Yesterday’s post about the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) $1.75 million pension obligation settlement with the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) generated some intriguing feedback. In particular, one comment stands out in that it brings up some relevant issues regarding how all of this may impact other orchestras that are part of [...]

Debt Is Only The Beginning
The 4/25/2012 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article by Peter Dobrin that reports the dispute between the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) and the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) has officially come to a close. For those unaware, the AFM-EPF had been screaming bloody murder that the POA owed as much as [...]

Compensation Déjà vu Philly Style
It is worth noting that the current brouhaha over the Philadelphia Orchestra Association’s (POA) decision to extend President and CEO Allison Vulgamore’s contract for three years along with a list of perks and restored bonuses isn’t the first time the organization caught heat over executive compensation. In 2004, the POA (led by former board chair [...]

Musicians Aren’t The Only Stakeholder You Should Worry About
Following last week’s news about the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) President and CEO’s contract extension, a good bit of negative feedback has popped up by way of culture blog readers at a number of outlets. Although much of the criticism is focused on the long list of executive perks, deferred payments, bonuses, etc. and the [...]

The “Gruesome Details” Of Philly CEO Renewal
On 2/29/2012, the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) issues a two page press statement announcing a multi-year contract renewal for President and CEO Allison Vulgamore. Music critic Norman Lebrecht reports that the deal will require approval from the bankruptcy court then, in turn, refers to an article on the matter by Philadelphia Inquirer music critic Peter [...]

The Domino Theory, Orchestra Pension Style
The 12/1/2011 edition of the New York Times published an article by Dan Wakin and Mary Williams Walsh that examined the impact of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s (POA) withdrawal from the American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund (AFM-EPF). In case you’re coming into the situation without much knowledge, here are the highlights you need [...]

Former Colorado MD Blasts Ex Board Members
In a very unusual move for an active conductor, former Colorado Symphony Orchestra music director, Jeffrey Kahane, submitted an op-ed opinion piece to the Denver Post that unloads both barrels on the Clinton/Miller letter along with the Post’s editorial from 12/3/2011.

Pushing The Sky Up In Boston
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) recently wrapped up a new three year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that flies in the face of the Chicken Little Think Tank sky is falling doctrine. Normally, we wouldn’t spend time looking at what amounts to a typical contract with standard improvements but given the recent concessionary agreement in Philadelphia, [...]

Editorial Cartoon: Bully For Them!
It seems that last week’s article about whether or not the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) is still competitive with attracting and retaining top talent among its peer group caught the attention of Dixon, Adaptistration’s Editorial Cartoonist. Like any good cartoonist, the article’s bar chart illustrating the POAs change in rank was what he focused on [...]
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