I am pleased to report that the Concert Department recently concluded negotiations with Orchestra Lumos, Queens Symphony Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra.

ORCHESTRA LUMOS

The Orchestra Lumos contract was ratified on March 14. The three-year deal features 4 percent wage increases in each year as well as increases in chamber music pay and educational services. Over the past several years, Orchestra Lumos has expanded its reach into the community via educational and “small space” concerts which means that a good deal of time was spent clarifying language around these engagements.

In more Lumos news, although he will stay on as a consultant, the orchestra’s president and CEO Russell Jones recently announced that he will be stepping down in December after eight years on the job. The relationship between Mr. Jones and the union has been productive and cordial to the benefit of our contract negotiations and the future of the orchestra. We wish the board well in their search for a successor.

QUEENS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

With the Queens CBA, the main issue was updating both the wages to the Local 802 Single Engagement scales and the roster, which was quite out of date. Most of the work done by Queens is now done under our Public Service Scales. However, the contract will continue to follow Local 802 scale wages in the hope that a subscription series can be revitalized one day.

AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Our goal with American Symphony negotiation was simple: return to the Local 802 Single Engagement Concert rates. Over a decade ago, ASO negotiations became very difficult and lengthy, and the orchestra fell behind prevailing Local 802 wages. The tradeoff was that ASO offered many more engagements throughout the year than did the other freelance orchestras. Over the ensuing years, the number of services began to diminish but wages remained behind, negating the reason for the salary compromise. We have been fighting to return to prevailing wages ever since. I am pleased to say that by the end of this four-year contract, we will have achieved this goal and will finally return to the single engagement rates. To get there, we negotiated 5 percent increases in each year of the contract with the final year figured at 5.2 percent.

As always, a huge thank you to our orchestra committees. A good, well-functioning committee is an invaluable asset in negotiations as well as functioning as the union’s eyes and ears on the job. If you need a copy of your contract or have questions, they are there for you and of course, I am just a phone call away.

MARINE BAND ON “60 MINUTES”

It’s not often that one of the military bands makes national news. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the 60 Minutes story of the Marine Band concert that was to feature young musicians of color from around the country performing alongside members of the band. For those who missed it, the concert was cruelly canceled by the Trump administration for no reason other than the project being disparaged as a “DEI initiative.” (By the way, there wouldn’t have been any extra cost to taxpayers had this concert been allowed to go forward. Musicians in the band are on salary.) Although the active-duty musicians had no choice but to step down, retired military band musicians from all five branches stepped up to fill in for the Marine Band and nevertheless gave the kids a thrilling experience.

As a veteran of the Coast Guard Band myself, I know that disobeying an order, even an idiotic order, can come with grave consequences. I don’t fault the officers or the musicians for not defying the order to cancel the concert. I can’t imagine how “The President’s Own” must feel having to go to work every day under the current regime. Some might say it took bravery for the retired musicians to step up, but I know that any one of us would happily and readily have done the same. Not only did the concert go on, but the story has now been amplified on television a million times more than it would have been originally.

We are all going to be called upon to be courageous over the next four years and beyond. The challenge to stay focused will be immense and our unity will be more important than ever. Can music get us through this? I don’t know but watching that segment on 60 Minutes made me believe just a little.