Random Monday: Phoenix Symphony Speaks Out and a Revolution

Blog errors, the Phoenix Symphony speaks out, and Bill Eddins.

• Phoenix Symphony responds at Musical America

  Last week, Drew McManus at Adaptistration posted an interesting opinion on the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra’s response to 6/5/09 piece by Dmitri Drobatschewsky published at the Musical America web site.

  In their statement, the PSO asserts that the board, management, orchestra musicians and union local stand side-by-side on its controversial decisions.

  As was mentioned in the article, the Symphony did make a number of personnel changes in the past few years, and we do not feel that it benefits anyone to comment publicly about the Symphony’s valid reasons for professional actions.

  We cannot control the desire of the media and bloggers to discuss or speculate about these changes. The board, staff, orchestra and union all agreed that it was in the best interests of the Symphony to resolve all matters and to move forward.

  To this blogger at least, the highlighted sentence (my doing) stands out. Is there perhaps a hint of disdain?

  Of course the PSO cannot control what bloggers and the media say; this is a statement of the obvious. This observation aside, isn’t online discussion a good thing? Shouldn’t a local symphony orchestra — an integral part of the community and a symbol of civic pride with the city’s name as a part of its title — be questioned when it appears to be so troubled?

  Mr. McManus astutely points out that the PSO statement as a whole does not directly answer any of the questions being raised. It does not substantiate itself with supporting statements from either the musicians or the union local.

  Ultimately, many of Drobatschewsky’s questions remain unanswered and the style in which the Phoenix Symphony composed their response risks coming across to stakeholders just as heavy-handed, one-sided, and insincere as they accuse Musical America and Drobatschewsky.

  In dismissing online media as speculation, the PSO response appears obtuse and does little to quell dissenting opinion. As Mr. McManus indicates in his article, it may even have the opposite desired effect.

  Judging too by the large amount of web traffic data on PSO-related posts at this blog at least, it appears evident that bloggers and the media are not alone in being concerned about the PSO and its business practices.

  Read the full article here.

• Time for a revolution

  In a somewhat related piece, Bill Eddins at Sticks and Drones writes an extended essay on the disconnected relationships in the typical orchestra — specifically between the board and the musicians.

  On the board:

  …the job description does not require any knowledge of music, musicians, or how the music world functions. This lack of understanding can be, and frequently is, appalling. The love of something is not and should not be sufficient reason to find oneself in a governance position. You need to have an understanding of how that thing that you love functions, and how it should be nurtured, before you should be allowed to make executive decisions concerning its future. I love wine, but you definitely don’t want me tending your old vine zinfandel grapes for you.

  On musicians:

  God help us but we all know people who think that their contribution to the orchestra consists entirely of just showing up and playing, with the expectation that everything else that concerns the organization should be taken care of for them. The phrase “The Board should just raise more money” has been used as a panacea for deep structural problems more than once in my 20-year professional career and it shows a fundamental misunderstanding as to the workings of inter-organizational dynamics, especially since we live in the non-profit world.

  The full article is here.