No sooner had the musicians authorised a pay strike than the management of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC took to social media to post a series of aggressive claims – which, musicians tell us, are both provocative and inaccurate.
Rudolph Vrbsky, principal oboist of the National Symphony…
The King has sent a message of support…
The British bad-boy violinist, 68 next week, has…
Message from the BBC Symphony Orchestra: We regret…
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Shameful tactics by management, and hardly accurate.
Based on this, I have to presume they are members of the MAGA crowd, ready to stick it to labor unions and workers at every turn. Sad.
You don’t know what you are writing about. There are no more woke arts administrators in the US than Ms. Rutter. If she had her choice she would turn the KC into a venue for rap, gospel, and “Latinx” music. She has never shown much interest in the NSO. Having written that, I think the NSO is in for a major battle for which they have little leverage. The NSO has improved immensely in recent years, and going to their concerts is a pleasure. They perform with enthusiasm and energy as if concerts really matter. A sea change in attitude. But their salary does not seem totally out of line. The cost of living in NY and SF are far higher.
Unfortunately, the NSO has never been a source of civic pride like the CSO or Cleveland Orchestras. And now we live in a society where competition for leisure time is tremendous and there are many alternatives even in the classical music scene in the DC area. I wish the NSO luck but I am not optimistic this strike will turn out well for them. In the meantime, I will get my tickets to the Berlin Philharmonic which is visiting in November. I am putting off buying my season tickets for the NSO.
The Kennedy Center IS a venue for Rap, Gospel, and Latinx music, as it should be. As a violinist in the DMV I’ve played classical and Gospel music gigs at the Kennedy, Strathmore Hall, Meyerhoff, and other venues in the area. Your racist dog whistle comment doesn’t come close to addressing the issues of these Local 161-710 members.
Here we have, yet again, a proof of the U.S. binary world where it is management versus musicians, or elsewhere Democrat versus Republican, friend or enemy, good or evil, etc…everything in the U.S. culture is reduced to a binary set of extremes, with nothing in between. Their simplistic world ignores the large spectrum of colours, different opinions and never shows any nuance or understanding that life is far more complex and interesting than their dull black and white world. The only area where they seem to leave aside their binary track mindset is when they talk about their sexuality, allowing people to present themselves and be protected in every possible variant imaginable. Yet, in daily life everything remains binary and ever so boring and simplistic.
Nigel is that you? Tread lightly….
20 hours of scheduled work. Besides that, there’s nothing else to argue about.
Practicing demands varies from player to player. Imagine being the triangle-player; you’re making 6 figures hitting a metal triangle, once every two weeks or so.
Very few people have an education in doing something they love. Very few others can make a living at it; and very few can make 100k or more doing what they love.
Take the deal and relax!
Nobody just plays triangle. That’s part of percussionists, who often play multiple instruments at once (like, for instance, glockenspiel or timpani). Your comment shows your complete lack of musical experience. “Triangle player” lol. If you think it’s that easy, I encourage you to audition as a percussionist.
You don’t have any idea of what is required to strike a triangle correctly. It is very easy to hear when it is struck incorrectly. Extrapolate that to all the additional percussion instruments a percussionist must play and play proficiently. Once you do that, go sit down and shut up. You have no idea about what you write.
If these prints are accurate, they do not have much to complain about. Also, there is a big market out there, you can always find some place better… if you know what I mean.
I guess they don’t ever need to practice (to learn their parts and prepare for rehearsals). Just like college professors who teach less than 20 hours per week and never need to prepare lectures and grade papers. What sweet gigs!
not to mention brandishing the shameful average holiday deals of the average US worker as a cosh.
All the learning of a piece takes place at the Kennedy Center. These are professional musicians. What has been written by mgmt is very accurate. The concert hall is half empty at many performances. The repertoire they choose is a bore. The KC should cut the number of performances, not increase pay for folks not drawing crowds
There was indeed a major problem with attendance immediately after the Covid lockdowns were lifted. But now, at least the Saturday concerts lead by Noseda are well attended; from what I understand, the Thursday ones, less so – I usually go on Saturdays.
Concerts lead by guest conductors are generally but not always less well attended. Depends on the name and on the soloist.
As a professional musician…..You have no clue. In order to be a professional musician, you have to practice several hours a day .7 days a week. At least you made me laugh out loud…
Your argument is flawed as college professor also don’t make $150,000 a year.
Not to rehash the “20 hour work week” debate that was discussed in the NY Philharmonic salary post, BUT:
1) The difference here is that even management thinks that they are paid for only 20 hours of work.
2) Which is a legitimate point: The musicians ARE free to do whatever they want outside those 20 hours per week.
3) It is entirely their perogative to devote all that other time to whatever they want: whether it’s (a) practice, practice, practice, or (b) get a second or third job.
They are still being offered $179K no matter what they do beyond showing up for 20 hours, even if they just sat on a couch binge watching Netflix all day long.
No one cares; and no one is policing them; no one is re-auditioning them every year, their tenure is secured!
I care. The 20 hours is accurate. I don’t get paid that much. Why should they? Are you aware that the KC sells many prime orchestra seats for only $10 ( a discount) in order to fill some seats. Bring in the many great musicians and ensembles who are more popular.
It’s true that many orchestral musicians do spend a lot of out-of-contract hours practising parts or working on technique. But anyone who’s worked with a contract orchestra will have known players who made it a point of pride not to practise or to prepare parts (some even boast about it); as well as players who held down full-time jobs (eg conservatoire professorships) and managed thriving freelance careers outside of their 20-25 hours of contracted orchestral time per week.
It shouldn’t be surprising. New and unfamiliar works, of course, demand individual practise before the first rehearsal. But for a seasoned orchestral player some years into their career, does every performance of (say) Dvorak 9 or Beethoven 3 really require 10-15 hours of preparation?
The point is that contract-orchestra players are not required to offer anything to their employers beyond their contracted hours – which do not amount to what most people would call a full-time job. Some – indeed, many – certainly do offer much more. But plenty do not.
perogative = prerogative
*Couch binge watching viola players…
Hey in the UK the orchestras play for way more hours per week on average than in the US, get paid about 1/3 the salary for it, and most of the british musicians very openly sight-read with no practice time and little if any rehearsal time. And you don’t hear the brits complaining about the workload do you? Even with the major city costs of living far outranking those in the US? Sounds like the NSO have nothing to complain about by comparison
Insanely stupid comment. The London orchestras rehearse once or twice for a one off concert and maybe a repeat concert. In the rest of the Uk, Orchestras rehearse 4 or 5 times and the give a single concert for the week. US orchestras often have 5 rehearsals and 3 concerts in a week, sometimes 4.
This orchestra has been paid for years as well, or better, than the American Big 5 orchestras. However,, the artistic quality has not even been comparable. Seems to me the musicians need to up THEIR game if they want to be compensated at the same level as their more prestigious counterparts.
Their artistic quality is actually excellent. It is ticket sales that are lacking. Their schedule needs to be reduced so that the KC can offer more popular musicians. Why should they pay musicians more for small audiences. It simply is not logical.
The NSO plays way better than the NYPO meanwhile. Maestro Noseda has really worked wonders. The NYPO needs much retuning and fine tuning after some years of inept and undistinguished leadership. The label ” Big Five” doesn´t stick anymore….Since at least 20 years…Dallas, Minnesota, Washington, St.Louis, Utah, Kansas City, the list goes on and on…And SF and LA beat the NYPO already during the Mehta years.
NYPO musicians, player by player, can compare with any orchestra in the world and are better than most (well, horn used to be for a long time a weakness and I see that they still do not have a principal). The problems is indeed their discipline, the work as an ensemble, the fine tuning that you talk about.
Ah, the old “20 hour work week” chestnut. Those cranky musicians won’t see that one coming…
The NSO is not selling tickets. Rather than give musicians a raise, the season should be cut in half. The National Park Service’s Kennedy Center concert hall should be used by more diverse performers. The KC should never give the orchestra such a ridiculous raise
Assuming you are correct, this is an indication of failure by management, not the musicians. Clearly Rutter should take a pay cut instead of your idiotic idea.
Wow, Peter. What a piece of work you are. Cut season in half, more diverse performers… The time-honored tradition of the symphony orchestra defies all of which you are promoting. Instead, it functions and is maintained by going against the vicissitudes and fleeting trends of societal taste, much like the laws of physics and the universe. In fact, the great composers aimed towards timelessness, constancy, and ideals into which we can’t even seem to dip our feet in modern times. To perform this sort of music, needless to say, it requires physical, emotional, and mental demands about 48,000x that of an NFL player and for these players to demand a meager salary, and to be honored beyond the 20 hours a week they spend on a stage is but asking for tuppence from their management and audience.
SPOT ON!
Which of these points is inaccurate? ……..I’ll wait….
Many occupations and/or professions require “unpaid” preparation time—especially in this pay echelon. It is what as known as being ready to perform the task for which one is being paid. My guess is that the musicians are somewhat embarrassed by the unveiling of the details to the public, revealing what a nice work life they enjoy…and have earned. Yes, they are very accomplished, no question. The management proposal seems fair for all. And…please don’t to compare the NSO to the CSO, BSO, Philly, etc., as doing so only reveals naivety. The NSO is a good orchestra and the members deserve what they are being offered.
Meanwhile in the UK, an orchestral musician working those hours at £200 a day (approximately the going rate for a section principal, most players earn less) would expect to earn the princely sum of £48,000 before expenses and tax. Good on the NSO musicians for wanting to uphold standards; we have failed to do so here and our industry is becoming increasingly untenable as an occupation.
The UK has several problems with musician pay, and many self inflicted at that:
1) There’s a split between the MU and the ISM in terms of membership. Musicians are either part of one or the other but not both, so collective bargaining and collective action to secure better working conditions is impossible since the workforce is already divided.
2) Union membership in the UK is optional. In the USA and Canada you must be a member in good standing with the AFM before the day of the performance. The pension and dues deductions are carefully monitored by the Union Steward of each orchestra so it’s functionally impossible for non-unionized players to go under the radar. As a result, however, orchestral musicians can take decisive collective action and the consequences are swift.
3) Orchestras are self-governing, with all administrative and managerial processes being done internally and not beholden to MU standards (the MU is only allowed to recommend best practices, but these are not legally binding). As such the orchestral management is free to determine on its own accord what the pay rates will be, and this is not standardized. For instance, the major private orchestras pay per service but the BBC and Opera Houses pay a fixed annual salary.
4) Because many orchestras in the UK are self-governing and therefore cannot be eligible for state funding, their staff’s pay rate is entirely supported by charitable private endowments or by private concert engagements paid for by out-of-state benefactors. This is why UK orchestras tour every other week and get loaned out to big companies to do shows. This is also why you can, on any given night, see the Royal Philharmonic perform in 3 different locations at the same time.
4) This means that UK musicians have only a few options to survive: a) play all the engagements, and in turn have no practice time and thus sight read on gigs or b) only play their minimum contracted number of services and therefore look for additional freelance work outside.
5) This, paired with the fact that union membership is not mandatory so there is no guarantee of a legal representative body or a funding pot for striking workers, means that musicians can’t really functionally go on strike. Otherwise they lose 100% of their income with immediate effect. Notice how the only musicians to have gone on strike were members of opera houses, that’s because those positions are salaried fully employed contracts and therefore the company cannot legally switch out the players who won’t cooperate. Contrast this to the LSO (probably the busiest of the majors), whose players are engaged as independent contractors so there is no legal ramification for management removing a player from their chair if they strike. Should the London Symphony decide to take strike action tomorrow, the management can literally replace the entire orchestra with other freelancers, call it the LSO legally and the audience would never know.
What the UK musicians should do if they want to maintain their orchestras into the future is:
1) set up the organisations as actual companies that employ musicians as SALARIED COMPANY STAFF, complete with a base salary that matches the living costs of the city the orchestra is located in. For London, this would be about £80,000 per year MINIMUM. If you work for the London Symphony you should be paid enough to live in London, not in Kent.
2) Mandate union membership to all musicians and extras, appoint a union steward to each orchestra, keep the management accountable for the amount of contracted hours. Mandate that all aspects of playing are taken into account for the pay scale ie instrument doubling, porterage, principal vs section pay, etc.
3) Eliminate daily rates for extra musicians and impose service rates. Cap the number of hours per service, and ensure that overtime payment is made when this cap is breached in rehearsals.
4) Pay the goddamn admin staff more. I work a ground level office job and it’s astonishing that a position with an upper managerial job title in a major UK orchestra makes 10k less than I do.
5) “But where will this money come from?” Did you know that Pappano made a 6 figure base salary which was TOPPED UP by an additional conductor fee when he was ending his tenure at the Royal Opera House? Pappano conducts about 20% of the LSO’s concert slates on a given year. If orchestras are going to be rotating conductors all the time, then perhaps they should be paid a pro-rated salary based on the amount of physical work they actually do in a given season. After all, in this city it is known that they barely rehearse the orchestra for a given patch. Does that make some conductors unhappy? Tough! Either be the music director of the LSO and conduct 100% of the shows with them, and live in the city with them, or take a pay cut based on how often the musicians actually see you on the podium. Conducting is your job, that’s not an extra fee on top. It’s absolutely shameful that the orchestras (who famously have no money anymore) are still being expensed for the furnished apartments, trains and flights for a man with a silent baton and his back to the audience the whole night, while he gets to jet around from major engagement to major engagement. The big money guzzler is the conductor, always has been. Orchestras cannot afford them anymore, and we’ve let them get away with this for far too long.
I stopped reading when I got to “ mandate Union Membership “ this is ILLEGAL in the UK. How come you don’t know this?
I’m aware of this, and this is stupid. Thatcher really set you guys all up for failure.
The four self- governing London orchestras are not eligible for government support!!!! Rubbish.
Another fact missing in these statements: musicians carry the cost of high quality instrument purchases and the maintenance required for such instruments.
The cost of the instrument can be amortized over many years, ie., the principal trumpet may have bought his instrument 20 years ago and is still using it every day. The maintenance and repairs are tax-deductible.
These comments (made by admin/management) shows a blatant misunderstanding of the orchestral industry. No orchestra works 9-5pm, 52 weeks per year. No orchestra would be able to, no city would support it, no musician would agree to play in that orchestra. It is simply not how orchestras function, ever.
And generally, management opposes adding additional weeks, because it means a higher budget, which they can not afford.
Note that Ms. Deborah F Rutter, the President, makes $1.4mil per year (plus $40K in bonuses– double the yearly raise proposed for musicians). Yet she strongly opposes raises for the orchestra.
I wonder where she’d rather have the money go.
The board is clueless. They rubber stamp every thing that Rutter wants. David Rubenstein thinks she’s great. How ironic that she came to the KC from the Chicago Symphony!
Management and the unions try the same manipulative Chicken Little tactics every time there is a CBA negoation
To put the offer in perspective, the salary is in-line with that of senior U.S. civil servants – GS-15s – in the Washington, DC area. Only the civil servants at that level work more than 40 hours a day and are on-call after the end of the workday.
The Kennedy Center is supposed to be a leader in advocating for the arts, not tearing down its orchestra. Ms. Rutter earns $1.3 million, which is truly an outrage.
Oh my. Spoiled babies in our nation’s capital? Who would have thought?
Almost 180000 USD per month for 20 hours per week?? Plus 50 days paid vacation??? And the musician are striking? There are surely many musicians who would be very happy with that salary. NSO should replace the striking musician’s if possible. No orchestra musician is irreplaceable.
Two things are true at the same time. This seems like a reasonable offer from the management and the musicians deserve the high salary. The musicians of the NSO are at the top of their field, $178,000 is not a high salary for people who are at the top of their field.
Also, stop with the ticket sales. US Orchestras don’t get paid based on ticket sales, they get paid based on donations. A few years ago the San Diego Symphony received a 120 million dollar donation and the musicians salaries went way up, no orchestra gets raises because of ticket sales.