HERE I STAND My Facebook friends are, I’m sure, getting tired of my eternal postings regarding the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Lockout. “OK, I get it” they say. “Kathy’s on a tear again” they think. “Enough is enough” they cry. But it is not enough. It’s not nearly enough. I ask you, my friends, “What will we do when the music stops?” This morning, I went to church and tears began to course down my cheeks as our mighty organ began to play, the choir began to process and we all lifted our voices to “All Creatures of Our God and King”. My mind flew to the myriad other pieces that Ralph Vaughn Williams had composed – A Sea Symphony, Hugh the Drover, and all of the exquisite pieces on the latest ASO CD – Symphony #4, The Lark Ascending and of course, Dona Nobis Pacem. All classical pieces; none possible with out classical musicians. Our service ended with the beautiful Andante movement from Widor’s Symphonie Gothique. Would that have even been written without classically trained musicians to play it? Make no mistake, my friends, the Atlanta Symphony musicians lockout isn’t about management versus musician, union versus union busters, inept managers or for that matter, the Woodruff Arts Center versus the Atlanta Symphony, this lockout is about the survival of great music. Why do you think that orchestra musicians all over the world are flocking to support the ASO musicians? Simply put, they’re supporting them because they know that if the ASO musicians lose, they stand a very good chance of losing themselves at their next contract negotiation. Ahh, you say, greed, you say. NO! I say. Here is a portion of a message I received from the wife of a Symphony musician after I posted my letter to the ASO Board and Virginia Hepner, CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center: “These past few years have been extremely challenging for him and our entire family (our 1st daughter was 1 year old during the 2012, now she is 3 and I am currently 4 months pregnant). This said, our financial situation has been stressful- we moved outside the perimeter last year as one of the ways we needed to conserve and save. Now with the present lockout, just about the only thing that brings us peace in this scenario is support from people like you.” When salaries are cut, when furloughs are mandated, when proposed new contracts put musicians deeper in the hole, financially, when families are hanging on by the skin of their teeth, it is time to speak out. “But, you say, “he can take his family and move to another city and play for an orchestra who pays more.” Possibly, but we would lose a fine artist and our city would be the poorer for it. And what happens when that symphony’s contract comes up, and management points to the concessions that ASO musicians are being forced to consider? What if the pay scale falls then? What if management across the world, following a business model that demands profit from a non-profit entity, not realizing that ALL non-profits can only exist with hefty donations from the public they serve? What if our children have no classically trained musicians to teach them? What if composers have to write music for smaller and smaller orchestras? What if the music dies? So, my friends hide my posts if you must. Un-friend me if you will, call me a fool, while you watch sports figures making millions of dollars – WORLD CLASS athletes, listen to pop singers who undress and writhe on fake phalluses who could not, in the wildest sense of the imagination be considered WORLD CLASS anything, but are also paid million dollar salaries, and let WORLD CLASS musicians and WORLD CLASS music die a slow, painful death. For me, I will screw my courage to the sticking place, post, write letters, call strangers to protest their intransigency, advocate, encourage, financially support the WORLD CLASS Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Musicians. HERE I STAND, for where there is beauty, where there is glory, where there is majesty, there music is found
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:22:24 +0000
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