Vanska leaves Minnesota

[knight66]

I have been following the Minnesota Saga and facts are, as usual, fluid. The management suggest the average salary is about $132k and that that is akin to the BPO. I have also read it is closer to $103k per year. Wither way I do wonder how that is funded if the income of the orchestra is one quarter of the BPO...again, a disputed figure.

There has been a lot of criticism of management refurbing the hall instead of paying wages, but running costs such as wages cannot usually be funded by raiding capital funding. However, I have got the impression that the management is not interested in having an orchestra and want to run a business of a different kind.

It is a great shame and Vanska has been faithful and patient. I have read that he may be negotiating with the orchestra to conduct them outside of the management contracts and the orchestra may set up independently. They will need to do something soon or continue to watch their best players move away.

Mike

[knight66]

http://www.minnesotaorchestramusicians.org/a-letter-from-the-musicians/

The comments below the announcement are moving and sad.

Mike

[Cato]

From the Nov. 8, 2013 Wall Street Journal:

Extra, Extra! The locked-out Minnesota Orchestra is all but dead. New York City Opera has filed for bankruptcy. I know, you've heard it before, but bear with me, OK? What we're seeing here is not a string of isolated high-culture horror stories but something far more significant—something that requires a different kind of response.

See:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304391204579179752453450202?KEYWORDS=teachout

But something has thrived in Minnesota  :

From the website of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis:

Last year's first-ever Internet Cat Video Festival was conceived at the Walker as a modest celebration to bring online communities together in the real world. The #catvidfest became its own viral phenomenon, drawing more than 10,000 fans to the Walker's Open Field and winning the attention of local, national, and international audiences and media. The event spawned "copy-cat" festivals—and a touring program—around the country.

See:

http://www.walkerart.org/calendar/2013/internet-cat-video-festival

According to the CBS news show Sunday Morning, in fact more than 13,000 people attended this festival at the Art Center.

[jochanaan]

"... the end of the mid-sized regional arts organization?"  Sounds too much like "the end of the middle class."