Allegro
Currently Browsing: January, 2015
The Year in Review
As we say hello to a new year, it’s time to reflect on our challenges and successes from 2014. I would be remiss if I didn’t start by mentioning Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner of Staten Island.
Performers collaborate for their proportionate share of revenues
The following statement was ratified at the International Federation of Musicians conference on online music, held in Budapest on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21, 2014. It has become known as the Budapest Declaration: Online music services have transformed the music
Pension Alert: Solutions, not bailouts
As a member of the board of trustees of the AFM pension fund, I received the following communication authored by members of the union-side trustees. I am aware that there are some concerns and questions regarding the recently passed legislation
Turning Up the Heat
Recording Vice President's Report
With momentum from City Council and with new supporters, our jazz campaign is doubling down in 2015 The Justice for Jazz Artists campaign has gained many supporters over the years. Some of the most respected names in jazz have endorsed
Together Again
Musicians of the NYCO perform in Japan
“Do you believe in miracles?” was the phrase used when the U.S. hockey team won its most improbable victory during the 1980 winter Olympics. That members of the New York City Opera Orchestra recently completed a week-long tour in Japan
In Defense of Buskers
Thank you for the article in the December issue about subway musicians and the law. I think this is a really important issue, but I also think you left a few things out – namely, the vague discrepancy between those
Funds Find Money for Musicians
THE AFM & SAG-AFTRA FUND by Dennis Dreith Knowledge is power. And knowledge can also put money in your pocket! In late fall, I met with a number of prominent studio musicians and Local 802 members to give a detailed
The Soul of Stamford
The Stamford Symphony Orchestra prepares for a recent concert of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius during a Manhattan rehearsal at the DiMenna Center on West 37th Street. Eckart Preu has been music director of the symphony since 2005. Musicians enjoy wages and
Fiction vs. Reality
This is a story of how fiction met reality. I have spent my entire adult life – starting when I was 22 – working in the theatres of Broadway as a rehearsal pianist, keyboard player, conductor and music director. I
Carol Sudhalter’s Jazz Narratives
Carol Sudhalter smiles and sips herbal tea. At 71, the multi-reed player is in top form. An endorser of the union’s Justice for Jazz Artists campaign and a Downbeat poll winner, Sudhalter has just returned from her annual sojourn to
Mozart and Opera
Last month in these pages, we celebrated Beethoven’s birthday. Now let’s give a cheer to Mozart, whose 258th birthday is on Jan. 27. We’re pleased to feature an excerpt from Paul Johnson’s new biography of the great master. Centuries after
Powerful Sound
They’re back! The Senior Concert Orchestra returned to Carnegie Hall this year, where it performed to a full house. Musical director David Gilbert conducted the ensemble, which is composed of the most experienced professionals in New York City, many of
Musical Trailblazer
A tribute to Edward Simons, who – along with his wife Janet – made music flourish in Rockland County My father, Edward Simons, a member of Local 802 since 1946, is turning 98 on February 1. It is very possible
‘Why we joined the union’
From Madison Square Garden to the Blue Note to Lower East Side bars to bathrooms in private houses (yes, I’ve literally played two gigs in bathrooms!), and from musicals to jazz to rock to R&B to reggae, I enjoy playing
Executive Board Minutes
October 28, 2014 - November 25, 2014
NOTE: The E-Board did not meet on Nov. 4 (due to Election Day) or Nov. 11 (due to Veterans’ Day). The Board met on Friday, Nov. 7 instead. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 Meeting called to order at 11:08 a.m. Present:
How can Pilates help me?
As you get older, you can make your body younger!
The office of the Musicians’ Assistance Program is your one-stop shop for musicians’ health. We offer counseling – both one-on-one and in groups – as well as information on all kinds of social services, including health insurance, food stamps and
January ’15
The Band Room
In 1964, Eric Knight went to London with Ethel Merman as her music director for a four-week gig at a club called Talk of the Town on Leicester Square. During the rehearsals, Merman was intrigued by British music terminology: “minims”