Date: 6/9/2021
On June 12 at 12 p.m., the Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MOSSO) will gather on the steps of Symphony Hall to call attention to the?precarious state of the Springfield Symphony Orcherstra (SSO).
MOSSO is offering a free short concert to bring live symphonic music back to downtown Springfield.
The SSO has not performed in Symphony Hall since the pandemic shut down live concerts in March, 2020.?The musicians of the SSO fear that the Orchestra is in peril, as the organization has no?concerts?scheduled for the ?2021-2022?season,?no contractual agreement with the Music Director,?Maestro Kevin Rhodes, and no permanent executive director in place to manage the?organization.
MOSSO alleges that the Board of Directors’?Executive Management Committee has effectively shut down the organization.?
Despite welcoming donations from music lovers in Springfield and beyond during this past year’s successful development campaign?–?which added funding?on top of?an already robust $7.5 million endowment?–?the?SSO Board scrapped plans for outdoor?summer concerts,?and has no concerts scheduled for the 2021-2022 season.?In contrast, the orchestras in Hartford, Albany and Rhode Island have all announced dates for their live indoor concert seasons starting this fall.?
MOSSO states that the SSO Board has essentially eliminated artistic leadership?by minimizing the role of Maestro Kevin Rhodes, the SSO’s immensely popular and internationally successful music director.?They put off renewing his contract, which expired on May 31.?Moreover, the SSO sorely needs to replace departed executive director?Susan Beaudry (gone since April 23).?There has been?no national search for a successor, and for the time being, Development Director John?Anz is?serving as interim executive director. The SSO is in limbo because the board has failed to address these two?leadership positions atop the organization.?
The?SSO Board?asserts that financial challenges threaten the orchestra’s long-term stability. According to MOSSO,?their solution has been to eliminate staff positions and drastically reduce the number of performances, and players performing?–?actions that directly hinder fundraising and marketing efforts by handicapping the organization’s mission to serve the music lovers of the Pioneer Valley.
MOSSO maintains that the board’s own endowment and fundraising reports show that SSO finances are improving and that instead of cutting performances, the SSO should continue growing its successful development program, start applying for grant funding (as have similar performing organizations) and turn over management of the SSO to an executive director with a proven track record of success.
The SSO Board?claims?that the 2021-2022 season cannot be planned in the absence of a successor to the 2017-2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA: contract with the musicians). MOSSO points out that this claim is false: Federal law requires that the terms of?an?expired CBA remain in effect until a new agreement is reached, but the board?refuses to honor this legal principle. To date, they have not acknowledged that MOSSO’s team has negotiated in good faith by offering proposals that address the SSO’s financial concerns.
The immediate obstacle to achieving a successor CBA is that the board presently lacks a negotiating team –?all of its members have?departed?the organization. As a result,?negotiations ground to a halt in March.??The American Federation of Musicians, Local 171,?has filed an Unfair Labor Practices Charge, alleging bad faith bargaining by the?former?SSO management/board?negotiating?team,?as well as threats by the board to cease operations unless the musicians settle their contract. Absent a team that MOSSO’s can negotiate with, there is no possibility of arriving at the long-term agreement that both parties desire.
The Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra are?calling for an encore, not a final curtain.?Unless the?board changes direction,??there will be no further?SSO performances?in Symphony?Hall.??After a run of more than 75 years, this?would be a tragic ending for?our?region’s finest orchestra, with incalculable economic, cultural and educational losses for Greater Springfield and the Pioneer Valley.
The Musicians of the SSO, many?of?whom?have dedicated their entire careers to performing with the symphony,??will not?be silenced.?With?the?lifting of?pandemic restrictions, they are determined to bring back the music.??
For more information and updates on the June 12 concert, visit
www.springfieldsymphonymusicians.com.
Beth Welly,
Assistant Principal Second
Violinist
Marsha Harbison, Assistant Concertmaster
Richard Mickey,
Cellist
Tom Bergeron,
Principal Trumpet
Martin Kluger,
Principal Timpani
Bob Lawrence,
Violinist
