November 24, 2009

Symphony, board reach interim agreement

By Donecia Pea
doneciapea@gannett.com

Symphony lovers have one more thing to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.After two years of contentious negotiations, The Shreveport Symphony Orchestra is back — for now.

The symphony board and musicians announced Monday that they have reached an interim agreement that will include a three-concert season, which kicks off Jan. 30 and ends in May.

The news conference included symphony board president Dick Bremer, symphony musicians representative Rick Rowell and Commmunity Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier executive director Paula Hickman.

In addition, Hickman announced that the Community Foundation has awarded a $70,000 community challenge grant to the symphony to show its support of that agreement and also in hopes that the community will match the donation.

"What a wonderful Thanksgiving blessing for our community," Bremer said with a smile as Hickman and Rowell looked on.

Bremer said the symphony currently has about $110,000 and will immediately begin calling on organizations to show their support through donations.

The symphony's announcement was the culmination of talks that resumed between both sides in August. The news also comes as a turning point in a negotiation battle that has lingered on for two years and included a musicians' strike that started in the fall of 2008.

The musicians went on strike in response to the board's 2008-09 contract terms, which would switch 24 core or full-time musicians to a per-service pay structure, resulting in a 75 percent salary cut. The orchestra's 30 part-time musicians, on the other hand, would see a 25 percent increase, based on the new structure. The number of contracted per-service posts would rise from 39 to 57.

Under the new interim agreement, musicians will be paid through May on a per-service basis that will range from $80 per concert for part-time musicians to $100 per concert for principal musicians. During this time, they will continue to negotiate on a long-term agreement.

Bremer, who became board president in July, said they will open the board to new members and have agreed to bring in independent consultant Doug Patti, an expert in symphony management.

Patti, of Fort Collins, Col., has worked with more than 35 orchestras across the country, including the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

Patti will come to town the first week in December to do a free initial assessment of the symphony's situation and make recommendations after that.

"So we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving and going back to work to build the orchestra back up," Bremer said. "This is a significant step in the right direction."

Rowell was equally as optimistic. "The musicians as a whole love to play and are anxious to get back to playing."

Rowell said the change in leadership is what made the difference this go 'round for the musicians,

"We viewed those changes as positive and at least from that point of view, and in the course of meeting together, we gained a little bit more of an understanding of each other," Rowell said. "There were things both sides assumed about the other that weren't true. There was a sense that maybe people weren't just being bull-headed, but that there were honest positions to deal with and I think we realized everyone is passionate and wants it to work."

The decision to bring in Patti was another selling point, Rowell said.

"He's a part of the reason the agreement is going to work," he said.

The first concert will feature music by Tchaikovsky with violinist Jennifer Frautschi as guest soloist. Conductor Michael Butterman will announce the rest of the season at a later date.

The box office will open to season ticketholders tenatively starting the first week in December, while tickets will be available to the general public starting Jan. 1.