It has been an interesting couple of weeks on the orchestral front. New ED in Colorado, pissing match between a top soloist and a top conductor. Oh, and an orchestra that has lost it’s mind. Same as it ever was.
I’m talking about the Louisville Orchestra, though I’d like to point out that of those three things mentioned above it’s the pissing match that made it to the front page of the New York Times. None-the-less, it’s the Louisville situation that is most depressing. A letter announcing that they are willing to accept applications to replace their current musicians.
I don’t know how they think they are going to be successful. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the AFM is one of the strongest unions left, despite being mired in the 1950s. I don’t know anyone who’s going to audition and I would be stunned if they received more then 3 applications. Actually, I’d be stunned if they received that many. (And if anyone is planning on applying may I gently suggest re-thinking that strategy? Music is a VERY small field, and we all have friends in Louisville. We will not take kindly to you replacing our friends in this situation. Just sayin’.)
Word has rocketed around Social Media Land. In an experiment I decided not to comment myself but watch the comment threads develop. It’s astounding how often the phrase “poor management” appears in these threads, usually uttered by people who have no direct connection to Louisville or true knowledge of the situation. The assumption is that if an orchestra is in trouble the one and only reason that could be is poor management. And so, management must be flogged.
Now we’ve seen our fair share of questionable management decisions in this business but what a lot of people tend to forget is that in situations like this the driving force behind the decision making process is not management. These decisions rest firmly in the purview of the Board of Directors.
Budget? – Board of Directors. Fundraising? Board of Directors. Contract negotiations? Ditto. Matter of fact, in all the truly important decisions which concern relations within an orchestral society the final say rests with the Board. Management is there to act out the Board’s decisions.
Now, I don’t know the exact disposition in Louisville, though I know a lot more than I’m willing to say in digital print, but at least I will put the blame where it should go – straight in the laps of the Board of Directors. I’m not going to randomly flog whomever is working in management for something the Board has decided, and I’m not going to jump to conclusions based on hearsay. But I would like to suggest that in the future musicians and management throughout this industry need to work together in a much better and more efficient way than we have. Why? Well, please see my last post about Neo-Cons in the Board room.
That’s the horse that needs some serious flogging.