The “N” Words: Negativity – Part II

In the first part of this series, I identified a common occurrence in the classical music profession, namely, musicians with negative attitudes. As some professionals progress in their careers, they become jaded with skepticism, cynicism and apathy. While levels can vary, the end effect is more or less the same. Like a stone dropped in a pond, negativity generates concentric waves and ripples. It affects relationships with others and moreover, it ultimately undermines the very thing we musicians portend to love the most – the joy of performing live music.

A negative attitude generally does not occur instantly or in a vacuum. It is something that accumulates over time and from circumstances. In Part I for example, I mention that many music students are misinformed in their training and enter the professional world with unreal expectations. When harsh reality crashes into their ideals and dreams, these starry-eyed students degenerate into disillusioned professionals.

Unfortunately, negativity in the music field is fairly common – but, this is no different than any other working environment really. Most professional musicians realize this to be true.

Yet, the common public perception is that musicians are indeed different. All musicians love what they do, right? Isn’t music like playing with kitties and puppies – all warm and fuzzy, full of love, and void of judgment or conflict?

Maybe too, we musicians give the impression that as Artists, we pursue a common, higher goal – our Art – and so we do not experience job stress or conflict like other people. We rise above all conflict in pursuit of our Art.

Of course, this is simply not the case. To illustrate, I offer some examples and scenarios from my own personal experience of over 25 years as a professional. While each example in itself may not constitute much, when they are all added up and viewed as one, larger picture one can see how over time negativity can creep into one’s psyche and take over.

These are examples for the young professional to be aware of, and for the experienced professional to be reminded of.

The “End of the World” as we know it

Every 15 years or so, it seems that naysayers proclaim with reports and studies that the American classical music industry is in serious trouble. In the 1990′s it was the Wolf report. In 2008, it is the Flanagan report.

There are few defenders and many attackers on this current report and its conclusions. Without having studied either report in detail, I cannot offer an analyst’s opinion. However I do note that while the Wolf report is still being discussed today, the mainstream press has barely even noticed the Flanagan report. Many bloggers have commented that it is very flawed, and that in time it will most likely disappear from sight and will be forgotten.

Some union insiders view Flanagan as a direct attack on the American Federation of Musicians. They claim that this report gives boards and managements the ammunition they need to cut back on musician personnel, wages and benefits.

In my tiny world here in Arizona, most musicians are either oblivious or misinformed about the Flanagan report. Some point to it like Chicken Little, claiming that the “sky is falling.” They use it to support bleak opinions – that classical music and its audience is slowly dying off and in a few years it will no longer remain as a viable part of American culture.

For these naysayers, the Flanagan report is either the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or it is like a small crack that over time, shatters the entire mirror.

This opinion – that classical music is a dying art form – of course spills over into job performance and morale. (How can it not?) This is especially true if the dissenter has gone through difficult times, such as labor strife.

More often than not, contract negotiations leave a bad taste in musicians’ mouths. Some never get over it.

Negotiations – theme and variations

Many symphony, opera and chamber ensembles in the U.S. operate under the terms of an umbrella contract called a Collective Bargaining Agreement (otherwise known as a “CBA”). This agreement spells out in contractual terms the working conditions for a group, and it is typically made between the union, the musicians and the management of the organization. This “master” agreement then trickles down to individual contracts for each musician.

Typically a CBA will have a set time to be in effect, anywhere from 3 to 5 years. When it expires, everyone comes back together to re-negotiate and fine tune the agreement.

This process can have a tremendous impact on morale within a classical music ensemble.

Sometimes negotiations go smoothly. Many times it does not, and negotiations go on for long periods while all the parties work towards mutually acceptable terms. More often than not, it boils down to financial issues. The process can be an emotional roller coaster.

Sometimes negotiations get contentious. A public relations battle is waged – reports and counter-reports, news stories and counter-news stories. Each side tries to spin their angle on what the “real” story is.

As a final desperate move, musicians can go on strike or managements lock-out the musicians. Some ensembles collapse from this strife and go bankrupt, or temporarily or permanently cease operations. Some reorganize and reform later and are reborn, while others fade away into distant memories.

Faith over despair

In my own life I have gone through many of these scenarios. Rather than viewing these incidents however as signs of a corrupt, ineffective system, I simply chalk it all up as experience and move on.

Sometimes things just don’t work out. This is my simple approach and I admit, my defense mechanism.

For example, in spite of a recent marathon negotiation process with the Arizona Opera that ended in wage freezes, I remain positive that although somewhat flawed, the collective negotiation process works – warts and all. It is a tried-and-true method.

I choose to view the glass as half-full and not half-empty.

Not all people share this optimistic view. By virtue of the give-and-take, secretive and sensitive process of contract negotiations, some people will always distrust the process and will always question its motivations, its process and its outcomes.

For that minority, a negotiation deal may remain a hot-button issue for many years. It instills long-term resentment, disappointment and even bitterness. It generates mistrust of the system and worse, of their colleagues who volunteered on committees to represent that system.

Over time, their negativity may spill into other areas and impact their abilities to work in good faith with others. Sometimes this manifests itself in subtle and subconscious ways. Other times it manifests itself in overt confrontation.

For the uninitiated, this can be a shock. Witnessing colleagues engaged in open hostilities before, during or after gigs for example, can be very disconcerting. In some ensembles, open conflict can be just another day at the office.

Not all classical music ensembles operate this way of course, and smart, respectful colleagues who initiate dialog usually can work out their differences. Expert managers who detect derision in the ranks will address it before it gets out of hand.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way. Far from being a naysayer and finger-pointer of orchestra politics, I point these things out only as general observations for readers to be aware of – especially music students.