At least the musicians are announcing news to that effect.
What seems to be in place will be a one-year contract with a mediator hired to see if a longer agreement can't be worked out.
This whole episode resembles one of those really nasty divorces in which former spouses decide they'd each rather spend 50k on lawyer fees than allow the other to keep the patio furniture.
Simultaneous to this announcement, news that Louisville Fund for the Arts has appointed a new executive director.
The two events are unrelated, but may create some sort of synergy. It seem the Fund was also involved in its own airborne transport of nutritonal products.
OS scratches his gray head and wonders out loud:
Did it occur to anyone that the orchestra debacle, with its nastiness and name-calling, would deter people from buying tickets and donating what dwindling amounts of discretionary money may yet remain?
No one wants to buy tickets or give donations to a food fight. Even if they go back to work, it will still be a food fight for the musicians and concert goers. Musicians hate management, which is completely out of patience. The board (the people who give money) has been vilified by the people who are the direct recipients of the money the board raises...and much of Louisville would rather go to high school and college ball games on Friday night than hear a punch of pissed-off unhappy musicians go through the motions of playing a Brahms symphony.
The food fight isn't over, just put on hold. Rather like a divorcing couple, each seeking to prove itself the injured party, willing to burn everything down just to take possession of the ashes and declare victory, the war will flare up once more.
If everything goes well, and everyone behaves, it will require at least five years to rebuild the band, the brand, and the organization.
Tick, tock, ya'll...
Showing posts with label Louisville Orchestra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louisville Orchestra. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Orphaned Housing, Declining Neighbohoods In Louisville--A Cautionary Tale Of the Shadow Inventory
You might not know it, but Louisville has much more going on, and much bigger problems than the current food fight between labor and management at the Louisville Orchestra.
This article gives some insight:
Sweet. The banks write mortgages that at bottom say: 'Make your payments, or we'll seize the property.' This owner went through bankruptcy, and voluntarily surrendered the banks' property back to them. They refused to take them back, and also refused to release the lien. In other words, they know the properties are deep under water, that they were never worth the money lent on them. They now refuse to have them on the books, and simultaneously insist that the debtor still owes the full amount of the remaining mortgage. The taxes have piled up as well in the meantime, but the city doesn't wish to seize them either.
So the houses sit and rot, attract vermin vagrants and criminals, and serve to pull the neighborhood down into the black hole with them. Whose gunna lend money on the house next door to one of these houses, or down the block for that matter?
After all that money was shoved at the banks via TARP, the Fed, and the FDIC to save them from themselves, we have this mess on our hands.
Mr. Hill's former houses are part of that large 'shadow inventory', in legal and financial limbo. Until someone begins telling the truth, and takes the initiative to clean up this mess, this problem only gets worse.
OS nominates the banks for the role. They lent the money, it's their risk.
Not ours.
This article gives some insight:
97-year-old house at Virginia Avenue and South 32nd Street in Parkland has languished for years, with its overgrown grass and a piece of metal drip edge hanging over the porch.Last April, Louisville Metro Government employees made an “emergency” visit to board up the house because “people have been going in and out stealing copper and hanging out.”
.
A month later, metro officials filed criminal charges against the property owner, Dartanya Hill — a move reserved for only the most negligent property owners.
But while he remains the house’s legal owner, Hill contends that he “surrendered” the $42,910 one-story home and three other western Louisville rental properties in 2007 when he went through bankruptcy.
Now he is suing Bank of America, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo, claiming the mortgage creditors have left him in “legal limbo” by keeping their liens on the dilapidated houses but also refusing to take title — and thus legal responsibility — for them.
Sweet. The banks write mortgages that at bottom say: 'Make your payments, or we'll seize the property.' This owner went through bankruptcy, and voluntarily surrendered the banks' property back to them. They refused to take them back, and also refused to release the lien. In other words, they know the properties are deep under water, that they were never worth the money lent on them. They now refuse to have them on the books, and simultaneously insist that the debtor still owes the full amount of the remaining mortgage. The taxes have piled up as well in the meantime, but the city doesn't wish to seize them either.
So the houses sit and rot, attract vermin vagrants and criminals, and serve to pull the neighborhood down into the black hole with them. Whose gunna lend money on the house next door to one of these houses, or down the block for that matter?
After all that money was shoved at the banks via TARP, the Fed, and the FDIC to save them from themselves, we have this mess on our hands.
Mr. Hill's former houses are part of that large 'shadow inventory', in legal and financial limbo. Until someone begins telling the truth, and takes the initiative to clean up this mess, this problem only gets worse.
OS nominates the banks for the role. They lent the money, it's their risk.
Not ours.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
27 January 2012 OS Reflects On His Month
There hasn't been much time or energy to write during this first month of 2012, due to schedule and a nasty nasty nasty respiratory bug that traveled home with Mr and Mrs OS from their vacation in England. Yes, flu shots were administered last fall, and it didn't seem to make a bit of difference this year.
Still, some wonderful moments occurred, such as a trip to Louisville to hear the Royal Philharmonic with Pinchas Zukerman on the podium, and performing the Bruch violin concerto as well. Brahms 4 occupied the second half, featuring flawless string playing, and inspiring work from the principal flautist. A piece like this is the musical version of wire-walking in one's BVD's--if it goes well, no one notices, but if things go slightly pear-shaped it's immediately evident. The highlight of the evening was Zukerman's 'pep talk' to the audience after the main concert, followed by an inspired performance of Elgar's Nimrod. He reminded the audience of his first visit to their fair city in 1969, and urged them to get their orchestra underway again. The packed house cheered for him as he spoke.
It may take a long time, given the bitterness in the air. This bit of labor rant, complete with every device of class envy the author could muster was published in response to this perhaps ill-time and advised public pronouncement by one of the Louisville Orchestra's board members. Turns out that the orchestra members had been claiming unemployment benefits, on the basis they had been locked out. The State of Kentucky had recently ruled that, in reality, the musicians are on strike. Not only are they not eligible to collect, they owe the money they collected back! Not a happy situation, to say the least.
The turnout at Royal Phil was impressive--every seat filled. There is an audience for this music, but not for a snake-bit situation as exists locally. The solution may be to have other orchestras play in Louisville while on tour for the next 3-5 years, put the LO on ice, let tempers cool and reason have a chance to reassert itself.
It was also a month that included one of those frustrating 'customer representative' experiences with OS's wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless. They sold him a phone that didn't work, after assuring him all was well. It cost many hours to straighten out the snafu. The worst experience was with Danny, who didn't see the logic in making an adjustment in the bill that might begin to faintly recognize the chaos created. Danny, and presumably Verizon, are perfectly happy to let thousands of dollars a year from a long-standing customer walk out the door, while informing his friends and family of the shabby treatment.
OK, Danny. You win. Verizon must not need customers, so OS is happy to recommend his readers shop elsewhere, as he plans to do as well. The money for your salary, package and pension will miraculously materialize from somewhere as the customers snap the checkbook shut, so don't-chew-worry-yohself-one-bit. You're Danny, from Verizon. Nothing bad could happen to you.
Finally, the election fever is upon us. Never have words seemed to mean less, or the stakes been higher, or the world situation more fragile. So, that's why we follow Newt's ex-wife breathlessly, and pore over Mitt's tax return (500 ***** pages? That's a tax code we can live with?), debating whether he pays enough taxes. How's about instead we allllll learn how to build substantial worth by honest means?
Herman Cain seems like a footnote now, but OS rues his absence. There is something about the man that frightens people like Obama, Mitt, Newt, McCain, Biden. His approach is simple, he's basically come back from death's door in recovering from cancer, and he knows how to relate to people.
But life is looking up--baseball spring training begins soon, and the NCAA tournament and The Masters aren't far behind. Today's round in Abu Dhabi with Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in the same threesome brought joy to the heart, as did Louisville's wins at Pittsburgh and at home.
Still in recovery mode. Till next time.
OS
Still, some wonderful moments occurred, such as a trip to Louisville to hear the Royal Philharmonic with Pinchas Zukerman on the podium, and performing the Bruch violin concerto as well. Brahms 4 occupied the second half, featuring flawless string playing, and inspiring work from the principal flautist. A piece like this is the musical version of wire-walking in one's BVD's--if it goes well, no one notices, but if things go slightly pear-shaped it's immediately evident. The highlight of the evening was Zukerman's 'pep talk' to the audience after the main concert, followed by an inspired performance of Elgar's Nimrod. He reminded the audience of his first visit to their fair city in 1969, and urged them to get their orchestra underway again. The packed house cheered for him as he spoke.
It may take a long time, given the bitterness in the air. This bit of labor rant, complete with every device of class envy the author could muster was published in response to this perhaps ill-time and advised public pronouncement by one of the Louisville Orchestra's board members. Turns out that the orchestra members had been claiming unemployment benefits, on the basis they had been locked out. The State of Kentucky had recently ruled that, in reality, the musicians are on strike. Not only are they not eligible to collect, they owe the money they collected back! Not a happy situation, to say the least.
The turnout at Royal Phil was impressive--every seat filled. There is an audience for this music, but not for a snake-bit situation as exists locally. The solution may be to have other orchestras play in Louisville while on tour for the next 3-5 years, put the LO on ice, let tempers cool and reason have a chance to reassert itself.
It was also a month that included one of those frustrating 'customer representative' experiences with OS's wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless. They sold him a phone that didn't work, after assuring him all was well. It cost many hours to straighten out the snafu. The worst experience was with Danny, who didn't see the logic in making an adjustment in the bill that might begin to faintly recognize the chaos created. Danny, and presumably Verizon, are perfectly happy to let thousands of dollars a year from a long-standing customer walk out the door, while informing his friends and family of the shabby treatment.
OK, Danny. You win. Verizon must not need customers, so OS is happy to recommend his readers shop elsewhere, as he plans to do as well. The money for your salary, package and pension will miraculously materialize from somewhere as the customers snap the checkbook shut, so don't-chew-worry-yohself-one-bit. You're Danny, from Verizon. Nothing bad could happen to you.
Finally, the election fever is upon us. Never have words seemed to mean less, or the stakes been higher, or the world situation more fragile. So, that's why we follow Newt's ex-wife breathlessly, and pore over Mitt's tax return (500 ***** pages? That's a tax code we can live with?), debating whether he pays enough taxes. How's about instead we allllll learn how to build substantial worth by honest means?
Herman Cain seems like a footnote now, but OS rues his absence. There is something about the man that frightens people like Obama, Mitt, Newt, McCain, Biden. His approach is simple, he's basically come back from death's door in recovering from cancer, and he knows how to relate to people.
But life is looking up--baseball spring training begins soon, and the NCAA tournament and The Masters aren't far behind. Today's round in Abu Dhabi with Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in the same threesome brought joy to the heart, as did Louisville's wins at Pittsburgh and at home.
Still in recovery mode. Till next time.
OS
Monday, October 3, 2011
Coda: Assets Of Syracuse Symphony Divided Among Thee Local Institutions
It's over.
The Orchestra entered Chapter 7, a liquidation bankruptcy proceeding. The bank, the primary creditor, recovered what it could, and in an act of goodwill, distributed some of the most important assets to local organizations.
M & T Bank has closed the books on what’s left of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.
The bank’s regional president Allen J. Naples announced the dispersal of the SSO’s assets to three community groups at a news conference this morning at the Onondaga Historical Association. The bank was the main secured creditor for SSO assets when it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May.
Naples said the orchestra’s instruments, including a Steinway piano, and computer and electronic equipment would be donated to the Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse and Onondaga County. The SSO’s sheet music, considered to be the most valuable asset, will be given to the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University. Onondaga Historical Association will receive the orchestra’s archives, albums and paintings.
Rightly, the music library was seen as the most valuable asset. Without it, it would be impossible to ever re-assemble another orchestra in the future. A lot of that music is long out of print, and the years of musicians' markings on the parts (which in effect create a local edition of a piece) are irreplaceable.
The bank did the right thing, for the city and for themselves. They took their haircut, to be sure, and left the door open for something else to assemble itself in the future. The bank also bought a good deal of that intangible asset--goodwill--so difficult to build, so easy to destroy.
Once again, OS sez: 2012 cannot come soon enough. It will take sober grownups to set the country in motion and productive again, so that profits can be made to spend on important items like a local symphony. Until then, it's chinstraps on. We haven't reached the end of the orchestra closures yet. Louisville has yet to get back underway, and Philadelphia is still in BK. Whoo'da'thunk'it that the great Philadelphia Orchestra would wind up in BK court?
Colorado Symphony may be next.
The Orchestra entered Chapter 7, a liquidation bankruptcy proceeding. The bank, the primary creditor, recovered what it could, and in an act of goodwill, distributed some of the most important assets to local organizations.
M & T Bank has closed the books on what’s left of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.
The bank’s regional president Allen J. Naples announced the dispersal of the SSO’s assets to three community groups at a news conference this morning at the Onondaga Historical Association. The bank was the main secured creditor for SSO assets when it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May.
Naples said the orchestra’s instruments, including a Steinway piano, and computer and electronic equipment would be donated to the Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse and Onondaga County. The SSO’s sheet music, considered to be the most valuable asset, will be given to the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University. Onondaga Historical Association will receive the orchestra’s archives, albums and paintings.
Rightly, the music library was seen as the most valuable asset. Without it, it would be impossible to ever re-assemble another orchestra in the future. A lot of that music is long out of print, and the years of musicians' markings on the parts (which in effect create a local edition of a piece) are irreplaceable.
The bank did the right thing, for the city and for themselves. They took their haircut, to be sure, and left the door open for something else to assemble itself in the future. The bank also bought a good deal of that intangible asset--goodwill--so difficult to build, so easy to destroy.
Once again, OS sez: 2012 cannot come soon enough. It will take sober grownups to set the country in motion and productive again, so that profits can be made to spend on important items like a local symphony. Until then, it's chinstraps on. We haven't reached the end of the orchestra closures yet. Louisville has yet to get back underway, and Philadelphia is still in BK. Whoo'da'thunk'it that the great Philadelphia Orchestra would wind up in BK court?
Colorado Symphony may be next.
Monday, August 22, 2011
And Folks Will to Attend/Buy Tickets/Donate Their Wealth To The Louisville Orchestra Because?
The battle just gets uglier between the AFM and management.
The American Federation of Musicians announced that it has placed the Louisville Orchestra on its “Unfair List,” just a week after the orchestra emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy without a collective bargaining agreement with its musicians and just weeks before the orchestra’s season-opening performance scheduled for Sept. 10.
Placing the organization on the unfair list means that any union members who play for the Louisville Orchestra without a contract could be fined. All the orchestra’s musicians are members of the New York-based union.
The federation issued a statement saying it took the action because during a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing on Aug. 15 the orchestra’s chief executive, Robert Birman, said the orchestra would continue working toward a contract with the current musicians but could also pursue agreements with non-union musicians or sidestep the union to make agreements with union musicians.
Utter silliness, from both sides.
The Seattle Symphony seems to be thriving, sans the AFM.
Maybe, it's time to rethink the entire enterprise...just sayin'...
The American Federation of Musicians announced that it has placed the Louisville Orchestra on its “Unfair List,” just a week after the orchestra emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy without a collective bargaining agreement with its musicians and just weeks before the orchestra’s season-opening performance scheduled for Sept. 10.
Placing the organization on the unfair list means that any union members who play for the Louisville Orchestra without a contract could be fined. All the orchestra’s musicians are members of the New York-based union.
The federation issued a statement saying it took the action because during a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing on Aug. 15 the orchestra’s chief executive, Robert Birman, said the orchestra would continue working toward a contract with the current musicians but could also pursue agreements with non-union musicians or sidestep the union to make agreements with union musicians.
Utter silliness, from both sides.
The Seattle Symphony seems to be thriving, sans the AFM.
Maybe, it's time to rethink the entire enterprise...just sayin'...
Monday, February 28, 2011
On The One Hand, More Of The Same. On The Other, A Sane Proposal For Symphony Orchestras In The US
With the world seeming to burn down, it seems silly for OS to spend any energy on a seemingly minor subject.
Point taken. But, OS calls your attention to the masthead, his premise behind his scribbles.
It is important that this country have really good orchestras, operas, ballets, music schools, and the like. Music is important, and instrumental classical music is a big part of that.
The whole enterprise is on shaky ground these days, though. Many of the 'big' orchestras are running deficits, which cannot be sustained for the long term. Detroit has shut down, since the musicians decided to reject the latest offer. Louisville almost did, but the judge has demanded that management spend the endowment on the payroll. Good luck with that, ya'll. Charleston Symphony simply turned out the lights and shut the door last spring, and just restarted in December 2010.
Unionized orchestra musicians, like some others in the culture, have this unshakable belief that goes like this: I can do things like play the bassoon parts to all the Strauss tone-poems, perfectly, every time, come what may. I therefore should have a gig with an orchestra that will pay me a respectable income to do just that sort of thing. The orchestra gets its money from TheGreatMoneyTree, that endless flow of cash that emerges from the bottomless well of wealth in the government, and the other bottomless wells of wealth located in the corporate sector, and the concert-going public, who gratefully purchase tickets to hear me play the Strauss tone-poems. I have no other obligation to the city in which I live than to play my bassoon. The city is obliged to support me.
There was a day, say fifty years ago, when that model more-or-less held true.
It does not apply now.
This on musician troubles at the NYC Ballet:
Two performers' unions have teamed up to fight what they call "unacceptable labor relations policy" at the New York City Ballet.
The American Guild of Musical Artists and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians announced Thursday that their respective negotiating committees met on Jan. 24 to discuss ways to combat the ballet's "unacceptable approach to contract negotiations." AGMA represents dancers; Local 802 represents orchestra musicians. Members of both unions are working under contracts that expired in August.
In a joint statement, the unions said that they agreed to wage freezes last year "despite the fact that NYCB's fiscal problems seem to be caused by questionable artistic and administrative planning, by a development department that isn't raising enough money, and a publicity department that isn't selling enough tickets." The unions went on to call for a wage increase, describing a further freeze as "unacceptable" and saying that the two negotiating committees will meet again "to consider joint actions to compel City Ballet to address their respective members' needs in a more positive, acceptable manner."
Really, ya'll. Just can't make this stuff up. It's like we don't have a functional 20% unemployment rate, and management has its own Fed in the back office to go print it up sum moh' munny, hunny.
On the other hand, there is a voice of sanity out there, a most credible one at that:
Tony Woodcock, President of New England Conservatory.
Instead of over-specialization and the exclusive pursuit of perfection dictated by the demands of the recording industry, let us instead strive for excellence, a broader set of skills for our musicians, and a new responsibility by our musicians to the community. Instead of musical technicians, let us mold what the founder of “El Sistema” calls “apostles to society.” Let’s release our musicians’ creative potential in a directed and synergistic way for a whole community. Musicians are brilliant and wonderful people and can do anything; we need to trust their judgment and direction and creativity. Music schools have begun taking steps to prepare young musicians for such a future. Excellent musicianship continues, of course, to be a given and students graduate with ever more impressive chops.
I cannot think of another industry where there is no relationship between the employers and the trainers. For the future, this really needs to change and I believe the key words are “partnerships” and “collaborations”—orchestral partnerships with music schools, and orchestral collaborations within the community. To facilitate these, we need to tear up all those restrictive collective bargaining agreements and create a context of flexibility and trust. This has never previously been possible between musicians, management and boards, but the new model would not be based on confrontation and dysfunction. It would be about a shared vision, ownership, and musician empowerment. Orchestras could then focus upon community interaction with an educational bias. Musicians would have multiple functions and responsibilities, many of which would be self-managed and created in the community.
It's a great article, and deserves to be considered.
Point taken. But, OS calls your attention to the masthead, his premise behind his scribbles.
It is important that this country have really good orchestras, operas, ballets, music schools, and the like. Music is important, and instrumental classical music is a big part of that.
The whole enterprise is on shaky ground these days, though. Many of the 'big' orchestras are running deficits, which cannot be sustained for the long term. Detroit has shut down, since the musicians decided to reject the latest offer. Louisville almost did, but the judge has demanded that management spend the endowment on the payroll. Good luck with that, ya'll. Charleston Symphony simply turned out the lights and shut the door last spring, and just restarted in December 2010.
Unionized orchestra musicians, like some others in the culture, have this unshakable belief that goes like this: I can do things like play the bassoon parts to all the Strauss tone-poems, perfectly, every time, come what may. I therefore should have a gig with an orchestra that will pay me a respectable income to do just that sort of thing. The orchestra gets its money from TheGreatMoneyTree, that endless flow of cash that emerges from the bottomless well of wealth in the government, and the other bottomless wells of wealth located in the corporate sector, and the concert-going public, who gratefully purchase tickets to hear me play the Strauss tone-poems. I have no other obligation to the city in which I live than to play my bassoon. The city is obliged to support me.
There was a day, say fifty years ago, when that model more-or-less held true.
It does not apply now.
This on musician troubles at the NYC Ballet:
Two performers' unions have teamed up to fight what they call "unacceptable labor relations policy" at the New York City Ballet.
The American Guild of Musical Artists and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians announced Thursday that their respective negotiating committees met on Jan. 24 to discuss ways to combat the ballet's "unacceptable approach to contract negotiations." AGMA represents dancers; Local 802 represents orchestra musicians. Members of both unions are working under contracts that expired in August.
In a joint statement, the unions said that they agreed to wage freezes last year "despite the fact that NYCB's fiscal problems seem to be caused by questionable artistic and administrative planning, by a development department that isn't raising enough money, and a publicity department that isn't selling enough tickets." The unions went on to call for a wage increase, describing a further freeze as "unacceptable" and saying that the two negotiating committees will meet again "to consider joint actions to compel City Ballet to address their respective members' needs in a more positive, acceptable manner."
Really, ya'll. Just can't make this stuff up. It's like we don't have a functional 20% unemployment rate, and management has its own Fed in the back office to go print it up sum moh' munny, hunny.
On the other hand, there is a voice of sanity out there, a most credible one at that:
Tony Woodcock, President of New England Conservatory.
Instead of over-specialization and the exclusive pursuit of perfection dictated by the demands of the recording industry, let us instead strive for excellence, a broader set of skills for our musicians, and a new responsibility by our musicians to the community. Instead of musical technicians, let us mold what the founder of “El Sistema” calls “apostles to society.” Let’s release our musicians’ creative potential in a directed and synergistic way for a whole community. Musicians are brilliant and wonderful people and can do anything; we need to trust their judgment and direction and creativity. Music schools have begun taking steps to prepare young musicians for such a future. Excellent musicianship continues, of course, to be a given and students graduate with ever more impressive chops.
I cannot think of another industry where there is no relationship between the employers and the trainers. For the future, this really needs to change and I believe the key words are “partnerships” and “collaborations”—orchestral partnerships with music schools, and orchestral collaborations within the community. To facilitate these, we need to tear up all those restrictive collective bargaining agreements and create a context of flexibility and trust. This has never previously been possible between musicians, management and boards, but the new model would not be based on confrontation and dysfunction. It would be about a shared vision, ownership, and musician empowerment. Orchestras could then focus upon community interaction with an educational bias. Musicians would have multiple functions and responsibilities, many of which would be self-managed and created in the community.
It's a great article, and deserves to be considered.
Monday, December 13, 2010
More Tales From The Land Of The New Normal: Louisville Orchestra/Indianapolis Symphony
Louisville Orchestra is in Chapter 11, and the musicians claim it shouldn't be.
Once again, the classic mistake of mistaking assets for cash flow rears its head.
Speaking of assets and cash flow: Indianapolis Symphony is deeply in the red, with its endowment crushed by the downturn, and Zimbambwe Ben making damn sure no organization can earn interest on what endowment remains.
Good luck to them both, here in the age of The New Normal...
Once again, the classic mistake of mistaking assets for cash flow rears its head.
Speaking of assets and cash flow: Indianapolis Symphony is deeply in the red, with its endowment crushed by the downturn, and Zimbambwe Ben making damn sure no organization can earn interest on what endowment remains.
Good luck to them both, here in the age of The New Normal...
Monday, December 6, 2010
Louisville Orchestra Files For Chapter 11: High Arts In The Age Of The New Normal
OldSouth, to anyone who follows his scribbles, loves his visits to Louisville, Kentucky. It is truly one of the great places of North America, and if the professional planets aligned, he and Mrs. OS would happily relocate there.
So, today's announcement of a Chapter 11 filing by Louisville Orchestra is sad news, a public admission that a once-great organization has cornered itself into a major problem over the years.
OS made a previous mention of its travails, and quotes the questions he posed to both sides.
One question needs to be answered by the musicians first, with one following upon it:
'Articulate why this music is essential to the culture--why is it important that it should be performed in this city? What are you doing, and what would you be willing to do, past showing up to rehearsals and concerts well-prepared, to make certain it lives in the minds and hearts of the people around you, your neighbors?'
To management: 'This orchestra used to be an integral part of life in this city. What was the business model that worked, and how can it be applied now?'
A bankruptcy filing, properly undertaken, is not necessarily a bad thing. It is an admission, before things come totally unwound, that a business is not functioning, and that everyone involved must step back and sort the issues out. Not just the cash-flow issues, 'cuz that's just symptoms. What has to be truly sorted is the entire business model, and the role of the business in the world around it.
We are now in the age of The New Normal. The cultural ground has shifted under our feet in major ways, as has the economic ground. It is going to take a long, long time to dig this country out of a recession caused by at least forty years of wrong-headed excesses. Even then, we are not going to look like we did in the 1950's, sad to say.
So, where (and how) does a business in the business of presenting high-quality orchestra music function in The New Normal? Management cannot assume that a high percentage of the populace of Louisville could answer the question 'How many symphonies did Beethoven compose?', since many respondents might ask 'Who's Beethoven?', or 'Isn't he that dog in the old Disney movie?'. And that's among respondents in the prosperous neighborhoods!
First and foremost, OS preaches, the orchestra must be an organization that teaches, filled with musicians that teach, and vitally integrate themselves into the churches, synagogues, schools and neighborhoods of the city. Families of motivated music students buy tickets and write donation checks. They are core audience. Management must find ways to encourage that process along as well. Without core audience, nothing else matters.
Concerts need to take place in the neighborhood venues, (churches, schools, union halls, fraternal lodges, ball parks etc.) because driving downtown at night and attempting to park is a pain. And, as nice as downtown is, it's still downtown at night in a major city. Stuff happens there, and people who don't go there at night don't run the risk of any of it happening to them that evening.
Look at models that work--the minor league baseball team seems to be thriving? Why?
People go downtown for that. What are they doing right? OS has booked group outings there, and the experience was first-rate.
On and on it goes.
And, the good news is: Nashville Symphony went through Chapter 11 in the late 80's. It was messy, but eventually, and with the leadership and generosity of a major patron, they turned it around, moved into a fabulous new hall, and have a core audience.
And a future.
Louisville Orchestra can as well, if they're willing to go through the messy part, ask the right questions, and plan for a new life in The New Normal.
Good luck to them.
So, today's announcement of a Chapter 11 filing by Louisville Orchestra is sad news, a public admission that a once-great organization has cornered itself into a major problem over the years.
OS made a previous mention of its travails, and quotes the questions he posed to both sides.
One question needs to be answered by the musicians first, with one following upon it:
'Articulate why this music is essential to the culture--why is it important that it should be performed in this city? What are you doing, and what would you be willing to do, past showing up to rehearsals and concerts well-prepared, to make certain it lives in the minds and hearts of the people around you, your neighbors?'
To management: 'This orchestra used to be an integral part of life in this city. What was the business model that worked, and how can it be applied now?'
A bankruptcy filing, properly undertaken, is not necessarily a bad thing. It is an admission, before things come totally unwound, that a business is not functioning, and that everyone involved must step back and sort the issues out. Not just the cash-flow issues, 'cuz that's just symptoms. What has to be truly sorted is the entire business model, and the role of the business in the world around it.
We are now in the age of The New Normal. The cultural ground has shifted under our feet in major ways, as has the economic ground. It is going to take a long, long time to dig this country out of a recession caused by at least forty years of wrong-headed excesses. Even then, we are not going to look like we did in the 1950's, sad to say.
So, where (and how) does a business in the business of presenting high-quality orchestra music function in The New Normal? Management cannot assume that a high percentage of the populace of Louisville could answer the question 'How many symphonies did Beethoven compose?', since many respondents might ask 'Who's Beethoven?', or 'Isn't he that dog in the old Disney movie?'. And that's among respondents in the prosperous neighborhoods!
First and foremost, OS preaches, the orchestra must be an organization that teaches, filled with musicians that teach, and vitally integrate themselves into the churches, synagogues, schools and neighborhoods of the city. Families of motivated music students buy tickets and write donation checks. They are core audience. Management must find ways to encourage that process along as well. Without core audience, nothing else matters.
Concerts need to take place in the neighborhood venues, (churches, schools, union halls, fraternal lodges, ball parks etc.) because driving downtown at night and attempting to park is a pain. And, as nice as downtown is, it's still downtown at night in a major city. Stuff happens there, and people who don't go there at night don't run the risk of any of it happening to them that evening.
Look at models that work--the minor league baseball team seems to be thriving? Why?
People go downtown for that. What are they doing right? OS has booked group outings there, and the experience was first-rate.
On and on it goes.
And, the good news is: Nashville Symphony went through Chapter 11 in the late 80's. It was messy, but eventually, and with the leadership and generosity of a major patron, they turned it around, moved into a fabulous new hall, and have a core audience.
And a future.
Louisville Orchestra can as well, if they're willing to go through the messy part, ask the right questions, and plan for a new life in The New Normal.
Good luck to them.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Interlude, Kentucky Travels, And The Louisville Orchestra
The last several days have been a bit of a hiatus, one final deep breath before the end-of-term/holiday rush.
This autumn has been glorious in Tennessee, and Kentucky as well, where Mr. and Mrs. OS visited friends yesterday. The Bradford pear trees have turned bright red, and the oaks, which turned orange (instead of brown) have been breathtaking. On Saturday afternoon the setting sun caught the foliage at just the right angle, and our world glowed orange for five extraordinary minutes. OS ran outside with a camera, but no camera does this justice.
The visit to Kentucky was inspirational, as always, when visiting these friends. They met and fell in love in their late 30's, and married, the first marriage for each. Both fabulously creative and entreprenurial. They live across the road from the husband's childhood family farm, and have transformed a 1940's farmhouse into a showplace--not a hint of over-the-top display, but every detail just perfect, all designed to make the house a liveable haven. The recently completed 'man-cave' in the attic area is a delightful example of design genius, created by the husband, a self-taught renaissance man.
Quietly, quietly, they have built this life together, that touches so many other lives. They stood firm when the state and an industrial firm joined forces to push them and their mother and siblings off the family farms, and spared the county the fate suffered by so many others who were seduced by the prospect of easy money, only to have the plant close or move overseas once all the tax advantages had expired. Spring Hill/Maury County Tennessee should be an object lesson to all--the Saturn Parkway, connecting I-65 to the now abandoned GM facility, not yet 30 years old. A road to nowhere, with so much promised, and so very little delivered.
Over the weekend, the TV stayed with ABC family as the Harry Potter movies were replayed. Fundies who rail against these books and films rob their children of the opportunity to experience these morality plays, stories of good and evil (where it's sometimes hard to know who the good guys are), stories of friendship and growing up together. Plus, some of the best music of the past one hundred years is heard here as well.
On the drive home, Mrs. OS bought the Louisville paper, and read the tale of the latest woes of the Louisville Orchestra.
It's not an uncommon tale, with Detroit on strike, NY Phil in deficit, St. Louis going through troubles in recent years.
OS dearly loves this music, but thinks the business models are terribly skewed. One question needs to be answered by the musicians first, with one following upon it:
'Articulate why this music is essential to the culture--why is it important that it should be performed in this city? What are you doing, and what would you be willing to do, past showing up to rehearsals and concerts well-prepared, to make certain it lives in the minds and hearts of the people around you, your neighbors?'
To management: 'This orchestra used to be an integral part of life in this city. What was the business model that worked, and how can it be applied now?'
With a good grasp of those in hand, solutions can be found. Whining about 'those nasty people in management just victimizing us' gets no one anywhere. Donors don't open checkbooks when people whine, or when there isn't a clear plan to move forward.
Nor should they.
This autumn has been glorious in Tennessee, and Kentucky as well, where Mr. and Mrs. OS visited friends yesterday. The Bradford pear trees have turned bright red, and the oaks, which turned orange (instead of brown) have been breathtaking. On Saturday afternoon the setting sun caught the foliage at just the right angle, and our world glowed orange for five extraordinary minutes. OS ran outside with a camera, but no camera does this justice.
The visit to Kentucky was inspirational, as always, when visiting these friends. They met and fell in love in their late 30's, and married, the first marriage for each. Both fabulously creative and entreprenurial. They live across the road from the husband's childhood family farm, and have transformed a 1940's farmhouse into a showplace--not a hint of over-the-top display, but every detail just perfect, all designed to make the house a liveable haven. The recently completed 'man-cave' in the attic area is a delightful example of design genius, created by the husband, a self-taught renaissance man.
Quietly, quietly, they have built this life together, that touches so many other lives. They stood firm when the state and an industrial firm joined forces to push them and their mother and siblings off the family farms, and spared the county the fate suffered by so many others who were seduced by the prospect of easy money, only to have the plant close or move overseas once all the tax advantages had expired. Spring Hill/Maury County Tennessee should be an object lesson to all--the Saturn Parkway, connecting I-65 to the now abandoned GM facility, not yet 30 years old. A road to nowhere, with so much promised, and so very little delivered.
Over the weekend, the TV stayed with ABC family as the Harry Potter movies were replayed. Fundies who rail against these books and films rob their children of the opportunity to experience these morality plays, stories of good and evil (where it's sometimes hard to know who the good guys are), stories of friendship and growing up together. Plus, some of the best music of the past one hundred years is heard here as well.
On the drive home, Mrs. OS bought the Louisville paper, and read the tale of the latest woes of the Louisville Orchestra.
It's not an uncommon tale, with Detroit on strike, NY Phil in deficit, St. Louis going through troubles in recent years.
OS dearly loves this music, but thinks the business models are terribly skewed. One question needs to be answered by the musicians first, with one following upon it:
'Articulate why this music is essential to the culture--why is it important that it should be performed in this city? What are you doing, and what would you be willing to do, past showing up to rehearsals and concerts well-prepared, to make certain it lives in the minds and hearts of the people around you, your neighbors?'
To management: 'This orchestra used to be an integral part of life in this city. What was the business model that worked, and how can it be applied now?'
With a good grasp of those in hand, solutions can be found. Whining about 'those nasty people in management just victimizing us' gets no one anywhere. Donors don't open checkbooks when people whine, or when there isn't a clear plan to move forward.
Nor should they.
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