It is puzzling – the tendency of an organization to shoot itself in the foot. After so many obvious examples of what not to do there is, more often than not, that institutional moment which causes one to quote that great American Philosopher Homer Simpson – “D’OH!!!” These days Homer is speaking in a mid-Atlantic accent.
An extraordinary combination events has lead us to the doorstep of the Richmond Symphony. First, one G. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond, got a bug up his……. Oh, excuse me, where are my Southern manners?…. a bee in his bonnet and decided to introduce legislation to prevent orchestra musicians from collecting unemployment in the off season. Immediately the musical blogosphere was ripe with speculation as to who had put said bee into said bonnet.
To the surprise of a few naive souls the honey trail led straight back to the Richmond Symphony itself. But why? Why upset this apple cart? What would the orchestra hope to accomplish with this move? If that wasn’t enough, then there is this excerpt from a letter sent by management to the musicians recently:
“Please know that the decision to ask the General Assembly to review the unemployment issue was taken reluctantly, after a full vote of the Symphony Board to pursue it, on the recommendation of a Board Committee. This was not a management-level decision. Neither is it in any way intended as an anti-union or anti-musician action, nor do we want to have a public war of words, which can only damage relationships further.”
At least in the course of this letter they admit that relations between the orchestra and the musicians have been damaged. And boy, have they. What we have here is a failure to communicate. In most orchestral situations these days you can find these three constituences (and this is the quick/dirty expurgated version – it’s more complicated than this, though often times not by much):
- The Mitt Romney’s – Hard charging Neo-Cons on the Board who want to be seen giving money to something and want their beautiful music (read: Mozart), but oh those pesky workers keep getting in the way. Something must be done. And did I mention I made your yearly salary today?
- The Revolving Door – Why oh why did I go into Arts Management? Everyone hates me, I’m caught in the middle, and there’s a sizable number of my co-workers who seem to live by the “Fake it ’til you Make it” philosophy. Mom was right – I shoulda gone to Med school. Oh well, on to the next job.
- The Les Miserables – Everything, and I mean everything right down to the quality of the coffee in the lounge, is a plot by management to make our lives miserable. The only response to anything is “Go Union!!!” By the way, I shoulda been Principal in Berlin but my reeds sucked at the audition. But I’m over it. Really. But I shoulda.
Stereotypes, to be sure, but in every stereotype there is a grain of truth, and anyone who has spent five minutes in the orchestra business will be able to quickly conjour up memories of individuals who fit these descriptions to the proverbial “T.” In the Richmond case the Romney’s have riled Les Miserables (over what could only be termed a “loaf of bread”), and the Revolving Door is backpedaling out of the way as fast as managerially possible. It most probably was not a mangement decision, as the letter states. Management would not be naive enough to make this bad of an error, and they’re the ones who still have to work with the musicians on a daily basis. But that it was not “intended as an anti-union or anti-musician action”? Really?
Was the Board expecting everyone to holds hands and sing around the campfire? Not likely. What will most likely happen is this –
- The Board will dig in their heels and proclaim that the Era of Good Governance Has Begun (note: I’d suggest not creating a huge banner and hanging it from the concert hall – that didn’t go well for a certain ex-POTUS).
- The Orchestra will seethe with resentment (one can hardly blame them but note: I’d suggest being very careful how the official responses are worded – public opinion is important).
- Management will be left trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Oh well, on to that next job.
And the people who really matter – their audience – will be left trying to remember the words to “Kumbaya.”