Suffering orchestras (5): Unpaid London musicians walk out
NewsThe Observer reports today that half the musicians in the London Chamber Orchestra walked out of rehearsal on Wednesday in protest at not being paid their fees for the past five months.
The orchestra blamed the bank freezing its account. In the last financial year, the LCO trust reported revenues of £305,102, against expenditure of £389,122, a loss of £84,000.
The orchestra, founded 100 years ago, receives no public subsidy.
On Wednesday, substutitues were found for the evening concert and all back fees were ultimately paid.
The conductor was Christopher Warren-Green.
UPDATE: Musicians deny walkout
I played in this concert and I assure you nobody walked out. All performers acted entirely professionally.
As with Alison Alty, I played in this concert and nobody walked out. All performers acted entirely professionally, and this was a wonderful concert.
Unfortunately the article is not completely correct.
I am a performer from Wednesday’s concert and can state that half the players did not walk out of the rehearsal. All players behaved with upmost professionalism under the negative situation. A number of performers decided before the rehearsal period to withdraw from the work due to poor communication from LCO and unpaid fees.
The article states that all performers have received payment for previous work – unfortunately this is not true as some performers are still awaiting outstanding fees.
The article appears to be a one-sided view point that does not represent all performers views or situations.
It’d be interesting to know who contacted the Observer journalist first. A musician? Or the orchestra, expecting some heat for delayed payment. Whatever, there was obviously something occurring.
I’m a bit puzzled by the tone of the article. ‘Walkout’ on the headline but the writer seems to swallow the orchestra’s ‘it’s not us, it’s Barclays’ PR spin.
The manager’s deflection and talk of “understanding” and hinting at Arts cuts, Brexit and Covid, got me. There no excuse not to pay musicians on time.
Thanks for explaining….
LCO have used that payment model before…”If you want to be paid for the work you have already done then you must keep working with us….”
There is only one thing freelance musicians resent more than not being paid it is a lack of communication on the subject.
Just like Orchestra of St John’s Smith Square thirty years ago.
Appalling payments, waiting up to eight months. But if one asked for payment, were wiped!
This LCO has many parallels – charismatic conductors and hazy management.
Yet superb freelancers.
Christopher Warren-Green has form – when he took over the orchestra in the 80s with his brother, they [redacted] shut the orchestra down. It re-appeared shortly afterwards as a different legal entity (although with the same name and CWG still in charge). Have also heard less-than-positive things about Martin Childs and his aggressive management takeover a few years ago. Players beware.
re your “Martin Childs and his aggressive management takeover a few years ago” (sic) you may not be aware that ‘a few years ago’ the LCO was in deep financial trouble, and Mr Childs found the money to keep it going.
Doesn’t look like things are much better now
This isn’t quite right.
The reason the LCO was in financial trouble, is because Christopher Warren sold the orchestra to Martin Childs (for which CWG personally – not the orchestra – received a large fee), leading to the majority of the board – who provided the vast majority of the funds for the orchestra – to resign. Hence the financial issues
I still haven’t been paid by Chris Warren Green and the London Chamber Orchestra for concerts in the UK and Switzerland in the 1980’s. They were managed by “Strawberry Films”who went into liquidation. The previous management had liquidated a couple of years prior but I didn’t know that when I took on the work.
As an old hand on the London freelance scene I’ve witnessed the steady decline of work. Brexit hasn’t helped but Raymond Gubbay selling up a few years ago was much more significant. I used to get about half my annual income through his work but the Albert Hall gigs dried up and much else besides. I know some musicians used to joke about his concerts but they’re not laughing now.
And he always not only paid, but paid on time.
Looks like the article has mistakes and the writer has swallowed the orchestra’s PR deflection. However, the BS level is very high.
The ‘bank freeze’ excuse (which sets the tone of the article) is BS. This orchestra has a reputation of being very bad payers in recent years. It’s clearly not a recent problem or wholly a bank issue. They cancelled a season (or part of) because of financial problems.
The take over and relaunch a few years ago has lead to a inexperienced manager (if any experience at all…), bland puff pieces with platitudes about concert dress and ‘breaking barriers’. All they have had is cancelled work, non-payment, over-spend, mismanagement, losses and a reputation as good as your local second hand car dealer.
I find the manager’s attempt to deflect attention away from non-payment, particularly appalling:
“We understand the monumental strain on this body of freelancers whose opportunities to work have been reduced and jeopardised due to sweeping cuts to orchestral funding….Many of these musicians have had their work curtailed due to Brexit and they are still suffering the aftermath effects of the pandemic”
No, you don’t “understand”. Pay your musicians on time for the work they’ve done. No excuses.
But it’s all ok; musicians can express their “individual personalities and backgrounds” by not having to wear formal concert dress and the orchestra is “breaking down barriers to orchestral music and making a positive impact on the community”. Whatever the hell that means. All soundbites and BS.
The management have made the LCO jargon touting, outdated and irrelevant, in a crowded market place.
Perhaps they just mean musicians can just wear mufti in case they can’t afford to buy concert clothes…?
A brainless yob who kicks a ball around a football pitch for 90 minutes once a week is paid more than a very highly trained and skilled professional musician/artist recieves in salary for 5 years of performing.Doesn’t say much about our education system does it.
Can’t resist: i before e except after c. Education!
Remember that the brainless yob is also training the other six days, and his career will be over probably in his mid-thirties.
Football and the soap operas surrounding its players get massive promotion and publicity on the BBC and other channels. Classical music gets virtually none.
It will be argued that this is simply responding to public priorities but I can’t help feel that it is, to some extent, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What complete snobbery. I am a professional oboe player, but have nothing but huge respect for professional role models. Their skills are just as impressive, with competition arguably higher, and training hours just as intense (with the added pressure of probable injuries).
To call them “brainless yobs” is plain snobbery. Look at Marcus Rashford, who during lockdown shamed our government into feeding the poorest of our children. Or Gary Linneker, who has fought tirelessly for positive social change (including standing up for refugees). Or Ronaldo, who came from nothing, and who has raised a fortune for desperately disadvantaged children.
I agree that footballers are paid eye-watering amounts but that is because the football business model is working, and making money. The blame for the state of the Arts should be levelled at the cultural vandals in number 10 Downing Street.
Gary Lineker tweets tirelessly for social change (and Walkers Crisps). Mother Teresa he isn’t.
I’m not a football fan but the comment about a “brainless yob” is totally unnecessary. There is a great skill involved in being a professional footballer. I would have thought that anyone involved with music has an evolved consciousness of love and tolerance. I am surprised at this comment which shows none of this.
What walk out? I was playing in this concert and every one was there for both the rehearsal and performance.
Why has incorrect information been released to the press and by who?
Despite being under considerable pressure from such a difficult situation all the players gave a wonderful performance.
Walk out or not, I ‘walked out’ by declining work from LCO for the past few years. This is not a new problem as we were struggling to get paid back then, ever since the new management took over. The comment from Jocelyn about taking 4 months to sort out a bank account is fabricated, because that was their explantation over 2 years ago.
When you finally were able to speak to someone after months of silence, there was excuse after excuse about why you hadn’t received payment. Such a shame as I used to enjoy working with the orchestra very much.