Cleveland Orchestra player piles into the collapsing CIM
NewsHenry Peyrebrune is a bass player in the Cleveland Orchestra whose children studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
After discussions with colleagues in the orchestra, he has fired off this letter to the CIM board:
Dear Trustees,
I write in response to Susan Rothmann’s message to the CIM Community. As a member of The Cleveland Orchestra for the past 26 years, as a parent of CIM Preparatory and Conservatory students, and as the spouse of a Preparatory faculty member, CIM has been a constant in my life since my eldest daughter started Suzuki cello in 1999. Five of my children began their music studies at CIM – three (so far) have become music majors – one received her degree from CIM in 2022 (as did her husband.)
My experience at CIM ranges from sitting on the floor in the hallway during Saturday 8:00 am Dalcroze class for preschoolers, to Suzuki Halloween play-ins in Kulas and Mixon, to hearing our daughter perform as winner of the Preparatory Concerto Competition, to seeing the CIM Orchestra at Severance and finally, to watching conservatory graduation as a parent.
I am grateful for my family’s experiences at CIM, which were made possible by your volunteer service and generosity. I thank you for all you do for CIM.
I am also familiar with many CIM trustees from my years serving as a major gifts officer at TCO (in addition to playing), and I know the orchestra field intimately from my experiences on the boards of the League of American Orchestras and the musicians’ union’s International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM). I knew Paul Hogle and Scott Harrison in their previous positions and was happy to welcome them to Cleveland.
I have been in Cleveland for a long time and I’m well-connected with our local music community, as well as the national field. In short, I know whereof I speak, and I can speak freely because I have no obligations to the parties involved.
Susan Rothmann’s message to the CIM community characterizes the public discontent with CIM’s leadership as the opinions of a small group of faculty members.
This is false. Deep unhappiness and frustration at CIM’s direction is widespread – nearly universal – among the circles of faculty with whom I am acquainted. This includes many members outside of The Cleveland Orchestra, as well as within.
Dr. Rothmann characterizes their intentions as self-serving, choosing the past over progress, and motivated by a desire for personal power.
This too is false. The faculty members who are the most frustrated and unhappy are the ones who have been the most involved and collaborative. They bring decades of experience as educators and have had high hopes for the future of CIM, which motivates their involvement. They have longed for thoughtful change and growth at CIM.
I was shocked and dismayed to read Tammie Belton’s threatening email to Michael Sachs, which falsely mischaracterized his opinions and prompted his resignation on Friday. This seems to be part of a distressing pattern of departures from CIM driven by an intolerance for dissent or disagreement.
At the root of this pattern is a false dichotomy between leadership and its vision, and the faculty. A college is a faculty. That’s what the leadership leads, and that’s what the administration supports. Leadership leads by persuading the faculty of its vision, and the faculty participates in making that vision real to the extent that they feel their collaboration is valued and implemented.
This has broken down at CIM. Instead, we see a stream of high-profile departures who are blamed for CIM not having lived up to its prospective vision. The remaining faculty have learned that participation is welcomed only to the extent that it involves agreement and have become disaffected or merely compliant. And the pattern repeats. The one constant is that faculty who publicly disagree are accused of undermining CIM’s mission and CIM becomes more isolated from the Cleveland arts community.
We need CIM. It should be a vital, living part of the arts ecosystem in Cleveland and nationally. We need to see the results in our local school music programs, in COYO and our other youth orchestras, in colleges and music schools nationwide, in our smaller local organizations and in The Cleveland Orchestra. No amount of spin about times of great achievement can change the fact that we see that the culture at CIM is broken, and things are going in the wrong direction. And, attributing bad motives to those who care enough and are brave enough to speak up does a disservice to them, to CIM, and to our community.
At this point, you may be thinking, ‘Why is this guy inserting himself into CIM’s business after his kids have finished here?’ Indeed, I asked myself the same question and sought feedback from colleagues who do currently teach at CIM. They reviewed my letter for accuracy and encouraged me to send you what they feel they cannot. So, I offer my candid criticism in the spirit of hopeful service to CIM and its musical vision.
Thank you again for your service to CIM and to the Cleveland arts community. Although this letter may not express welcome sentiments, we do share the best intentions and hopes for CIM’s future. Please feel free to email or call if you wish to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Henry Peyrebrune
I have no knowledge of this sad situation beyond that which I have gained via SD, but I have read the letters by Rothmann and Peyrebrune carefully, and several times.
Rothmann’s letter is platitudinous, uses content-light “corporate speak” and fails to hide the indignation and anger of a management whose decisions and behaviour have been publicly challenged.
Peyrebrune’s letter begins by providing concrete examples which establish the author’s credibility and objectivity as a commentator. It continues in a spirit of sadness at the position adopted by the management, while providing constructive criticism in the hope that the situation can be salvaged.
To me, Peyrebrune’s letter comes across as well-constructed, sincere and moving. I hope that CIM’s leaders will respect the spirit in which it was sent, and respond accordingly.
“Rothmann’s letter is platitudinous, uses content-light ‘corporate speak’ and fails to hide the indignation and anger of a management whose decisions and behaviour have been publicly challenged.”
True but putting it kindly. Along with the corporate b.s., what you dignify with the words “indignation and anger” is really some Maoist thought-crime speak, accusing faculty who’ve proved their dedication of “opposing the evolution of the institute,” as though evolution is an objective concept and they’re trying to root out political dissidents. I wonder how she thought that would go well.
If it’s run on the basis of just Woje Oolicies and leadership is based on checking the boxes and not on the merits of Musicianship like the San Francisco Symphony, then you will end up sounding like a Junior High School Band Class. And if it’s run like the Boston Pops of the old days and the Musicians want it run as a Woje outfit, and they can’t take critique, then it’s just as bad.
Im personally a big advocate of Woje Oolicies
Yes, a little woje of cheese tastes good on a biscuit, and I try to use extra virgin oolicy as my main cooking oil.
I want to see the letter to Sachs
I can report hearsay — hearsay, mind — of its content as a CIM insider: I was told he was accused of saying he wanted to “burn CIM down and build it from scratch” or something to that effect.
Yes indeed. We need a full picture. Such a pity that people think their agenda, which usually glorifies them, is the best.
There’s a wonderful saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
I have two children who have attended CIM; one who is graduated and is now a grad student at Juilliard and another who is a current senior.
I’m a freelancer with major orchestras and a university professor. I have several family members who are also professional musicians and professors, including two who have worked with Cleveland Orchestra (TCO) and one with CIM. I don’t speak for my family members in any way, but just share to say that I know and understand the business in multiple facets. I’ve been a donor to CIM. I also teach high school students who may potentially audition at CIM.
What is happening there is appalling. My children went to school at CIM for the amazing professors full stop. A secondary consideration is the partnership with Cleveland Orchestra (opportunities to play in master classes and learn repertoire and audition talking with amazing faculty), as well as opportunities to learn by seeing the orchestra perform every week. They did not go to CIM for President Hogle, its board, or even Kalmar. The teachers are THE reason for students to go there, and for teachers to send students there. It sends to me that Hogle is throwing away both the teachers and the partnership with the orchestra.
I have grown increasingly alarmed at the daily news from CIM, both from my daughter (who is not involved in the protests and is very neutral about Kalmar) and by calling up TCO friends who weren’t in the school faculty and could speak more freely. What I’m hearing reflects this letter. When teachers are being driven to leave due to dissent with leadership, there is something glaringly wrong. These teachers are behaving in ways that are completely professional and show deep caring for the students. This is a time when the temperature needs to be taken down, not raised. And whose responsibility is it to take down the temperate? The leader. I don’t see that happening. I was a supporter of Hogle’s initiatives but that trust and support is quickly eroding and the decision making that’s been happening there is the sole reason for that erosion. I have not been contacted by anyone at CIM. He and the board need to listen to the collective wisdom of the people who have devoted decades to CIM and made it what it is. Otherwise, I see a major recruitments problems as well as donor problems in their future. Who wants to send their child or student to a place where teachers who have been institutions are being pushed out? Where a bully conductor is kept on despite the wishes of faculty and a majority of students? This is not said with an intent to personally attack Hogle, but out of concern that things are not going in the right direction and he can still work with faculty to turn things around.
Well put. Students attend CIM because of the distinguished faculty. Not because of Hogle’s vision of the future.
It is poor form to begin every paragraph with ‘I.’
Six of eleven paragraphs do not start with “I”.
Being nitpicky about writing style does not excuse complete lack of knowledge of arithmetic.
It’s a bird…it’s a plane…no! It’s Pedantic Man!
– Susan Rothmann Burner Account
What can we read Michael Sach’s letter and Tammie Belton’s threatening response? Without those two things, it’s difficult to make judgements.
There have now been multiple threads on Slippedisc about what’s going on at CIM, and still don’t understand the situation.
What was so “broken” about CIM, its financial situation, its educational model, its reputation in the music world, whatever, that its current strong-willed management felt was so urgently in need of “fixing”?
CIM has been riddled with mismanagement, crappy leadership, scandals and malfeasance for decades. It is not a tier one premier music school such as Juilliard, Indiana, USC, Peabody Institute. Sorry it hurts but that’s a fact. If somebody wanted to gut CIM and start over, that’s actually a great idea.
Peabody??? USC????
Hogle was known for being a non-collaborative jerk while he was on the Chicago symphony staff. The Detroit strike was as bad as it was because…Hogle is a non-collaborative jerk, and this situation is entirely due to Hogle continuing to be a non-collaborative egotistical jerk.
Same when he was in Atlanta…
And San Antonio….
It’s fascinating how incompetent and poisonous orchestra administrators fail upward time and time again.
Important. Anyway what’s his opinion on the masterpiece of a video game called Halo 3?
When Michael Sachs, one of the premier trumpet players in the world resigns, plain and simple, the school has a problem. The administration would have you think that people don’t like the focus CIM has created on access to a diverse student body. That’s not true. The administration, including the board, are poor managers of people. Their skill level here is very low and now it’s on public display. “Moon shot?” Hardly.
Our son is a proud graduate of CIM. We too are dismayed by the disintegration of the school.
I find Henry’s letter to be completely on point. He highlights the community roots CIM has in Cleveland, as well as the amazing collaboration with the world class musicians of TCO.
This is all at risk. Why is this dismantling of a fine institution being allowed to occur?
The extremely well funded institutions in higher education can afford to screw up. Places like CIM, with very small endowments, can unravel much faster than most people would imagine. It all comes down to leadership and management. Once the reputation of CIM seriously declines, the place go find itself out of business. The board chair, president, and provost should all resign. Tick Tock.
I don’t see any sign of that building collapsing at all.