Anyone with a question, insight, an article to share, an idea to float, or a need for more information before forming an opinion on these and other relevant issues, is enthusiastically welcomed here. The ASOC Singers and Friends Site is where you will find the latest information; more importantly, it's the place where you have the opportunity to engage in frank discussion of these issues with members of the ASOC and with ASO musicians. It's also where to find links to the history of the ASO Chorus, founded over forty years ago by Robert Shaw.
We extend warm greetings to interested readers from all parts of the globe ... each month, thousands of people from every continent find the ASOC Singers and Friends Blog, and continue to add to our readership ... they order t-shirts, too (we are grateful for the world-wide support of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players Association ... and ship internationally!)
Our mission is to keep the discussion going, exchange information and formulate ideas with the goal of addressing the serious problems facing the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Ours is not just a regional crisis. The same problems are playing out in orchestras around the world: lack of solid financial footing and internal controls, shrinking audiences, shortsighted donor and patronage development, poor management, communication breakdown between management and musicians, missing 'feeder' institutions, limited local government subsidies, outdated venues, unproductive marketing programs... and the latest groan-inducing topic explored in a recent letter to the NY Times, the 'relevance' of classical music today. Every person committed to the symphonic art form -- no matter where you live on the planet -- has a vested interest in learning more about each of these issues, and helping work to become part of the solution.
The ASOC Singers and Friends Blog isn't a message board or a 'preach to the choir' community. It is hoped that you, as an interested reader, will take time to respond to what your music colleagues are posting here. Please feel free to comment, to ask challenging questions and express your own thoughts -- anonymously, if you wish. If you would like to contribute an essay or article, please see the Housekeeping! section for how to obtain authoring privileges.
The 2012 lock-out was a polarizing event, an often contentious subject, but the majority of people who visit this site are friends, colleagues, and supporters of the ASO musicians ... and lovers of classical music concerts. In order to fully communicate the issues which face our respective organizations -- the ASO and ASOC -- and to promote free access to relevant information, we have made this site generally available to anyone who finds us on Facebook, other sites, or Googles us up.
To find out more detail on how everything works here, please visit the Housekeeping! page.
Should you have a general comment regarding what you would like to see on the blog, or if you have a concern you would like to share, please add it to the Feedback page ... or email Sally Kann at swak301@gmail.com
Welcome! Come join the discussion!
Thanks for creating this space & sending the invites. I know it took some time. I've been conflicted about rehearsing in a hall where the players are not welcome. It goes against who I am & who I need to be as a role-model for my daughter. I think it's farcical for WAC to use the word, "negotiation" when in truth they're giving an "ultimatum."
ReplyDeleteI was discussing this with a chorus member on the phone the other day; she recalled that during the strike 16 years ago, Mr. Shaw took the chorus out of Symphony Hall to rehearse.
ReplyDeleteTo the person who commented here on Revenue Management ... I tried to move your comment to the Want-Ads! post about Revenue Management ... and inadvertently caused your post to disappear into cyberspace or something. I do apologize, and hope you will visit again, and post your comment on the Want Ad! post.
ReplyDelete