Tag Archives: Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians

Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians

OCSM Conference to Be Held Online August 4-6

by Robert Fraser, OCSM President and Member of Local 247 (Victoria, BC)

Following up on my column in April’s International Musician (“Where is that Coda Sign?”), the 2021 Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) Conference will be held online again this summer. We are still in the early stages of emerging from the pandemic, and with our locals’ resources stretched, and uncertainty around travel, it seemed the most prudent decision.

By the time you read this, we will have had two June online meetings with our 21 OCSM delegates, where each gave a brief report on their orchestra’s season activity. Almost all of our orchestras made a dramatic shift to the production of digital content this year. These digital offerings took every form imaginable: self-produced videos, collaborations with third parties, outreach projects, livestreams to care facilities, ticketed livestreamed concerts, and prerecorded offerings shown free of charge with donations encouraged. Despite no earned revenue from large-capacity audiences—the orchestra’s “bread and butter”—many delegates reported that their managements had achieved small surpluses and fundraising/donation campaigns raised more money than expected.

In late May and early June, I was privileged to take part in Orchestras Canada’s series of three online seminars, The Future of the Digital Orchestra. AFM Symphonic Services Division (SSD) Director for Canada Bernard LeBlanc and I were on the steering committee for the project. With the help of OCSM’s delegates, I was able to give a presentation on the third seminar from the musician’s perspective: the challenges of recording versus live performance, the pressures of getting it right, and the problems created by COVID-19 protocols. I carried the message that creating digital content is something we are interested in continuing after the pandemic.

I reported in my last column that we now have an Integrated Media Agreement for Canada (the IMAC) and we hope that more of our orchestras will become signatory to this agreement. As the conversation around our digital presence continues, part of our August conference will centre on that topic. Michael Hodgett of The Arts Firm, facilitator of the Orchestras Canada project, is joining us.

As I have reported in previous columns, in 2017, OCSM voted to support Orchestras Canada’s IDEA Declaration—a commitment on the part of our orchestras to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. A call for inclusion and diversity must include coming to terms with the uncomfortable facts of current and past events that have created systemic inequalities throughout our nation.

This was driven home recently in Canada with the shocking discovery of the bodies of 215 children buried on the site of a former Indian residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. While that story was being reported in the news cycle, a Muslim family was brutally murdered in London, Ontario, in a crime that is being prosecuted as an act of terrorism.

As we seek to serve our entire community in all its diversity, we have to confront upsetting truths such as these. It may seem far removed from our abilities as musicians to deal with mass social injustices. However, keep in mind that the history of organized labour has always included a strong social justice element and that the arts have always played a role in healing and bringing communities together. How we do this will certainly be a topic of discussion among our members for many conferences to come.

If this column is being read by orchestral musicians who are not yet part of OCSM, or other musicians interested in our work, the Zoom platform conveniently allows us to open our conferences to more people than we can normally fit in one of our hotel conference rooms. Please keep your eyes peeled for more information on how you can observe some of our sessions, by following us on Facebook and Twitter, and visiting our website: www.ocsm-omosc.org.

La conférence de l’OMOSC aura lieu en ligne, du 4 au 6 août

par Robert Fraser, président de l’OMOSC et membre de la section locale 247 (Victoria, C.-B.)

Pour faire suite à ma chronique du mois d’avril dans l’International Musician, je vous annonce que la Conférence 2021 de l’Organisation des musiciens d’orchestre du Canada se tiendra en ligne encore une fois cet été. En effet, comme nous commençons à peine à sortir de la pandémie, que les ressources de nos sections locales sont très limitées en ce moment et que l’incertitude persiste quant aux possibilités de voyager, il nous a semblé préférable de jouer de prudence.

Au moment où vous lirez ces lignes, nous aurons déjà tenu deux rencontres en ligne avec nos 21 délégués de l’OMOSC afin qu’ils puissent nous présenter un bref rapport de leurs saisons orchestrales respectives. Presque tous les orchestres ont effectué un virage important vers la production de contenu numérique cette année, et ces réalisations ont pris toutes les formes possibles et imaginables : vidéos autoproduites, collaborations avec des tiers, projets dans la collectivité, diffusions en direct dans des centres de soins, diffusions en direct pour public payant et concerts préenregistrés diffusés gratuitement ou contre un don volontaire. Malgré que les orchestres aient été privés des revenus de billetterie – leur pain et leur beurre – auxquels ils sont habitués, de nombreux délégués indiquent que leur administration a dégagé un léger surplus, et que les collectes de fonds ont rapporté plus que prévu.

Fin mai, début juin, j’ai eu le privilège de participer à la série de trois séminaires en ligne d’Orchestres Canada intitulée L’Avenir de l’orchestre numérique. Le directeur des Services symphoniques de la FAM pour le Canada, Bernard LeBlanc et moi-même faisions partie du comité directeur de ce projet. Avec l’aide des délégués de l’OMOSC, j’ai pu donner une présentation du point de vue des musiciens : les défis que présentent les enregistrements par opposition aux concerts, la pression de la réussite et les problèmes que créent les protocoles liés à la COVID-19. J’ai souligné que nous souhaitons continuer à produire du contenu numérique après la pandémie. Dans la dernière chronique, je vous ai indiqué que nous avons maintenant une Entente canadienne sur les médias intégrés, et j’espère que d’autres orchestres de l’OMOSC l’adopteront.

Les discussions relatives à notre présence numérique se poursuivant, nous consacrerons une partie de notre conférence du mois d’août à cette question. Michael Hodgett de The Arts Firm, le facilitateur pour le projet d’Orchestres Canada, se joindra à nous.

Comme je l’ai dit dans des chroniques précédentes, en 2017, l’OMOSC a adopté une résolution d’appui à la déclaration IDEA d’Orchestres Canada — un engagement de nos orchestres envers l’inclusion, la diversité, l’équité et l’accessibilité. L’appel en faveur de l’inclusion et de la diversité doit nécessairement passer par la reconnaissance des faits dérangeants liés aux événements actuels et passés qui ont créé des inégalités systémiques à l’échelle de notre nation.

Cela nous a été rappelé récemment au Canada avec la découverte choquante des 215 corps d’enfants autochtones enterrés sur le site d’une ancienne école résidentielle à Kamloops, en Colombie-Britannique. Et tandis que cette histoire faisait toujours les manchettes, une famille musulmane a été brutalement assassinée à London, en Ontario, un crime qui fait l’objet d’une accusation de terrorisme.

Dans notre volonté de servir notre collectivité dans toute sa diversité, nous devons regarder ces réalités en face. S’occuper de telles injustices sociales de masse peut sembler bien loin de nos compétences de musiciens, mais n’oublions pas que l’histoire de la syndicalisation est fortement tissée de justice sociale, et que les arts ont toujours joué un rôle important dans la guérison et le rassemblement des collectivités. Les moyens d’y parvenir alimenteront sûrement les discussions de nos membres pendant de nombreuses conférences à venir.

Si vous êtes musicien dans un orchestre qui n’est pas encore membre de l’OMOSC ou simplement un musicien qui s’intéresse à notre travail, sachez que la plateforme Zoom nous permet d’ouvrir nos conférences à beaucoup plus de personnes qu’on ne peut normalement en accueillir dans nos salles de conférence d’hôtel. Gardez l’œil ouvert pour en savoir plus sur comment assister à certaines de nos séances comme observateur. Suivez-nous sur Facebook et Twitter, et visitez notre site Web à www.ocsm-omosc.org.

Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians

OCSM Responds to COVID-19 Crisis

by Robert Fraser, OCSM President and Member of Local 247 (Victoria, BC)

Pour voir cet article en français, cliquez ici.

At the time of my writing this column, it has been exactly one week since my own orchestra, the Victoria Symphony, cancelled a concert with slightly less than four hours’ notice. This was on the evening of Thursday, March 12. By the time the following weekend was upon us, all 21 of the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians’ (OCSM) orchestras had followed suit and issued concert cancellation notices. Even though it’s only been a week, it feels like both the blink of an eye and a month all at the same time.

It’s difficult for me to write this column for two reasons. One is obvious: a scenario where not just every orchestra in the country stops, but all live music ceases in mere hours is so unthinkable I cannot begin to collect thoughts and articulate them. Second, this article will not reach your screens for at least another two weeks, and if you still wait for the hard copy, a considerable time after that. I have no idea what will unfold between now and then, so I’m dreading that this column will be either outdated news or false speculation.

What I can tell you so far is this: I’m very proud of the immediate response of the OCSM delegates and executive officers. As the whole rather unbelievable scenario unfolded, they were all on our secured email list, sharing details about their own orchestra’s situation. One delegate quickly started compiling the necessary information: how many weeks cancelled, whether promises had been made to pay musicians for cancelled services, whether live streaming of concerts would take place, and how extra musicians and subs were being dealt with.

The AFM Symphonic Services Division immediately set up periodic conference calls with the Symphonic Player Conference chairs, and all five of the Player Conference chairs followed suit to start our own regular conferencing. We have kept lines of communication open with Orchestras Canada and are compiling as many resources as possible. The morning before I submitted this column, the Canadian government announced an emergency response program that would address the issue of workers’ loss of wages, and hopefully by the time you read this, some of these programs will be falling into place.

It would not be speculation on my part to predict that by the time you read this, the negative ramifications of a worldwide pandemic will leave you feeling more than anxious—indeed, you might be overwhelmed to the point of being numb, even if in a few weeks’ time we are able to guess when the end of this will all be. In the early days of this, two things are keeping me sane right now, and I will offer these to you.

The first is to focus on the positive: the cleansing of the environment through our austerity measures, the fact that we are choosing to make a worldwide effort to protect the most vulnerable people in our society, and the fact that at times like this people turn to the arts to not only bring them comfort, but to affirm their resolve that all of this is worth it. The second thing that is keeping me grounded right now is the fact that we are a community of unionized musicians. As I scan my social media feed and see how people are responding, it keeps me going. Performing concerts at home with spouses and children, volunteering in the community, sharing information on resources, and, most important, just simply communicating friendly words to each other.

I hope that soon we will look back on this pandemic as a time when the musicians of the world refused to be silenced—that we resolved to come out of this stronger than ever before. In the meantime, stay safe, and keep those lines of communication open and active.

Recent News

Making the Most of Player Conference Membership

by Robert Fraser, OCSM President and Member of Local 247 (Victoria, BC)

robertFraserAt this writing, many of our orchestras in the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) are finishing up their regular seasons. The OCSM Executive Board is in “summer mode”—getting ready for all the various summer conferences, including our own. This summer our conference will be at the Hotel Arts in Calgary. All are invited to attend the open sessions August 9-11.

Another set of dates you may wish to save: May 11-14, 2017. This is when the fourth triennial International Orchestra Conference of the International Federation of Musicians will be held, in Montreal, Quebec. The International Federation of Musicians—known by its French acronym, FIM—is a member organization of approximately 70 musicians’ unions from all over the world, including the AFM. Since 2008, FIM has been holding orchestral musicians’ conferences every three years, and we’re thrilled that Local 406 will be hosting the 2017 conference.

All the player conferences report to you through their delegates and through the International Musician, so conference activities are probably well known to you. Representatives from each orchestra give reports on their orchestra’s activities throughout the year. We zero in on specific issues and topics and establish working committees that consult throughout the season (especially on issues such as electronic media). We hear from all parties related to our industry: union leadership, management service organizations, pension funds, legal experts, and guest speakers in fields ranging from public relations to health and safety. For example, this summer, former Alberta Senator Tommy Banks will be addressing the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) Conference. Many of you will have worked with Banks, as he has been a part of Canada’s music scene for many years. He will be giving us an insider’s look into the workings of government in Ottawa.

Since the activity of our conference will be reported in detail later, I will devote the rest of this space to ways you can help OCSM. OCSM is a grassroots organization; it is run by your volunteer delegates and is meant to be a network of musicians acting as one. (I will refrain from making obvious analogies about orchestras!) OCSM thrives on the activities of its members, so here’s how you can help:

For Orchestra and Negotiating Committee Members

Please include your OCSM Delegate in your regular deliberations and communications. In cases where the OCSM Delegate is on one or both of these committees, that’s not a problem, but sometimes we have delegates who feel “out of the loop” because there are poor lines of communication. An OCSM Delegate can be a valuable asset. Because they have attended multiple conferences, met key people from each orchestra, and gained valuable knowledge, they can assist in a number of situations. Furthermore, the delegates communicate to each other through a secure e-mail list, so they can easily gather and share information.

For Long-Serving
Orchestra Musicians

Take time to compile your orchestra’s history. As orchestral musicians we do a good job of passing our musical knowledge to the next generation. But what about our knowledge of negotiations, strikes, temporary shut-downs, changes in our orchestra’s business practices, search committees, and so forth? In my 25 years as a musician I have seen too many things repeated from orchestra to orchestra that should not have been. Staff and boards come and go, but some orchestra members that have been there longer than 40 years. Use them. I wrote an article about this in OCSM’s newsletter Una Voce last year. A good place to start is to make a simple chart of your orchestra’s negotiating history for the last three contracts. Be sure to at least include wage changes for each year and your orchestra’s operating expenses. Thankfully, some of this has been done for all of you already. The AFM is in the process of putting all our OCSM wage chart data online, going back several years.

Other Ways to Get Involved

Perhaps most importantly, there are ways to get involved and help your orchestra and OCSM without spending hours on a committee. I understand that some people in your orchestra will never be on the orchestra committee or the negotiating committee, and that’s okay. But do you have a skill that could be put to use part-time? For example, if you are good at photography, take candid pictures from the musicians’ perspective. These are great for musicians’ social media presence. Maybe you write well. Offer to write a blog or newsletter article. Maybe you work well with children and do a lot of outreach concerts. Share your experiences with us; these stories are a gold mine when musicians need some press presence.

OCSM’s mission is to be the voice of Canadian professional orchestral musicians. I look forward to meeting with your delegates very soon to hear about all of your contributions to our great profession this year.

Organizing

Celebrating Unity at 40th OCSM Conference

by Robert Fraser, OCSM President and Member of Local 247 (Victoria, BC)

This year marked the 40th annual Conference of the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM). For the first time, we met in Windsor, Ontario; now every single city with an OCSM orchestra has hosted a conference.

The conference was dedicated to the memory of Jim Biros, former CEO of Local 149 (Toronto, ON) and a great friend to both OCSM and the AFM. Part of Biros’ legacy was his work in putting together the Unity Conference between OCSM and the Canadian Conference of the AFM (CFM) in Toronto in 2012. It was fitting that this conference was dedicated to him, as it was our second Unity Conference. Our meeting day with the CFM was very productive, consisting of round-table discussions on two topics: the changing media landscape in Canada due to cutbacks at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the ever-relevant topic of making the AFM more beneficial to freelance musicians.

Windsor’s proximity to Detroit served us well; we had presentations on the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) recovery from DSO Committee Chair Haden McKay. And there was a presentation from former DSO bassist Rick Robinson, a member of Locals 5 (Detroit, MI) and 9-535 (Boston, MA), who currently runs Classical Revolution Detroit, a very successful program that brings classical music into nontraditional settings.

Our conference traditionally begins with round-table reports from each orchestra. We had two new orchestras attend as observers this year, the Niagara Symphony Orchestra from St. Catharines, Ontario, and the acclaimed period-instrument ensemble Tafelmusik, from Toronto, Ontario.

One of our orchestras experienced a shutdown this past year. The ensemble formerly known as Orchestra London Canada has officially declared bankruptcy, but the musicians continue to perform and are planning a 2015-2016 season on their own. They perform under their social media hashtag, #WePlayOn musicians. The musicians are working hard to build community support. They have expressed gratitude to all the musicians in the AFM who have come to their assistance over the past year.

We had three main guest presenters this year: Randy Whatley, of Cypress Media, has worked with a number of ICSOM and ROPA orchestras over the past few seasons. We were happy to invite him to his first OCSM Conference. He gave an excellent primer on media and communications: establishing your orchestra musicians’ communications network through mailing lists, social media, and contact with the press.

We also had a presentation from the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA), represented by Dr. Christine Guptill. She gave an overview of PAMA’s activity and described physical and mental health issues often faced by performing musicians. OCSM legal counsel Michael Wright gave a presentation entitled “Bargaining in the New, New, New Economic Reality,” which reminded us of the powerful tool of rhetoric: we risk buying into the “austerity” arguments for restraint in the symphonic sector, not taking into account that we never really enjoyed prosperity during the “boom” times.

The routine business of the conference included work on new electronic media agreements (this is ongoing—there is much to be done in the areas of promotional media, streaming, and physical product media like CDs and downloads). There were presentations from AFM Symphonic Services Division staff covering new online wage charts, reports from the Musicians’ Pension Fund of Canada, and AFM officers. We also shared information with our sister player conferences.

The rich discussions of a four-day OCSM Conference can never be adequately summarized in a few short paragraphs. The real work of OCSM rests with its own members and delegates. We encourage all of our members to engage each other through our email list, in our publications, and through social media. OCSM exists so that no one orchestra faces its challenges alone. We wish everyone a successful symphonic season.

oscm-conference

Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) Conference attendees at the 2015 conference in Windsor, Ontario.