Tag Archives: philharmonic

Los Angeles Philharmonic Announces 100th Anniversary Season: LA Phil 100

Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced an ambitious season to mark its 100th anniversary. Aside from an exciting centennial program, the orchestra will mark the milestone with educational and social-impact initiatives, as well as public celebrations. LA Phil 100 season highlights include more than 50 commissions, 20 programs conducted by Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, plus exciting cross-disciplinary collaborations. Former LA Phil Music Directors Esa-Pekka Salonen and Zubin Mehta will return, along with former Principal Guest Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, a member of Locals 47 (Los Angeles, CA) and 9-535 (Boston, MA). A new work by former Music Director André Previn will be performed and a long list of internationally celebrated musicians are scheduled to appear with the orchestra.

The season kicks off September 30 with day-long Celebrate LA! festivities for the entire city.  The free, open-air event will feature performances throughout the streets, from Walt Disney Concert Hall to the Hollywood Bowl, culminating with a free LA Phil concert at the Hollywood Bowl with a special once-in-100-years roster of guest artists. Celebrations will continue through the 2019 Hollywood Bowl season, and end with a gala featuring Dudamel, Mehta, and Salonen sharing the podium on October 24, 2019, marking the exact 100th anniversary of the LA Phil’s first concert.

“I have been thrilled to help define and shape the LA Phil over the past decade of our great history, when we have worked with such enthusiasm to make ourselves more diverse, more inclusive, and more engaged with our community,” says Dudamel.

The year is commemorated in a two-volume compilation of photographs, interviews, and essays, Past/Forward: The LA Phil at 100. LA Philharmonic musicians are members of Local 47.

LA Philharmonic Reaches Five-Year Agreement

In mid-August, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s musicians and management announced that an agreement was reached for a new five-year labor contract, which goes into effect September 18. Highlights of the contract include annual increases to the musicians’ minimum weekly scale wages, reaching $3,168 in the final year of the contract; and new health care plan offerings that will help to manage costs.

“One of the core functions of the AFM is to negotiate contracts that deliver improvements in the lives of working musicians,” says Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) President John Acosta. “We are pleased to announce that our negotiating committee, made up of elected members of the orchestra and working with union staff and legal counsel, has reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Philharmonic that delivers on that promise. This new agreement builds upon the tradition of LA Phil contracts that set the bar for pay, benefits, and respect for musicians in the United States.”

International Orchestra Conference

International Orchestra Conference Welcome to Montreal

AFM President Ray Hair addresses the 3rd International Federation of Musicians (FIM)International Orchestra Conference (IOC) in Oslo, Norway in 2014.

In May, Montreal will welcome the 4th International Orchestra Conference (IOC), hosted by the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) and co-organized by Québec Musicians’ Guild, AFM Local 406 (Montreal, PQ). The IOC 2017 will have a prestigious official ambassador: maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, recently named music director of the Metropolitan Opera, music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain.

Famous for its creativity and vibrant art scene, Montreal will be the first North American city to host the conference. Previously, the event was held in Berlin (2008), Amsterdam (2011), and Oslo (2014). In Oslo, 240 delegates from about 40 countries were reunited to network, debate, and discuss the major issues and unprecedented challenges faced by orchestras around the world in the 21st century.

For 2017, the programme of the conference will include the following topics: public value of orchestras, business models of orchestras; digital tools, and new approaches; responsibility and accountability: the role of musicians on orchestra boards; respective roles of trade unions and management regarding bullying and harassment; recorded broadcasts and the rights of musicians; and the role of trade unions in safeguarding the orchestra. At the end of the conference, the delegates will adopt a final declaration. A concert of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal at the Maison Symphonique, a beautiful concert hall inaugurated in 2011, is also part of the programme.

Home of NHL’s famous hockey team, the Canadiens, and Cirque du Soleil, Montreal is also the city where Leonard Cohen, Rufus Wainwright, and Céline Dion grew up. The second most populous city in Canada, the bilingual and multicultural metropolis is the perfect mix between North American modernism and European heritage, brought by the French and the British, and reflected in its architecture and its unique “joie de vivre.”

The city, which celebrates its 375th anniversary in 2017, is well known for its friendly atmosphere, its lively nightlife, its delicious bagels, and its iconic Olympic stadium, among many other things. Montreal also has a rich music scene, with many classical ensembles and major symphony orchestras, the internationally acclaimed Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Maestro Kent Nagano, and Orchestre Métropolitain, conducted by Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The conference will take place May 11-14 at the Delta Hotel located downtown. It is an opportunity not to be missed. For more information, please visit the website: www.ioc.fim-musicians.org.

Welcome to Montreal!

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Returns Home

In September, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra performed in the Orpheum theater for the first time since Hurricane Katrina flooded its lower levels five years ago. The nearly century-old Beaux Arts theater, located in New Orleans’ Central Business District, has been restored and renovated. It is one of the few remaining vertical hall designs left in the US and has over he years hosted vaudeville acts, films, and countless orchestra performances. Its acoustics impeccable acoustics are said to rival that of Carnegie Hall.

The restoration brought back the precise 1921 color scheme; the terra cotta ceiling and ornate plasterwork were restored by hand. Modern improvements to the theater include a state-of-the-art audio and lighting system; an adjustable floor plan with removable seating; remodeled green rooms and dressing rooms; six permanent bars; additional restrooms; and two new VIP areas.