Monday (1/24) on the Fox 21 News website (Duluth, Minnesota), Jacob Kittilstad reports, “Cellist Lucia Magney’s goal in the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (DSSO) is to hit a chord with her listeners. … But, while looking over new contracts, Magney and her fellow DSSO musicians took a stand. … ‘One of [the issues] was the attendance policy.’ To play with the DSSO, musicians are not allowed to miss more than two of their seven concerts, Magney said. Annual wages, however, total only $3,500 per year. Musicians say sometimes they need to miss out to be able to support themselves. ‘We would like and need the flexibility to accept work elsewhere,’ Magney said. … President of the DSSO board, Mary Ann Ulishney, says she has not yet received any information from the union. ‘But, if they have rejected the contract we will negotiate further as soon as a date can be set,’ Ulishney said. Magney says the discussion means a lot of hard work and compromises. ‘Everybody in the organization, the musicians, the management, we’re all committed,’ Magney said. DSSO management says they need to hear official word from the musician’s union before new negotiations can be scheduled.”
Posted January 25, 2011
