Since this blogger has been incredibly lax in publishing new posts, this current message will attempt to cover in photos the last several months of the seasons. Hope you enjoy!
October 2007
Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero
Pianist Alexey Koltakov
Conductor JoAnn Falletta
Resident Conductor Ken-David Masur
November 2007-The Nutcracker in the Municipal Auditorium
Hornist Jeff Garza in motion
Hornist Dave Brimhall and wife Stephanie Brimhall, clarinetist and Director of Education
Trombonist Mark Davidson and Bass Trombonist Michael Brown
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Sunday, September 23, 2007
This Week at the Symphony...
Dvorak! Tchaikovsky! It's going to be an incredible concert series this week! The opening of the Classical Subscription Season begins on Friday, September 28th and Saturday, September 29th with the likes of internationally renown soloist Midori and conductor Michael Christie. Also, on Sunday, September 30th, new Resident Conductor Ken-David Masur will conduct his first performance with the symphony in the Interactive Family Concert. So, hold on to your seat...it's going to be an exciting season!
Opening Weekend a Success!
From the first Pops concert of the season to a special gala performance featuring Itzhak Perlman, the San Antonio Symphony enjoyed a successful opening weekend. Beginning with three performances of "Bernstein on Broadway," the symphony and Nina Bernstein (daughter of Bernstein) celebrated the life and genius of Leonard Bernstein and the 50th anniversary of his work West Side Story.
(Nina Bernstein at the Majestic)
Friday, August 31, 2007
Symphony, Musicians Reach Resolution
San Antonio Symphony chairman Ken Oleson and Brian Petkovich, chairman of the San Antonio Symphony Player's Association, jointly announced the new agreement.
The new agreement runs for four years, beginning September 1, 2007, and will increase musician compensation by an average of 4.6 percent each year over that period. The symphony's performance season will be extended to 27 weeks for 2007-08 and will increase one week per season, to a total of 30 weeks, by the end of the agreement.
In addition, under the terms of a new electronic media agreement, which is part of the overall contract, any Symphony concert can be broadcast on local radio up to four times, and any four Symphony concerts can be telecast on local television up to four times each.
"In partnership with the musicians," Oleson said, "the Symphony can be assured of moving forward with a financially sound and viable future. That has been the spirit of the negotiations, and that overriding viewpoint has enabled us to get the agreement done."
"The Orchestra Committee, which led the negotiations for the Symphony Player's Association, will unanimously recommend ratification of the agreement to our members," Petkovich said. "I would like to thank Ken Oleson for his steadfast commitment to the symphony over his nine years on the board, and especially throughout his tenure as chairman."
"We're looking forward to getting on stage and starting the new season on schedule," he said. "What was going to be a good year is now going to be a great year."
Oleson noted, "The symphony will finish the current fiscal year, which ends today, in the black financially - the third year in a row. All ticket sales and donations for the 2007-08 season were set aside in an escrow account so that we will begin the new season with money in the bank, something that very few symphony orchestras across the country can say."
"The new electronic media agreement," Petkovich said, "will make the orchestra more accessible to the community. The ability for multiple radio and television broadcasts of concerts can introduce the Symphony to a much wider audience and help us build a new group of future ticket-buyers and patrons."
The first Pops concert of the new season - "Bernstein on Broadway" - will be held Sept. 14-15 at 8:00 p.m. in the Majestic Theatre. It will also be repeated at 2:00 p.m. on Sept. 15 in the Majestic Theatre.
Renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman will join the Symphony for a special performance Sept. 16, at 7:00 p.m. in the Majestic Theatre.
The first classical concerts for 2007-08 will be held Sept. 28-29, featuring violinist Midori.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Informational Picketing!!
All this week, San Antonio Symphony musicians can be found with picket signs that say "Support the Symphony Musicians" and "Stand with the Musicians" in front of the Majestic Theater. The musicians are not on strike, but they are exercising their right to freedom of speech to get their message out to the public.
This is informational picketing only and no one should cease work or deliveries. This began on Monday from 1:00-2:00pm; it continued on Tuesday from 9:30-11:30am, and today from 10:30am-3:00pm. Tomorrow, Thursday, August 30th, the musicians will be out again from 11:30am-3:00pm, and lastly on Friday from 1:00-3:00pm. TV and radio crews stop by periodically to take footage and ask questions, and of course, local San Antonionians and tourists alike ask questions and graciously take our handouts to read. Thanks to all who have shown us their support!! With a smile, a wave, a thumbs-up, a handshake, or a "honk, honk" from your car.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Labor Negotiations Update
san antonio symphony players association
contactus@sasmusicians.org
By now, as a member of the San Antonio community, you have probably received or read about the Symphony management's lengthy justification of their negotiating positions. While obviously biased, it does hint at the willingness to try new things and create a stronger organization and a more integrated arts community. However management needs our input and industry knowledge to successfully innovate and implement change.
Since the bankruptcy four years ago the Symphony management has balanced its budgets and expanded our reach across South Texas. We know they are ready to achieve more and go further toward full recovery. But the proposals they have outlined, especially the re-introduction of the idea to cut thirteen jobs from the orchestra, go beyond overly cautious to regressive. Management has requested that we to continue negotiations and we are cautiously optimistic that they will show flexibility to reach an agreement.
The musicians were hit very hard by the bankruptcy. The players, after a fifteen-month layoff due to the bankruptcy, agreed to concessions that reduced our annual salary by 1/3! Our difficult sacrifice has helped the Symphony Society to pay its debts, restore donor confidence and end donor fatigue, while we have continued to provide our valuable service to the public at the same world-class standard we did prior to bankruptcy. After three seasons of bankruptcy-imposed hardship, the musicians – all of the musicians – need economic relief.
The musicians are keenly aware that the San Antonio Symphony is emerging from bankruptcy. Our proposals are reasonable and show that we are patient.
We are confident that the Symphony will continue to operate in the black and grow. The symphony is not a risky place to invest but rather a community asset that should be supported. Many people including the musicians, the board, and our supporters, are committed to a plan for the Symphony’s long term health. It is time the community, board, and management find a way to restore professional integrity to the musicians by offering us a contract that reflects the high quality standard that San Antonio expects from its professional orchestra.
As a point of comparison, we present this table of the seven largest cities in the United States in order of population size, and their symphony players’ base annual salary.
Comparison Chart of San Antonio and other largest cities
| City (Rank by population)* | Musician Base Salary# |
| 1. New York | $112,060 |
| 2. Los Angeles | $117,520 |
| 3. Chicago | $111,670 |
| 4. Houston | $70,805 |
| 5. Philadelphia | $114,400 |
| 6. Phoenix | $35,877 |
| 7. San Antonio | $26,000 |
*Population Date compiled from www.census.gov
# Salary & Budget date compiled from Wage Scales and Conditions of the Symphony Orchestra, 2006-2007
To further show why San Antonio has the ability to fully sustain a symphony, we present data concerning the rankings of the largest Metropolitan areas in the United States. Though San Antonio in this category drops to the ranking of 29th, there are other cities ranked below San Antonio that have very prosperous symphony orchestras.
Comparison Chart of US Metropolitan Areas and Orchestras
| Metropolitan Areas (Ranked from largest) | Musician Base Salary# |
| 28. Kansas City, MO | $39,359 |
| 29. San Antonio, TX | $26,000 |
| 33. Indianapolis, IN | $72,800 |
| 38. Milwaukee, WI | $54,210 |
| 39. Nashville, TN | $42,183 |
| 40. Buffalo, NY | $40, 209 |
| 48. Salt Lake City, UT | $57,720 |
| 51. Raleigh-Cary, NC | $47, 236 |
What solutions have the musicians already found and proposed to management or agreed to?
1. Electronic Media Guarantee, which will greatly expand opportunities for broadcasting our concerts to the south Texas community
2. Facilitation of Outdoor concerts
3. Increased Open rehearsals
4. Deadlines for annual employment contracts
5. Increased flexibility in scheduling services
6. A memorandum of understanding that will allow a Pops concert to take place on an important religious holiday
How have negotiations gone?
The San Antonio Express-News Editorial page recently stated (8/24) that “the management has shown… a willingness to compromise in its negotiations with the musicians.”
There was no compromise from management for twelve weeks of negotiations. Management only offered its first monetary increase after we had already significantly reduced our proposed agreement several times. Their first movement came after twelve weeks of negotiations and the introduction of a federal mediator. It took them twelve weeks to show any willingness to negotiate with us.
The Editorial page also stated that “the sides have closed much of the gap.” That is not entirely true. The musicians have closed much of the gap.
After three months of dropping our demands well below our comfort zone in our effort to reach agreement, management finally offered its first small increase. We believe that the city of San Antonio deserves more opportunities to hear its great symphony, and we have proposed adding more weeks of work at essentially no increase in our weekly rate.
Should the orchestra consider a two tiered contract?
The ambition to build a Performing Arts Center must be paired with the ambition to grow the orchestra that will reside there and bring it to life. Since its inception the SAS has been a fully professional organization. There is no need to reduce it to a semi-professional orchestra.
A two tiered model would not attract top level talent, it would compromise the artistic level of our performances and it would discard loyal musicians who have served the San Antonio Symphony for decades. It would be a step backward, not a cautious step forward toward recovery.
Should the musicians consider contingency pay increases based on management’s effectiveness?
Marketing and Development are two of the chief tasks of management and we look for continued growth and improvement in these areas. While musicians are willing to help with these efforts, as we have been in the past, any benefit from increased production should go to further these efforts rather than pay a bonus to musicians who, no matter how much effort they expend in helping with marketing and development, do not and should not have direct control over these most important management functions.
We believe that our concerts are best presented by professional musicians of the highest training and caliber, and marketing/development are likewise best executed by professionals with training and experience in those fields.
Are musicians active in the community?
Playing in the SAS is the reason we have come to live in San Antonio. The Symphony anchors the musical community, and many other organizations benefit from our presence. These other activities enrich the whole community.
It is our responsibility to our art to teach, passing on our knowledge of music to the next generation of musicians and audiences. Each of us enjoys the opportunity to interact with young musicians and help them learn to express themselves through music.
Nevertheless, our primary responsibility is to present the highest quality artistic product in our concerts, and we need to be able to focus our efforts in this service to our employer. This is the logic behind paying musicians a salary in the first place - so that we have the time available to fully prepare for concerts, rather than scraping together a living doing whatever we can.
How much do we work? (What work are we paid for and what aren’t we paid for?)
Unlike employees in many other fields, we are not paid for all the time required to do our jobs but are only compensated for the time we are actually rehearsing or performing. Each program requires us to spend many additional hours preparing for the rehearsals independently, without pay. Just as a business person spends hours preparing for meetings, so we spend hours preparing for rehearsals.
Inflation adjusted annual salary
In every profession, employees rationally expect raises and cost of living adjustments. Our annual salary has shrunk especially when inflation is taken into consideration.
How does our weekly salary compare?
Management has argued that our weekly salary is quite high compared to other orchestras in our budget range and that we should not expect improvements because of that. While our weekly rate is competitive, the number of weeks we work is inadequate. Simple multiplication shows that there is no comparison between the compensation a musician earns in San Antonio and most peer orchestras.
| 2006-2007 | Minimum Weekly Pay | Weeks Paid | Minimum Annual Salary (Weeks * Weekly Pay) |
| Nashville | $981 | 43 | $42,183 |
| Colorado | $1107 | 43 | $47,601 |
| Kansas City | $977 | 42 | $41,034 |
| Phoenix | $924 | 39 | $36,036 |
| Florida | $844 | 33 | $27,852 |
| Buffalo | $1076 | 39 | $41,964 |
| Louisville | $825 | 31 | $25,575 |
| San Antonio | $1000 | 26 | $26,000 |
We have offered a freeze in the weekly rate to start the next contract in order to facilitate added weeks.
What does it cost to add a week to the season?
An added week of performances is also an added week of revenue through ticket sales for ticketed events and sponsorships for free events. The cost can be offset by the increased revenue and even exceeded.
How do we compare to other Texas Symphonies?
Management’s own chart shows that we are doing better with less than any peer Texas orchestra. The percentage of income derived from ticket sales is the highest of the four orchestras while we have the smallest budget, the shortest season and the smallest percentage of endowment income.
We are confident that the Symphony Society can grow its budget in the slow, steady and reasonable manner the musicians have proposed. It would be a very meaningful commitment to its employees who have sacrificed greatly for the organization and it would be a first step toward serving the San Antonio community in the way it deserves.
We have been patient. We continue to be patient. But we are not complacent. Management’s offers show a lack of interest in growing this organization. Our offers grow the organization at a rate that is achievable and sustainable. It is time to stop looking backward at the mistakes of the past and start making good decisions for a stronger San Antonio Symphony. It is time to gain momentum and move forward.
Brian Petkovich, Chairman SASPA
Emily Watkins Freudigman, 1st Vice Chair
Amanda Stewart, 2nd Vice Chair
Mary Ellen Goree, Secretary
Steve Zeserman, Treasurer
Monday, June 18, 2007
Write a Letter, Show your Support!
The following is a press release from the San Antonio Symphony Players' Association.
Symphony Society Rejects
Musicians' Breakthrough Proposal
Five-Year Proposal would have secured unprecedented stability, security and labor peace
Symphony Society Rejects
Musicians' Breakthrough Proposal
Five-Year Proposal would have secured unprecedented stability, security and labor peace
| San Antonio, TX - June 16, 2007 - The musicians of the San Antonio Symphony regretfully announce that the Symphony Society has rejected a breakthrough proposal for an unprecedented five-year labor agreement. This agreement was offered to the Society by the musicians' democratically elected negotiating team on June 12, 2007, after exhaustive review and consideration of the events of three months of negotiating. This proposal would have offered the Society the exceptional stability, security, and labor peace of a five-year contract, while allowing very conservative growth.
Since negotiations commenced in March, the parties have reached tentative agreement on a number of non-economic issues. On economics, the Society made a new offer on June 7. That offer represented the first and only time the Society has moved from its initial economic offer, except for repackaging the same basic amount of compensation offered. Meanwhile the musicians have progressively and repeatedly moved from their initial and subsequent offers in an effort to find common ground.
Whereas at one time the parties were $2 million apart over the course of a projected three-year agreement, that difference has been reduced by 90%, almost completely by motion from the musicians.
The musicians' negotiating team has reviewed the events of three months of bargaining and has reconsidered all issues and alternatives exhaustively. In both economics and non-economics, every element of the five-year proposal expressed not a mere preference, but an essential need.
The rejected proposal represented very steady and slow growth, an average 5.7% per year. It would have increased the season to 30 weeks by Year 4 (adding only one additional week per year). It would have also returned the size of the orchestra to its pre-bankruptcy complement of 77 by year 5. To achieve these two very important improvements, very minimal increases in weekly salary, health care allowances, pension and other benefits were proposed.
The musicians of the San Antonio Symphony agreed to remain here during bankruptcy reorganization on the faith that the Society would come through for them in the next contract. The Society's rejection of the musicians' very conservative and moderate proposal, which would have offered the organization stability and security for an unprecedented five years, demonstrates an unwillingness to accept partnership with its most precious resource, the talented professional musicians who serve this community so well.
On June 2, 2007, the Orchestra members voted to authorize a peaceable Union work stoppage upon expiration of the current contract if agreement on a satisfactory new contract is not reached. In the arena of labor-management relations, the peaceable withholding of labor is the only last recourse lawfully available to employees. The musicians do not seek and do not relish the prospect of a work stoppage. The current contract expires August 31, 2007. |
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| The San Antonio Symphony is the city's resident professional orchestra. Our impact reaches far beyond our home at the Majestic Theater. We educate, inform, entertain and infuse our community with music of the highest quality.
Please help by writing a letter expressing your support of the musicians to: David Green, President & CEO San Antonio Symphony PO Box 658 San Antonio, TX 78293-0658 greend@sasymphony.org |
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