Prelude
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t’s no secret that the news about orchestras hasn’t been great lately. For a couple of weeks this fall, stories about lockouts, bankruptcies, strikes, you name it, hit what felt like every day—and that was on top of the shutdown of the federal government. Orchestras face a lot of challenges now, and these are trying times for anyone who cares about the art form. But the simple fact is that many orchestras are balancing the books while meeting high artistic standards. Many are experimenting with new concert formats, fresh ways to connect with audiences, repertoire that fuses the classical and the contemporary. Others are finding success by adhering to traditional practices. This isn’t to shortchange the very real challenges that orchestras face. But orchestras are proving innovative and resourceful: When the Philadelphia Orchestra’s concert at the season opening of Carnegie Hall was cancelled due to a strike by stagehands seeking jurisdiction over the hall’s new educational wing, the orchestra quickly scheduled a free concert that night in Philadelphia. A richly diverse crowd of 2,500 showed up. Our cover story relates to a topic that has seized headlines: negotiations between labor and management. In a frank discussion, League President and CEO Jesse Rosen speaks with George Cohen, the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Cohen personally mediated high-profile disputes in professional sports, including the NFL and the NBA. Prior to arriving at the FMCS in 2009, he was general counsel of the American Federation of Musicians and some of its locals, where he represented musicians in collective bargaining with orchestras; he was also the AF of M’s chief negotiator in several landmark negotiations. Cohen can fairly be described as having seen it all. And if he thinks successful negotiations are possible, then successful negotiations are possible.
The Magazine of The L e a g u e o f Am e r i c a n O r c h e s t r a s
symphony®, the award-winning quarterly magazine of the League of American Orchestras, discusses issues critical to the orchestra community and communicates to the American public the value and importance of orchestras and the music they perform. editor in chief Robert Sandla
senior editor Chester Lane
Managing Editor Jennifer Melick
Assistant Editor Ian VanderMeulen
Editorial Intern Eesha Patkar
Production and design Michael Rush Manager
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