Fort Wayne Philharmonic Musicians on Strike

[Colby Fahrenbacher]

December 8 Press Release

Following negotiation meetings this morning and afternoon with Fort Wayne Philharmonic management, Musicians of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Players’ Association were unable to reach fair terms for a new contract. As of 4:00PM today, Musicians are ON STRIKE.

Both sides made movement today in an attempt to reach an agreement, but remain far apart on wages.

Players’ Association Chair Campbell MacDonald states, “Fort Wayne Philharmonic management has yet to propose pay that allows us to afford basic needs, and is married to the elimination of full-time positions”.

The next negotiation meeting between Musicians and Philharmonic management is scheduled for Monday, December 12.

Visit the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Players’ Association website at www.fwpmusicians.com for more information and negotiation updates.

View original press release.



December 2022 Negotiation Update

In May of 2021, Philharmonic Musicians agreed to a one-year contract that would accommodate the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s challenges resulting from the COVID 19 pandemic. The ensuing 2021-22 season offered just 7 Masterworks concerts, down from 10, and a host of other reductions in programming and service to our community. We are now in negotiations for a new contract with Philharmonic management as we continue to perform under the terms of the expired agreement.

The 22-23 season scheduled by the Philharmonic continues with an unnecessarily low level of concert activity. In the wake of the pandemic, traditional concert performances presented by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic have been reduced by 50% when compared to our last full season schedule in 2019-2020. Aside from cuts to our Masterworks series, our Chamber Orchestra subscription series has been eliminated. Our small ensemble performances in schools are down over 50%, and the same is true for ensemble performances in nutrition and senior housing facilities. Outside of Fort Wayne, regional Holiday Pops performances are presented in just three communities, down from six in 2019-20. Regional orchestra performances in schools have been reduced from six to only one. Overall, our 2019-20 season presented nearly 410 performances of all kinds, and our current season contains about 185.

Fewer concerts means significantly lower wages for musicians and significantly less service to our community. Base pay for full-time musicians in 2020 was about $26,000. For the 2021-2022 season, the base pay was $22,060, a cut of 15% to our already meager salary. The Philharmonic has indicated to us in contract discussions that they want to continue at the same rates of pay, now and in the future. Not only is their position unreasonable, it is unrealistic and untenable. At the levels of concert activity and pay proposed by Philharmonic management, the orchestra will continue as a community asset in decline. When positions in the orchestra become vacant, prospective candidates will view a job with the Philharmonic as far less attractive and our pool of applicants will be smaller. This has already begun to happen. The Fort Wayne Philharmonic national audition for Principal Second Violin on November 30 of this year was attended by one candidate.

Our region and local arts community is amidst a period of ambitious economic development and flourishing expansion. The Fort Wayne Philharmonic recently concluded the most successful endowment campaign in its history. With its value approaching $30 million, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic endowment is the envy of its peer orchestras. Despite this fertile opportunity for a post-pandemic rebound, Philharmonic management has not presented a plan to return our orchestra to a community presence resembling the institution’s historical norm.

Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana gained its resident professional orchestra over the course of decades. Successive boards and staff strived to bring music to our entire community through a rich variety of musical offerings. We musicians have performed for audiences in countless venues across our region, from small educational ensembles in schools, to chamber orchestra and large orchestra performances at Northeast Indiana’s largest venues.

The Fort Wayne Philharmonic was a beacon that attracted us to make Fort Wayne our home. We are active citizens, and we share our gifts through private teaching and performances throughout our community.

Unless the course of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic is altered very soon, our orchestra, built by many hands throughout many years, will be lost. If it is lost, it is unlikely that it will be built anew in the future.

If you are concerned or possibly outraged by the actions of the Philharmonic, let their leadership know. Write a letter to Philharmonic Board Chairperson Rick James, and to Philharmonic President Brittany Hall, at the address below. Tell them what you think. (Updated 12/2/2022)

Rick James

Chair, Fort Wayne Philharmonic Board of Directors

4901 Fuller Drive

Fort Wayne, Indiana 46835



Brittany Hall

President and CEO, Fort Wayne Philharmonic

4901 Fuller Drive

Fort Wayne, Indiana 46835


How can you help?

- Write a letter to the above listed individuals in management
- Follow the Musician's of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic on social media and share their updates to your network
- Donate to the Musicians of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Musician's Association
- Reach out to musicians you personally know directly to show support and ask how you can help

[Three Valves]

"Fewer concerts means significantly lower wages for musicians and significantly less service to our community. Base pay for full-time musicians in 2020 was about $26,000. For the 2021-2022 season, the base pay was $22,060, a cut of 15% to our already meager salary."

I think most of us would agree that -$30k annually for a well trained full time musician is very little.

But if one does 10 performances and rehearses 4 times for each, doesn't that come to a 50 day/year part time job?

[bloke]

But if one does 10 performances and rehearses 4 times for each, doesn't that come to a 50 day/year part time job?

The work doesn't end with the rehearsals and concerts. Employees such as woodwind and fiddle players have to practice their butts off for every concert.

Not every player in an orchestra counts hundreds of measures rest and then plays a few eighth notes, quarter notes and whole notes. Were it that all parts were like ours, the music wouldn't be particularly interesting, would it?

That having been said, small cities that attempt to have full-time orchestras really fall in the cracks, particularly as the percentage of wealthy people - who view sustaining these ensembles as important- continues to shrink in percentage of the population of the wealthy. It's a real problem for musicians who have these jobs and don't really have any other skills that would provide full-time income.

Having chatted with quite a few wealthy patrons over the last couple of decades, many of them are second generation supporters of their towns' orchestras "because their parents did". They really don't know much about classical music and don't care to, but know a whole bunch about country music and football.

[Three Valves]

Yes, I imagine for new music or less familiar music outside of standard rep, that would be so.

I thought that would be reserved for only several numbers out of the prior 10 performance full season. (Now proposed to be cut back to 7)

Is it customary to employ only the principals "full time"?

[bloke]

Yes, I imagine for new music or less familiar music outside of standard rep, that would be so.

I thought that would be reserved for only several numbers out of the prior 10 performance full season. (Now proposed to be cut back to 7)

Is it customary to employ only the principals "full time"?

The concept of "core" is something that began to appear when wealthy people in smaller cities - back in the '80s during a time of economic expansion - were stretching out and expanding arts and culture in their cities. When there is either not the funding or not the will to put an entire orchestra on a full-time salary, that's when the "core" concept comes into play.
=====
Getting back to the preparing at home thing, a typical string or woodwind book for a concert features a level of difficulty and quantity of passages far exceeding that of any tuba concerto. Any tuba player who doesn't have complete respect for people who play in those sections - and doesn't hold them in awe - is quite naive.

Just as a random example, go to imslp and take a look at the oboe parts to Tchaikovsky's third orchestral suite - which is basically a symphony. Regardless of whether someone has played that never or a dozen times, that work requires serious preparation for rehearsing and performing, and it's not an exception to the rule. I'm using the oboe as an example, because I find that if I work really hard at an oboe sonata or concerto, that I might be able to play it (whereas other woodwind solo works and string solo works are usually/consistently just too hard, but - again - tuba players are never presented with parts that offer the consistent level of difficulty offered to oboe players in symphony orchestras). After looking at the oboe parts to that piece, then take a peek at the tuba part. What I'm trying to stress to you is the level of commitment and the tremendous number of hours that are required to prepare to play string and woodwind parts for run of the mill symphony orchestra concerts... and the next person down from them is the principal trumpet. How many notes per rehearsal or concert do you think a typical music director would be willing to hear played wrong by a principal trumpet player?

If I seem to be wandering off topic, I'm trying to stress the fact that it's hard for tuba players (particularly those who don't work in that environment) to get it.

A strike means that "we simply can't put in this many hours for any less money, or we're going to have to go somewhere else and do something else."

[Colby Fahrenbacher]

"Fewer concerts means significantly lower wages for musicians and significantly less service to our community. Base pay for full-time musicians in 2020 was about $26,000. For the 2021-2022 season, the base pay was $22,060, a cut of 15% to our already meager salary."

I think most of us would agree that -$30k annually for a well trained full time musician is very little.

But if one does 10 performances and rehearses 4 times for each, doesn't that come to a 50 day/year part time job?

Bloke is spot on. Not only that, the 10 Masterworks concerts that you reference are not the only performances that the orchestra does. The blurb mentions an entire subscription series by the Chamber Orchestra which has been cut, small ensemble performance around town, and pops concerts.

Their previous contract included a 28 week season with guaranteed 182 services for the full time members of the orchestra (of which there are 44). This is drastically different from the 50 services you used in your comparison. For historical comparison, the 2019-2020 contained 410 performances by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

I haven't been able to find the original source, but I'm fairly certain the contract that management initially put forth included reducing the number of full time musicians from 44 to 14. The rest of the orchestra would be per-service and not be eligible for benefits.

This is not cost-cutting efficiency changes; this is downgrading the orchestra to a lower-tier intentionally.

[Colby Fahrenbacher]

For those in the Fort Wayne area...


Free Holiday Concert!
Plymouth Congregational Church, Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.

The Fort Wayne Philharmonic Players Association invites you to a FREE Holiday Concert at Plymouth Congregational Church, 501 W. Berry St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 10th. Maestro Robert Nance, Conductor

Join our fight for a fair contract!

Thank you!

https://www.fwpmusicians.com/upcoming-events

[Three Valves]

Bloke is spot on. Not only that, the 10 Masterworks concerts that you reference are not the only performances that the orchestra does. The blurb mentions an entire subscription series by the Chamber Orchestra which has been cut, small ensemble performance around town, and pops concerts.

Their previous contract included a 28 week season with guaranteed 182 services for the full time members of the orchestra (of which there are 44). This is drastically different from the 50 services you used in your comparison. For historical comparison, the 2019-2020 contained 410 performances by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

I haven't been able to find the original source, but I'm fairly certain the contract that management initially put forth included reducing the number of full time musicians from 44 to 14. The rest of the orchestra would be per-service and not be eligible for benefits.

This is not cost-cutting efficiency changes; this is downgrading the orchestra to a lower-tier intentionally.

Thanks for giving me the details I need to understand the circumstances.

I have only lived in larger metro areas like Philly, DC and Dallas.

My first thought was, "oh, Ft Wayne can support a full time orchestra?"

I mean, that's nice for them and I hope they continue.

I'm just surprised.

I would walk out of here tomorrow if my salary were cut to under 30k. That's $15/hr.

I can't believe they worked under the old plan.

[Colby Fahrenbacher]

Thanks for giving me the details I need to understand the circumstances.

I have only lived in larger metro areas like Philly, DC and Dallas.

My first thought was, "oh, Ft Wayne can support a full time orchestra?"

I mean, that's nice for them and I hope they continue.

I'm just surprised.

I would walk out of here tomorrow if my salary were cut to under 30k. That's $15/hr.

I can't believe they worked under the old plan.

My understanding of the old plan was that it was a post-pandemic contract, and so the musicians were more amenable to the cuts, assuming they were to help recover from the pandemic and meant to be temporary. The administration has made it clear that the long term plan is not only maintain those post-pandemic cuts, but to make them even deeper.

According to 2020 census data, Fort Wayne (city) has a population of 263,886. Here's a quick list of comparably sized cities with orchestras:

Richmond, VA - 226,610 (Richmond Symphony)
Norfolk, VA - 238,005 (Virginia Symphony)
Boise, ID - 235,684 (Boise Symphony)
St. Petersburg, FL - 258,308 (Florida Orchestra)
Fort Wayne, IN - 263,886 (Fort Wayne Phil)
Madison, WI - 269,840 (Madison Symphony)
Toldeo, OH - 270,871 (Toledo Symphony)
Buffalo, NY - 278,349 (Buffalo Phil)

That list is by no means exhaustive, just gives an idea of similarly sized cities with professional orchestras. There is way more detail that could be dug into about the differences between those cities, those orchestras, and their organization.

I think it is suffice to say that the existence of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic as a professional orchestra isn't an outlier, and there should be a way for the metropolitan area to support it thoroughly, if managed correctly.

[Three Valves]

Let's just say, I'm glad I chose financial services as an occupation and community band as an avocation.

[bone-a-phone]

Well, here's something that's bound to annoy some people. Being a guy who lives in a locale that has an orchestra, but ships in people from other places to play, I think that if local orchestras would just pull from a local talent pool, they would have fewer problems like this. Less money would go to transporting "foreigners" around, when the talent exists right here at home. More money would stay in the local area. You'd even feel maybe a little more pride of ownership by using local people.

There's such a glut of musicians - and really good musicians - in this country that it's a wonder anybody gets paid at all. I can see NY or LA pulling in national talent, but a place like Ft Wayne should use people who can travel to rehearsals without a hotel or needing travel expenses. I know I'd like a chance to play in a local orchestra, but they are too busy transporting in people from 4 or 5 states away.

This is part of why I got out of music as a career when I did. Music makes a great hobby but an absolutely miserable occupation. They get away with treating people like crap because there are so many others waiting to take their place. You can't require an orchestra to support your travel habit AND whine about low pay. If you're playing in a group like that you're lucky. Musicians like this are being done a favor, and don't really have any leverage when it comes down to it.

I'm very pro orchestra, but I'm also very anti elitist.

[bloke]

I play in one particular orchestra whereby only two of the musicians live in the town.
If that orchestra (as it was years ago) was all local, it would sound like it sounded back then.
========================
Back then, I actually played in ANOTHER orchestra - whereby the rich folks (in this same town) paid THAT orchestra to come (from two hours away) and play concerts - even though (again) the town had their own "local" orchestra.
========================
Community and church arts collectives/troupes/ensembles are fine, and serve a purpose...but their purpose (usually) is to please those who participate - more so than to please patrons.
=========================
My cars are fine.
They're dependable and get me to my gigs...but they aren't race cars, and no one is going to pay to watch me drive any of my cars.
=========================
fwiw...
In a couple of hours, I'm heading off to play in yet another orchestra whereby I'm thinking that none of the musicians live in that town, and (yup) the orchestra is named for the town/area.

None of these orchestras pay a ton of money...but the pay is actually "decent" with all of them - enough to demonstrate respect, etc. If they paid less (re: THE TOPIC OF THIS THREAD - "strike"), I'd probably beg off "to spend more time with my family".

[Colby Fahrenbacher]

Well, here's something that's bound to annoy some people. Being a guy who lives in a locale that has an orchestra, but ships in people from other places to play, I think that if local orchestras would just pull from a local talent pool, they would have fewer problems like this. Less money would go to transporting "foreigners" around, when the talent exists right here at home. More money would stay in the local area. You'd even feel maybe a little more pride of ownership by using local people.

There's such a glut of musicians - and really good musicians - in this country that it's a wonder anybody gets paid at all. I can see NY or LA pulling in national talent, but a place like Ft Wayne should use people who can travel to rehearsals without a hotel or needing travel expenses. I know I'd like a chance to play in a local orchestra, but they are too busy transporting in people from 4 or 5 states away.

This is part of why I got out of music as a career when I did. Music makes a great hobby but an absolutely miserable occupation. They get away with treating people like crap because there are so many others waiting to take their place. You can't require an orchestra to support your travel habit AND whine about low pay. If you're playing in a group like that you're lucky. Musicians like this are being done a favor, and don't really have any leverage when it comes down to it.

I'm very pro orchestra, but I'm also very anti elitist.

I agree with you in that it should be a priority for an orchestra to have as many of their musicians as possible be local. This requires developing community and donor relations sufficiently to financially support this. The orchestra not only needs to be a part of the local music scene, but an active developer of it. If there are no opportunities in the community to teach, gig, retail, repair, or any other music-related additional labor, musicians will choose to live elsewhere so that they can supplement their income. The orchestra suffers because of this, so it is in their best interest to actively cultivate and develop those opportunities.

This is one of the core problems with the administration's plan: they are effectively guaranteeing that none of the musicians will live in town with their cuts. None of the musicians will have a local connection to businesses. All of the local programs (educational, retirement home, news broadcasts) will occur with less frequency and no local members.

To the point about "annoying people," this probably has more to do with maintaining standards. In the case of Fort Wayne, the musical product will clearly suffer from these cuts. The administration is basically saying that a worse orchestra can get the job done. When hiring, it is a difficult question to ask "will this person get the job done, or should we wait for someone better?" It's honestly a really difficult question.

I think that if the goal of an orchestra is to grow, then finding ways to foster more moves to the area and more local engagement is the smart path.

[Three Valves]

To the point about "annoying people," this probably has more to do with maintaining standards. In the case of Fort Wayne, the musical product will clearly suffer from these cuts. The administration is basically saying that a worse orchestra can get the job done. When hiring, it is a difficult question to ask "will this person get the job done, or should we wait for someone better?" It's honestly a really difficult question.

I think that if the goal of an orchestra is to grow, then finding ways to foster more moves to the area and more local engagement is the smart path.

1. Imagine the horror of a second tier city like Fort Wayne having to make due with a third tier city orchestra like Jackson TN or MS.

2. Orchestras ain’t growing. Steel mill is closed. GM and Chrysler have left the building. Amazon warehouse wants you. The reality for normal people near Wilmington, DE. A fifth tier, AAA league town.

3. YMMV. I hope your fans and patrons can come thru and buy many season tickets and save the day!

[tofu]

.

[Colby Fahrenbacher]

@tofu Agreed, the devil is in the details of the financials. We haven't seen many specifics from the administration other than "this is needed for long term stability." Details the musicians have provided (which don't necessary give the full context) include

1. $30 million endowment after their most successful endowment campaign in their history. Donations are up for Fort Wayne, from what I can tell, not down. (I'm definitely not an expert on endowments, but I understand this usually doesn't mean immediate cash available for payroll)
2. Sold out performances of Nutcracker (obviously highly anecdotal, indicates community support but doesn't mean ticket sales across the board are good)
3. Concessions were made because of the pandemic, but no longer term plan to return to prior standing has been outlined by administration. In theory, "returning to normal" may take time, but there should be a path to it.

As I said about the list, that data doesn't even scratch the surface of comparing those cities and orchestra. Significantly more research would need to be done to make an accurate comparison, and as interesting as I would find that, I am not sure that I am talented enough to do so accurately. I mostly shared it to show other orchestras in a similar "class" for people to consider.

[MikeMason]

Concerning your cities list- those orchestras aren’t all full time. I’d like to see their budgets and average musician salaries. At least 2 or 3 are per service.

[bloke]

With a son-in-law who plays in a top tier orchestra, they've experienced two significant pay cuts in just a few years, and this with everything now costing twice what it cost before - due to so-called 11% inflation.

Orchestras corporations are classified as nonprofits. In my view, there's a lot of profit in a lot of nonprofits, but it often goes towards a handful of really fat salaries and perks.

The next nuts and bolts statements are not pleasant ones, because a whole lot of truth is not particularly pleasant.

Regardless of the type of corporation, those who run the corporation don't enjoy and don't desire to pay any more money than they have to for anything in particular, including labor - which is considered to be a commodity. When milk and gasoline flood the market their prices drop, and when they are in short supply their prices go up. America - for quite a few years - has been flooding the market with highly trained and highly skilled symphony orchestra musicians.
We may believe that we can hear the difference between the very best of them versus the competent ones but perhaps we are as wine connoisseurs , whereas a large percentage of the supporters and attendees are box wine drinkers.
Combined with the facts pointed out in a previous post of mine above whereby fewer and fewer wealthy people are particularly interested in classical music (with a very large percentage of symphony orchestra board members volunteering for those positions, considering those positions as good resume fillers and ways to get connected towards job promotions and/or political elected positions) entertainment is only a necessity for paid entertainers, is optional for others, and the market is currently flooded with entertainers. I don't think I need to explain this any further. We may not like it, but it's the way things are.

My son-in-law has come up with other ways too fill in the gaps financially, and his family has made some adjustments. Having been aware of and observed domestic socio-economic dynamics for probably fifty years now, nothing lasts forever. Both good and bad things come and go. I watched the American symphony orchestra phenomenon greatly expand, and now I'm watching it subside. There are other factors that are affecting interest in symphony orchestra concerts and supporting symphony orchestras, but mentioning those - even though they are real/undeniable - will trigger some people, so I'm not going to mention them.

[Colby Fahrenbacher]

The Musicians of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic hosted a jam-packed holiday concert last night at Plymouth Congregational Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. To continue sharing the music of the holiday season, three chamber ensembles will perform at Hartland Winery in Ashley, Indiana at 2:00PM today, December 11th.

If you live in the area, attending this free concert is a great way to support the Musicians of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in their fight to obtain livable wages.

Pictures and additional information can be found of the Musicians of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Facebook page.

[bloke]

and (for those who might not get it) "free" means "If you attend (or even if you do not), please drop some decent dough in the kitty ($XXX if you yourself are experiencing hard times, or $XXXX if you can afford to do so) to help their cause, and to assist them with expenses during the tough times".