Orchestra 101: The Run-Out Concert

Periodically student ensembles at Arizona State do run-out concerts. In a school situation these can be somewhat loosely organized, but for a professional orchestra there are many travel rules that have been hammered out over years of negotiations in the Master Agreement.

The most common type of travel is the run-out concert, which typically requires travel that cannot exceed 12 hours from departure to return without extra pay being provided by a specified rate.

Food is not specifically mentioned as something that is provided. However, meal stops are to be of a minimum of one hour when required by the travel times and distances with payment of a Per Diem. This Per Diem (in cash) was rated to different amounts if the meal would need to be taken in a town of more or less than 200,000 in population, and was also rated differently for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The Per Diem rate defined in my old Nashville Symphony Master Agreement was certainly enough to buy a nice meal and a big snack easily. In reality to a point it is more of a payment for pain and suffering than anything else.

On food, it could be supplied at the venue of the concert. While this food is “free” (someone paid for it for less than the Per Diem would have been) and convenient, some may still find things to complain about, as related in this quote from the new blog The Business of Music by Rose French. In her post “Musicians and the Culture of Complaining” she relates a story about a run-out she played.

This gig had provided a chartered bus for the musicians and dinner once we arrived. A nice spread of sandwiches, a fruit and cheese platter, and a desert platter, plus drinks and utensils were all laid out for us. But the first thing I heard from one of the musicians was, “well you would think they would give us mayonnaise or mustard for these sandwiches.” And yes, while true, it sets a whole different tone for the evening and negates anything this contractor had provided.

In addition to my time in Nashville I have done run-out concerts with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Phoenix Symphony. I am sure some of the work rules were slightly different group to group but they were always similar. I have never had a really bad run-out experience (some were very long/boring/etc.) and I actually edited a lot of writing (especially my dissertation) on bus trips with the Nashville Symphony. Generally speaking they are well enough managed and no surprises are involved if you are a contracted member of the orchestra as you have had at least 21 days notice about the services and you know what to expect based on the work rules in the Master Agreement.

I have heard a few horror stories. In Nashville the one they came back to over and over was the infamous trip to Cape Girardeau, MO, a few years before I joined the orchestra. It seems that it was one that was just barely possible in the 12 hour limit and a bus broke down. Not everyone rides the bus ever and some that drove to this concert also chose a route that involved a ferry over the Mississippi river that was not running and they also got badly delayed. In short it was a huge nightmare/disaster for all. They never played there when I was in the orchestra.

School and amateur groups lack the safe guards that have been negotiated into union contracts, so you may see no Per Diem, no time for food, no food at all, a sound check, and other things you would not experience in a professional situation. More on that in the next post in this series.

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