In Wednesday’s (8/22) Chicago Tribune (subscription required), John von Rhein writes, “Fifty years ago, a group of 30 musicians from a dozen orchestras in the U.S. and Canada met at Roosevelt University in Chicago to discuss how they could save their beleaguered profession. It was a terrible time for symphony players. In 1962, most musicians in major symphony orchestras were employed little more than six months annually at an average salary of $5,000 that was barely a living wage back then. Health insurance and pension benefits were virtually non-existent. … Thus was born the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians—ICSOM.” This week, “ICSOM holds its 50th anniversary conference in the city where it all began. More than 200 delegates from ICSOM-member orchestras are expected to attend the four-day event, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel has designated Wednesday, the first day of the conference, ICSOM Day in Chicago. ‘It’s going to be very much a celebration of the past, but at the same time we are keeping our eyes squarely focused on the future,’ says Bruce Ridge, a double bass player in the Raleigh-based North Carolina Symphony, who for the past six years has served as chairman of ICSOM. The organization currently numbers 4,200 members nationwide. … According to Ridge, ICSOM’s big push is to increase public awareness of the enormous benefits—cultural, social and economic—symphony orchestras bring to their communities.”
Posted August 22, 2012
