An agent's place is in the wrong
mainWhat follows is a sorry little story about a successful classical artist who dumps his agent.
Not altogether uncommon, except that it takes place in the holier-than-how world of organ playing and the agent who gets dumped is the torch bearer for one of America’s most famous organ legends, Virgil Fox.
The artist who does the dumping is almost equally famous in organ circles. His name is Cameron Carpenter and he’s a star-spangled hero who is as likely to be found on a pop stage as in a cathedral. Take a look at his website – http://www.cameroncarpenter.com/index.html -and at the pic below.
You can see why Carpenter might like to move on from the Virgil Fox Legacy. However, it’s not what you do that colours your posterity; it’s how you do it. The account of Carpenter’s getaway is given here in an email to fans and followers by his former agent. Read it, and weep.
Photo by Marine Penvern
Dear Friends:
I think that it might be a bit pretentious for me to paraphrase HRM
Queen Elizabeth when she described her previous year as an “annus
horribilis,” but the summer has been pretty much of a “carpe aestatem
horribilis” for me, Marshall Yaeger, and the Virgil Fox Legacy.
It began, on the Friday before Memorial Day, with a fall I had on
Central Park West after leaving my doctor’s office. I went right back
to the doctor, and discovered that I had fractured my left shoulder.
Fortunately, it did not require surgery, but it did require
painkillers, which I don’t take well to. I still kept all of my
appointments and responsibilities for Cameron Carpenter during the next
months, but by the end of July something was seriously wrong with our
working relationship.
Eventually, he advised us that we would no longer be his manager
(actually, I was actively trying to find him a new, strong classical
management; it’s time), and he also advised us that he would not play
the Boston 30th Anniversary Virgil Fox Legacy memorial concert on
Saturday, October 9. We considered other fine artists, but none have
the predictable following that he does – especially from advance
publicity, which is hard to get (and he usually gets it). Also, he did
not communicate with us for several weeks, during which time he pulled
his publicist out of the project – even though she had been sent a
check.
We decided (demoralized as we were, I must add) that we should not
pursue the concert for fear we actually might lose money – which we
certainly could not do since Cameron had moved to Berlin in August and
stuck us with $53,000 in debts from his “Cameron Live!” recording
project and new website. And he stopped paying Anchor the agreed upon
commission of 10%, despite the fact that I have worked with Susan
Slaymaker, his booking director, on this coming season ending May 2011.
His excuse for October 9 was that we had no written contract, but I had
produced a dozen concerts for him in four years, and there was never a
written contract; only oral, which we definitely had for October 9 in
Boston. We had discussed the program, and he had expressed interest in
participating in the discussion session that would compare him to
Virgil. (Maybe that’s what made him cancel!) He was also going to play
the world premiere of his new composition, Aria Op. 1. (That, also,
might have been a good reason to cancel!)
I am now getting inquiries about the availability of tickets for the
concert, so thought I needed to inform the whole VFL list.
We will eventually have to close Anchor-International Foundation
because of its debts on behalf of Cameron (a $30,000 loan to Anchor
reverts to Cameron if Anchor is no longer in existence). However, that
will not change the presence of the amazing www.VirgilFoxLegacy website
that Len Levasseur designed and Marshall and I – and many of you –
contributed to over the years.
I was proud to have managed both Virgil and Cameron over a period of
nearly 50 years, but one major difference obviously existed between
Virgil and Cameron: Virgil was good for his word, even when major
managements enticed him after our success on his behalf with “Heavy
Organ.” Also, I had no written contract with Virgil for 17 years.
This is not meant to denigrate Cameron’s extraordinary talent, or to in
any way wish ill for him and his career. But since October 9 was to
feature a discussion about Virgil vs. Cameron, it has been
enlightening.
I may make this my last Virgil Fox Legacy posting; there comes an end
to everything, and I now must create a new (non-organ) business, or
find a job. It has been wonderful to be in touch with all of you over
the years, and we have had a wonderful, talented artist on whom to
focus; an inspiration to us all, and to all virtuoso musicians.
One last thing. www.SeeMusicDVD.com is still a website where you can
order Virgil Fox books and records and other recordings. We have some
of the recordings still available, and I think we should mark them down
and make some people happy with them rather than throw them away (which
we would otherwise have to do in order to clear our storage space).
Therefore, slashed prices are indicated on www.SeeMusicDVD.com,
generally 50% off or more, plus postage. If you’re interested, please
order before the end of October, when we will close this website.
Many thanks for your support over the years, and best personal regards.
Richard
jrtorrence@aol.com
P.S. Today is Marshall’s and my 50th anniversary!
Those of us in the organ world and particularly the PIPORG-L and other listservs and chat rooms know that there is more to this story and painting it as though Cameron Carpenter dumped a helpless agent is hardly believable. I had emailed Richard Torrance for tickets to the Virgil Fox Memorial Concert as early as August 4 and heard from him then that the concert was not happening but he didn’t make a public announcement until September 18.
Was he collecting ticket money in the meantime?
Why can’t people who bought their tickets from Richard Torrance get their money back?
Why has Richard Torance directed people who bought tickets from him, who gave him their money, to ask for refunds from Susan Slaymaker, Cameron’s representative who took no tickets and didn’t have anything to do with it?
And why, in an email to ticket holders dated September 11, does Torance say that his foundation (Anchor-International Foundation) is “technically bankrupt”, but then go on to solicit donations to it?
Furthermore, has Mr. Lebrecht read this article from New York Magazine investigating Richard Torrance’s earlier money-raising scandal in New York City involving his “Creo Society”?
http://tinyurl.com/26l5mlk
or the NYT articles about same?
http://tinyurl.com/388g2yr
http://tinyurl.com/325bxue
Maybe, just maybe, this is an agent who really was in the wrong – in a big way?
Loretta Dobos
Those of us in the organ world and particularly the PIPORG-L and other listservs and chat rooms know that there is more to this story and painting it as though Cameron Carpenter dumped a helpless agent is hardly believable. I had emailed Richard Torrance for tickets to the Virgil Fox Memorial Concert as early as August 4 and heard from him then that the concert was not happening but he didn’t make a public announcement until September 18.
Was he collecting ticket money in the meantime?
Why can’t people who bought their tickets from Richard Torrance get their money back?
Why has Richard Torance directed people who bought tickets from him, who gave him their money, to ask for refunds from Susan Slaymaker, Cameron’s representative who took no tickets and didn’t have anything to do with it?
And why, in an email to ticket holders dated September 11, does Torance say that his foundation (Anchor-International Foundation) is “technically bankrupt”, but then go on to solicit donations to it?
Furthermore, has Mr. Lebrecht read this article from New York Magazine investigating Richard Torrance’s earlier money-raising scandal in New York City involving his “Creo Society”?
http://tinyurl.com/26l5mlk
or the NYT articles about same?
http://tinyurl.com/388g2yr
http://tinyurl.com/325bxue
Maybe, just maybe, this is an agent who really was in the wrong – in a big way?
Loretta Dobos
Ms. Dobos: Your conjecture is utterly fatuous, and your attempt at verisimilitude by linking it to an earlier investigation of Mr. Torrence’s Creo Society – a thorough investigation by New York’s Attorney General that found NO knavery, thievery, illegality or impropriety – is a pathetic attempt, probably at the instigation of said “artist” (and I use that term loosely) and/or his “representative,” to vilify a gentleman whose encouragement, support and terrific marketing of Cameron Carpenter, while thoroughly undeserved, was an enormous gift that one day Mr. Carpenter will regret having left behind on his ex-pat flight to Berlin.
Actually, I take that last part back. Cameron is far to callow for such retrospect.
Thank God to finally find something that man was involved in that was legal.
Ms. Dobos: Your conjecture is utterly fatuous, and your attempt at verisimilitude by linking it to an earlier investigation of Mr. Torrence’s Creo Society – a thorough investigation by New York’s Attorney General that found NO knavery, thievery, illegality or impropriety – is a pathetic attempt, probably at the instigation of said “artist” (and I use that term loosely) and/or his “representative,” to vilify a gentleman whose encouragement, support and terrific marketing of Cameron Carpenter, while thoroughly undeserved, was an enormous gift that one day Mr. Carpenter will regret having left behind on his ex-pat flight to Berlin.
Actually, I take that last part back. Cameron is far to callow for such retrospect.
Cameron Carpenter is a turd waiting to be flushed down the john. Richard Torrence was a celebrity whore. Piporg-L is run by a Chinese computer geek and a piece of Iowa trailer trash. The above poster can’t even spell Torrence.
Why don’t you all go to hell.
Cameron Carpenter is a turd waiting to be flushed down the john. Richard Torrence was a celebrity whore. Piporg-L is run by a Chinese computer geek and a piece of Iowa trailer trash. The above poster can’t even spell Torrence.
Why don’t you all go to hell.
I worked with Virgil Fox for 17 years as his P.R and Business Manager. I handled and oversaw all of his business affairs weathering the attempts without end to put and end to and to evade the neverending demands and money issues originating with Torrence and his brainey behind the scene cohort who from the shadows thought up all the financial schemes Torrence put into action.Torrence was finally fired. In retaliation he and a sick organist friend wrote a rather humerous book that in real fact is mainly fiction.In truth,I’ll tell you that Virgil Fox had several constant women companions and all the trash stuff about him is pure rubbish to sell books,and it has.Fortunately it was done after Virgil’s death so he coudn’t be sued,like what happens to other innocent people that die and can not defend themselves.The Estate of Virgil Fox was never asked to comment on the trash stuff by Torrence or for information about the real Torrence person, the funny,imaginative cunning Torrence,,as to the Mr. Hyde he really was.
Read said book and found it ghasty tbh. I bought it hoping for a sincere overview of a great musician. If what it portrays is the organ set in the US then thank goodness I am in the UK. As to Carpenter I don’t think he can compare with Virgil Fox. He is obviously technically brilliant but his interpretations do nothing for me: rapid, showoffy and totally lacking musicality. I’d rather listen to his former teacher Paul Jacobs any day.