music

It is easier to get a donation to a new "my name" wing or something concrete to admire. Tough to get donations to operations, salary, and overhead.

Obama seems to have had this impact on a lot of organizations... Funneling all of this money to government does not leave a lot for anyone else....

"Those who can leave, will." Gee, makes me feel really valued after 30 years and not the least bit like a replaceable cog in a wheel. Nothing special about what we do, not a bloody thing. Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night.

What I wonder is how the musicians slept at night knowing that, at a point when sales and donations were at their highest, their exorbitant pay raises caused people to get laid off. Why is it always about them and no one else? Considering the number of auditions that a musician needs to get a gig like this, maybe closing, reorganizing, and holding blind auditions would be the way to help the situation.

@davidelias1: Exorbitant pay raises? 1 to 3% is exorbitant? Freezing pay is exorbitant at a point when "sales and donation were at their highest"? Interesting logic.

@princetrumpt I seem to recall a few years ago it being closer to $20,000 and pet insurance. A handful of people lost their jobs and insurance benefits were lessened while premiums were raised for those outside of the union. Hours were cut for part-time employees. Musicians eventually took a freeze (not a cut like the rest of the organization) but got their raises in the end. Fascinating logic on your part, but your greed was the reason people had to walk. I think the time when a first violin, after hearing the announcement of the cuts, stepped out into the lobby, gathered other musicians around him, and excitedly and loudly announced that he was then able to bid for a FARM with his raise while people are carrying their belongings out the door in boxes sums up the sad entitlement mentality of the most of the musicians. His announcement was well within earshot of those being affected. The organization is struggling hard, but that is apparently for everyone else to solve.

Please, come out and audition for the California orchestras. Top quality; either Gustavo or MTT would be happy to have you. Check the auditions coming up.

For davidelias1, three points you should be schooled on: the "$20,000 raise" to which you refer was to be over a 5 year period. $4k per year isn't at all exorbitant, considering the musicians were trying to get parity with the Mn orch's peer orchestras. And BTW "the exorbitant raise" never happened, management never fulfilled the contract, which the musicians agreed to twice, to help out the deficits to the tune of 4.2 million I think.... at least that's what the Star Trib and Huffington Post reported. Get your ducks in a row before hurling invective at people you don't know. And, sigh, you seem to be comparing the job of staffer to the profession of world class instrumentalist.....? Without diminishing the necessity for great staffers to run any organization, the thousands of hours spent learning the craft of an instrument on that level (ruining bodies and joints in some cases) is something that makes the stress of working in a competitive industry worth some basic professional compensation. Staffers, for better or worse, probably prepared less for their position. The musicians are not exactly earning "big lawyer money," but they've put in many more hours than most lawyers. I went to music school, and many of my classmates who couldn't cut it or didn't want to anymore, are now MD's, or on partner track jobs at law firms, among many diverse, non musical paths they chose in lieu of an orchestral career. That's the level of heart and sweat we're talking about. Although something tells me you have some history with practicing an instrument or singing, am I right? The "greed" of the trumpet player you don't know is not greed, it's a professional awareness of their skills and that other orchestras, some which don't sound as mighty as Minnesota, pay more. Exorbitantly more, by your estimation. Why shouldn't trumpetprince (of whose real identity I have no idea) take a stand for standard compensation, or seek out an audition for a "better" gig?

Maybe I am missing something when it comes to the latest articles on Minnesota Orchestra and SPCO. The SPCO has 41 staffers and 34 musicians. Doesn't that seem a little odd? The Minnesota Orchestra's share for musician salaries and benefits is 48% of their total budget. The whole reason my family attends concerts is to EXPERIENCE the MUSICIAN'S PLAYING! What price orchestral excellence? Do whatever it takes to keep our orchestra world-class!

@Davidelias1 - you are probably also not aware that when the last round of layoffs happened at the Minnesota Orchestra, the "greedy" and "entitled" musicians took up a voluntary collection for the laid off staff members, and raised over $700 for each person who was laid off. This happened even during a time when the musicians were well aware that paycuts were coming and in the worst-case a long strike or lockout could be a real possibility. It's not about musicians being entitled to their wages (and if you're worried about your tax dollars going to unions, don't - US Orchestras are privately funded) - it's about the fact that it's very hard to find just the right musician who can contribute to and enhance the unique sound and tradition of the orchestra. You want to find the very best person out there and keep them around as long as you can. That's made much harder to do when many other orchestras pay more and you have people at the top of the organization saying "if you can leave, leave."