Archived under: Dark humor, Humor, The Business | American orchestras, Orchestra, Photoshop & Memes
Commentary and Yet More Parody: Pimpin’ with the Louisville Orchestra
The amount of web site traffic and positive response – on Facebook, on this site and in private messages - to last Friday’s opinion piece and parody of the current situation at the Louisville Orchestra (LO) has been outstanding.
It seems to indicate that I am not the only one who is confused and dismayed at the gross tactics being employed by the LO management in its current labor conflict. The mere idea of using an online service like Craigslist to solicit professional musicians, for example, is truly bizarre and quite frankly, worthy of mockery.
This personal observation aside, it is a very serious situation where lives, livelihoods and a long-standing cultural institution are all at stake; this is absolutely what needs to be kept in the forefront whenever looking into the details behind this disaster.
Seeking replacement musicians
In an attempt to oust the current roster of musicians (and perhaps also to generate public support), the powers-that-be at the LO have been reaching out to academic institutions and the internet for replacement musicians. This action has been widely condemned, most notably by ICSOM President Bruce Ridge:
Any musician accepting such work would not be serving the cause of art in America, or serving their career and family. Musicians accepting work as replacements would be taking food out of the mouths of fellow musicians, as well as depriving them and their children of health insurance.
(More.)
From my own limited perspective it is difficult to tell if this action by the LO management is in earnest or if it is just another hard-ball power move designed to break the union and humiliate the current musicians into accepting Draconian cuts in pay and personnel.
I would imagine too that professional musicians and orchestra managers across America all have their eyes focused intently on Louisville in order to see what will happen next. Under any scenario – hypothetical, real or imagined – the actions of the LO are certainly unprecedented, and what happens next may serve as litmus test for other American orchestras and their future contract negotiations.
The plain truth
If you did not understand the not-so-subtle message behind the sharp parody of last Friday’s article, today’s submission should help to make it abundantly clear.
Stated plainly – - if you are planning to apply to the Louisville Orchestra for employment as a replacement musician you will be in effect, selling your soul.
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Please feel free to download and share this satirical poster – click on it for a much larger, more printable version.
712 articles: BRUCE HEMBD is a web marketing developer by day who plays French horn professionally at night.» More information about Bruce Hembd » More articles by Bruce Hembd » Contact
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