Allegro
Currently Browsing: October, 2005
Live From Staten Island!
When an Orchestra Folded, Musicians Stepped In
See below article for photos by Claire Houston. Members of the now-defunct Gateway Symphony of Staten Island have formed a new orchestra. The Staten Island Philharmonic Orchestra performed its first concert on Aug. 21 at the Noble Maritime Museum to
President’s Report
Responding to Katrina
Click here for information if you need help, or if you want to donate. When the waters came, the music in New Orleans stopped for the first time in 300 years. Symphony players, jazz artists and street musicians all tried
Katrina Help and Donation Information
DONATE INSTRUMENTS TO FELLOW NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS! The Moonshine Project, a non-profit entertainment company in NYC, has partnered with The Tipitina’s Foundation in New Orleans, LA to put instruments back into the hands of musicians who lost everything in Hurricane
Musicians in the Storm: Voices from New Orleans
Nicholas, Jeremiah, and Akeem are three kids displaced from Hurricane Katrina. They’re pictured with Lovie Smith-Schenk, the president of AFM Local 65-699 (Housten) at a benefit concert for Katrina survivors. I had just had surgery a little over a week
Canned Music for Ballet Sparks Protest
802 member Pedro Diaz with Kathy Caballero, co-chair of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestra Committee. The “Ballet Handbook,” a primer for children on the Web site of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, defines ballet as “a way of telling a
The Future Will be Live!
Theatre Community Initiative Breaks New Ground
Duke LaFoon and Megan Lawrence in “Monica! The Musical,” one of the shows in the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Photo by Daniel Shiffman. This fall Local 802 began a unique relationship with the New York Musical Theatre Festival —
Pataki Vetoes Music Club Tax Bill
Governor Allows for a Second Try
If you’ve ever performed in a club that serves food, you probably weren’t aware that the owner of the venue has to pay tax on the “music charge” or admission. Earlier this year Local 802 introduced legislation in Albany that
Hang Together or Hang Separately
New Seminar Offers Tools to WinOrganizing Matters
Ben Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” That’s especially relevant today, when unions are under fire and fighting for musicians’ rights and workers’ rights is tough. In June, I attended a newly-designed
Labor Parade 2005
Photo Section
Music makes the labor movement stronger! On September 10, Local 802 joined hundreds of other unions in the Central Labor Council’s annual labor parade. Performing in Local 802’s contingent were Sam Bardfeld (violin), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), Norbert Marius (bass), Roy
Never Stop Learning
Views from the Board
This new column will feature thoughts and opinions from your Executive Board. During the week of July 11, I was given the opportunity by our local to attend a full-week seminar at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations as
Bush Uses Hurricane to Blindside Poor
Guest Commentary
With the federal government poised to spend more than $50 billion to rebuild areas destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the AFL-CIO is calling on Congress to reverse President George W. Bush’s Sept. 8 executive order that would allow contractors to pay
NEA Wins $4.4 Million Increase
The National Endowment for the Arts won a $4.4 million increase in its 2006 budget. Approximately $3 million of the NEA increase will restore funding to the popular Challenge America program, providing arts grants to under-served communities, which President Bush’s
If You Don’t See Taxes Withheld — Watch Out!
Over the summer, a few record companies have submitted payrolls without taking deductions from musicians — in other words paying them “net.” This means that such companies will need to issue 1099’s to each musician at the end of the
“Can You Keep It Down?” Practicing in Your Apartment
Legal Corner
Last year in this column, I briefly analyzed several cases that involved the rights of musicians to practice in their own apartments. At the time when I wrote that article, however, I had not yet acquired first-hand experience in litigating
It’s Time to Buy a Home…Do You Know Your FICO Score?
Musicians' Assistance Program
As a musician, what may be at the forefront of your mind are thoughts about events in the approaching weeks and months, such as any upcoming gigs, rehearsals or special engagements. With all of this it’s easy to get caught
Listening to the Masters
Book Notes
“Fifties Jazz Talk, an Oral Retrospective” by Gordon Jack (Scarecrow Press, 2004). A new addition to Scarecrow’s “Studies in Jazz” series, this book contains transcribed interviews with thirty jazz musicians, survivors of the 1950s jazz scene, who were selected by
The Man Who Knew Everyone
Book Notes
“‘I Just Happened To Be There…’ Making Music With the Stars” by Nick Perito (Xlibris, 2004). Though he was a musician since his childhood in Denver, Nick Perito’s career as an accordionist, pianist, arranger, composer and conductor began in New
The Musicians’ Voice
PARTNERS IN TIME To the Editor: I invite members of 802 to join me in a project. Since around 1990 or so I have been doing interviews, mostly with rhythm section players — including Ray Brown, Percy Heath, Milt Hinton,
Legislative Update
HILLARY RESPONDS TO KATRINA In response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Hillary Clinton has introduced legislation to restore FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to Cabinet-level, independent status. Clinton argued that when FEMA was moved to the Department
Negotiations Roundup
New York Grand Opera. A three year agreement has been reached between Local 802 and New York Grand Opera, Inc. When performing in New York’s major venues and Flushing Town Hall, the employer has agreed to pay the appropriate Local
Grievance Corner
Kaufman Center. The union brought a grievance against the Kaufman Center to the American Arbitration Association for the failure of the center to provide 2 percent raises to faculty teaching in the center’s outreach program. The arbitrator denied the employer’s
Executive Board Minutes
May 3, 2005 -- May 10, 2005
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2005 Meeting called to order at 11:20 a.m. Present: President Lennon, Recording Vice President Dennison, Financial Vice President Blumenthal, Executive Board members Babich, Gagliardi, Gale, Giannini, Landolfi, Schaffner, Shankin, Weiss, Whitaker, Assistant to the President Delia and