olinhyde
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Out-of-town sabotage: Orchestra Nova
There is a very good reason classical music is dying: [The musicians refuse to innovate][1]. Who in their right mind refuses an offer for a 16% pay raise? It takes a union to make such a stupid decision. Congratulations to Garret Harris and the musicians union leadership: You've destroyed my appreciation for professional musicians with your sense of entitlement. You killed an orchestra that gave me great [personal joy][2]. Yes, I was a regular patron of Orchestra Nova, SD Opera and Symphony. No more. I'll save my money just listen to MP3s. At least I can pick recordings from musicians that were not afraid to play with passion. **FACTS:** - Orchestra Nova (ON) offered the AFM performers an astoundingly huge 16% pay raise in exchange for allowing the conductor to change musicians from show to show. The conductor wanted to select musicians based on passion. The musicians refused. - ON offered the AFM a deal to keep the shows running under the old contract in exchange for an agreement not to strike. The AFM refused. Andrea Altona, president of the local AFM, indicated the union's intent to strike when she told KPBS: “That’s one of the last rights we have left and there’s absolutely no benefit to us to waive that right at this point." - ON was about to fail 6 years ago when Lambert and Pak took control. Attendance was plummeting and sponsors fleeing. They came to SD as [progressive entrepreneurs][3] with innovative ideas. The result: Sold out shows and a new fresh audience. - Pak and Lambert are exactly the kinds of people we need to attract to San Diego: They created new jobs -- seeking to create an arts scene similar to Silicon Valley][4]. (FYI - Pak and Lambert are not complete outsiders anyway. Pak owns property here and Lambert lives in SD part-time - just like many of the musicians.) - No other performing artists unions guarantees job security. I know. I've been a SAG union actor for more than 15 years. Conductors are to music what directors are to film. Without providing artistic control to the conductor, the orchestra can be nothing more than a group of musicians playing off sheet music. Unfortunately for the audience, the AFM just wants to maintain the status quo that is killing classical music. **Conclusion:** Orchestra Nova was exceptional. It was killed by a union that refused to adapt to a new model that was attracting new audiences willing to pay top-dollar to see great shows. Rather, the AFM seeks a form of tenure that is unique to musicians at the expense of the audience. Pathetic the AFM chooses silence over music. [1]: http://www.olinhyde.com/2011/05/innovation-inspir… [2]: http://www.olinhyde.com/2010/12/big-question-my-m… [3]: http://www.olinhyde.com/2011/08/progressive-entre… [4]: http://www.olinhyde.com/2012/04/building-next-sil…— October 24, 2012 5:36 p.m.
"Victory through Peace," Redux -- 05/16/11 at Sherwood Auditorium at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Orchestra Nova's concert on Saturday night was so good it inspired me to write a blog article on innovations in classical music. See: http://www.olinhyde.com/2011/05/innovation-inspir…— May 16, 2011 7:45 a.m.