that, if you can get it, you wouldn't leave. And, for many instruments in the orchestra, there may be only 1-3 jobs that open per year around the country - rarely a job at this tier level of quality. Traditionally, they have had times where they've had 80 or 100 people show up to a DSO audition and they were unable to find someone that met their standards. The DSO is *THAT GOOD*. Many of the players have been in this orchestra for 20-40 years, and they don't want to abandon this institution.

Retroit is correct that the entire percussion section has left. However, the orchestra used to be 95 musicians - they actually have cut it down to 85 in the last contract. And that is before they lost most of the percussionists and several other string players. There are also key vacancies in the orchestra due to retirements or not finding the right person at the last auditions.

Regarding the donor: I think you misread what i said. A donor (Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans) has been willing to offer the $1 million that separates the two sides in settling the contract at $36 million over three years. So, if the financial problem is solved, and the musicians accept it, why won't management accept it? They keep saying they can't afford it, when it is actually their own financial offer.

Trust me, Gilbert and other major players in this town HAVE been pressuring both sides to negotiate. Countless businesses and developments have been suffering in Detroit because of this stalemate.

A couple weeks ago, Gilbert and Sen. Carl Levin summoned both sides to meet & negotiate, at Quicken headquarters. Management refused to show up. The musicians negotiators sat with these famous people for 14 hours that day, explaining the gap between the two sides as they saw it. Then, the mediators called these parties together again, management finally agreed to show up, and they hammered out a deal. As soon as the mediators left, management changed the deal and reneged on the financial agreement.

Management has been on top of the PR of this quite well, and they do have a friend at the Free Press who has published very one-sided reports on the issue. If this story about the negotiations with the mediators (Sen. Carl Levin, Dan Gilbert, and others) wasn't true, they would have been all over it - but they have said nothing about it.

My friends consider me to be someone who has cautious and even handed in looking at this situation. I haven't come to these conclusions lightly. I didn't think that a small number of people on the exec board would allow the orchestra to fall to its knees. The greater board of directors has been snowed by what is going on, and many are starting to catch on. There are fractures within the board as to what to do next.

The musicians offered to get back to playing with binding arbitration, which could very well end up with them taking a terrible hit contracturally. They want to save the orchestra. I can't think of one reason why management would turn it down, other than that they don't want to get the orchestra back to work. They really have nothing to lose financially by accepting arbitration, just could possibly lose gaining control over how they can fire people, removing the librarian from the contract, and not being able to send musicians to do undefined "community work".

(Note that, after yesterday's article about how management turned down the arbitration, there is suddenly a corrected article in the Free Press today claiming that they haven't turned it down, just that they haven't accepted it).

[Retroit]

It seems like management has the upper hand so far. The musicians are coming across as too desperate. They should stop negotiating until management is willing to meet their demands. The musicians should focus on having as many non-management-sanctioned concerts as possible and prove to management that they (the musicians) are the DSO, not management or the BOD. Maybe Gilbert or Illitch can book the Fox for them.

(Add Masonic Temple as another possible venue. Over twice the seating capacity of Orchestra Hall.)

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by Retroit

It seems like management has the upper hand so far. The musicians are coming across as too desperate. They should stop negotiating until management is willing to meet their demands. The musicians should focus on having as many non-management-sanctioned concerts as possible and prove to management that they (the musicians) are the DSO, not management or the BOD. Maybe Gilbert or Illitch can book the Fox for them.

(Add Masonic Temple as another possible venue. Over twice the seating capacity of Orchestra Hall.)

This is a very good idea. The members should do some concerts at a reaosnable price to show that they want to keep the orchestra going and they are not the greedy party that they are being made out to be. They do not have to have the fancy concrert hall. Yes the acoustics are better, but people will still be happy to listen to them in other locations. I once heard them play at Greenfield Villiage and they sounded great. Heck, why cant they just re-form as a different orchestra and play in alternate locations? They could charge a lower ticket price and still pay themselves the same or more money since they will not need to service a $26 million loan and pay for a fancy hall. Yes the hall is ideal, but is it necessary? Can we still have an orchestra without the hall? Can we have an orchestra without the evil management? Can't Gilbert just start his own orchestra with his million dollars? (The GSO). The Orchestra members could just work for a share of the ticket and advertising sales after paying for the location and give Gilbert back a bit of his money. They could be like an ESOP. There are a lot of places that they could play at minimal cost and probably make enough on tickets and advertising to keep the Oboes humming. I would pay a reasonable amount to see them anywhere. In fact, I would rather pay a reaonsable amount to see them play at an acustically challenged location than I would pay a higher fee to hear them play in the fancy hall. I think that it is likely that most people would.

Since their contract is expired, there is no reason that they cannot just start up their own orchestra and forget about the hall. THat woudl bring Management to their knees pretty quickly. Is there a non-compete clause in their former contract?

I wonder if they would accept the deal if management defined community work. Frankly I think that the members should be required to get out there and stir up some interest in the orchestra. PLay in small groups at schools, malls community events. They do a little of that but not enough. In every other service type business that I know all principal employees are required to get out and do marketing. They are not paid for this, it is part of keeping your job.


The DSo website claims that Union pressure caused Take 6 to cancel their appearance. Is this untrue?

If that is true, the union is playing a foolish and very risky game.

Even if the strike is settled, I do not understand how the DSO intends to deal withthe lenders. The lenders are supposedly getting impatient and the DSO now has less than ever to negotiate with them. Perhaps it would be better for the members to simply form a new orchestra and let the DSO go. Once the lenders take the building, and auction it off, the new orchestra should be established enough to get donors to help them buy it at a massively reduced price. The orchestra can reduce their admission pricing in recognition of the recession, keep their same salaries and, in a few years, end up back at their normall hall. In fact, they may be able to rent it from the lenders in the interim. That is better for the lenders than having it sit empty. That is kind of a win win for everyone except the DSO board.

[ForStarters]

If you didn't already know, the strike ended last week and the DSO is up and running. They held their first post-strike performance at Max Fisher over the weekend. According to reviews, the orchestra was well received, the performance was great, and one lady cried.

DSO's back; crowd sings happy tune | detnews.com | The Detroit News (http://www.detnews.com/article/20110411/ENT01/104110326/DSO%E2%80%99s-back--crowd-sings-happy-tune - broken link)

I am very glad things worked out. It would have pained me to lose the DSO. I will be buying tickets to one of their upcoming performances. Here is a calendar of their upcoming schedule:

DSO Calendar

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by ForStarters

... and one lady cried.

Very funny.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by ForStarters

If you didn't already know, the strike ended last week and the DSO is up and running. They held their first post-strike performance at Max Fisher over the weekend. According to reviews, the orchestra was well received, the performance was great, and one lady cried.

DSO's back; crowd sings happy tune | detnews.com | The Detroit News (http://www.detnews.com/article/20110411/ENT01/104110326/DSO%E2%80%99s-back--crowd-sings-happy-tune - broken link)

I am very glad things worked out. It would have pained me to lose the DSO. I will be buying tickets to one of their upcoming performances. Here is a calendar of their upcoming schedule:

DSO Calendar

Thank you. I had not heard. Too bad. I love the New World Symphony. I do not see anyhting else temping on the April schedule, I will wait until the kids are out of school and see if some of them want to go.

What deal did they end up making? Did they accomplish anything?

WHere do they stand onthe DSO financial woes. Are they likley to be around after this season? The strike was only a small part of the picture. According to the president speaking ont he radio a while back, the lenders were about to shut down the DSO.