On July 20, the Musicians’ Negotiating Committee met with management and six Board members in a three hour afternoon session. Discussion continued from the previous meeting, as the Committee continued to seek clarification of management proposals. The Committee also gave a brief historical narrative summarizing the Minnesota Orchestra’s rise to become recognized as a top ten American orchestra.
While acknowledging the support and efforts of the Board and management in helping to build the orchestra to its current status, the Committee continued to strongly caution that management’s current proposals would seriously diminish the artistic quality of the orchestra in its ability to retain and attract the best musicians possible and, thus, jeopardize its current top-tier status.
The next meeting is scheduled for August 30.
who pays for the deficit? ( between 1 and 3 million according to the article in the star tribune)
if your product doesn’t sell, why do you think you deserve 109,000 dollars a year?
Dear Jason,
Thank you for your message. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your questions.
Regarding the deficit, please keep in mind that the board has the ability to make the deficit appear as large or small as it decides based on the amount it chooses to draw from the endowment each year. It appears that the board has decided to borrow money from creditors rather than take additional funds from the endowment in order to meet the orchestra’s expenses for Fiscal 2011, and is prepared to put the organization into further debt for Fiscal 2012 as well. In any case, no one need worry that anyone’s tax dollars are being used. Symphony orchestras in the United States are entirely funded through private means.
Regarding our salary, the musicians do not take the position that we should be paid any particular salary figure because we are somehow entitled to it. However, the Minnesota Orchestra does compete to attract the best possible musicians to the Twin Cities with other major orchestras in the United States. Because the Minnesota Orchestra has offered a salary package competitive with the top 10 orchestras in the United States (even during previous economic downturns), the very best musicians the world has to offer have chosen to live in the Twin Cities.
Under the new proposal, however, the Minnesota Orchestra would no longer be competitive for the best. The Musicians are very concerned that this would erode the quality of our concerts. We would ask our management this question: If our product isn’t selling well enough right now, how will offering an inferior product help sales?
Please feel free to ask us any other questions you may have. Thank you again for your inquiry.
Best,
The Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra