2017 ROPA Convention

Report to Orchestra

Delegate:  Kendra Hawley

I am so grateful to you all for nominating me as the ROPA representative for PBOO. The 2017 conference in Phoenix was an incredible learning opportunity for me, as well as a great introduction to our support network of other regional orchestras and their musicians. We have so many valuable resources through ROPA, ICSOM, and the AMF! I'm very happy to share some of the highlights from the 2017 ROPA Conference with you. I have included lots of information here, so feel free to read it at your leisure, perhaps as a nice break from the news! :)

The theme for this year’s conference was Diversity and Inclusiveness in the Orchestral World. The typical orchestral audience is older and whiter than the general population. One of the key issues in expanding our audiences is getting younger generations interested and involved in classical music. By definition younger generations are more diverse. Many of the presentations at the conference focused on how to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the orchestra in order to better reach a more diverse audience.

Lead by AFM Legislative and Political Director/Director of Diversity, Alfonso Pollard, the AFM Diversity Committee has started two databases to collect the names, instruments, hire year and local membership of professional female and minority orchestral musicians. The hope is that this database can be used to show the growing diversity of orchestra membership throughout ROPA and ICSOM orchestras and to act as an example to young minority musicians that they are not alone in the classical music world. There are two copies of the list in the green room to add your name, or if you’d prefer you can email me to include you in the list from our orchestra, or send your info directly to Alfonso Pollard at apollard@afm.org be sure to include "AFM Database" in the subject line.

Weston Sprott, a trombonist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, along with former professional oboist Shea Scruggs, delivered a presentation focused on implicit (or unconscious) cognitive biases and how those biases can effect the audition process. They shared this video about the McGurk Effect, which was quite informative about how you can’t always believe what you see:

https://youtu.be/G-lN8vWm3m0

The two recently published an article entitled “Finding a New Path Forward-five useful concepts for a more diverse and inclusive orchestra” in the AFM Local 802 newsletter. It is very interesting reading and covers much of the information from their presentation:

https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/date/2018/january-2018/
Audiologist and performing musician, Dr. Heather Malyuk, gave a presentation on hearing wellness for orchestral musicians. She specializes in hearing protection and in-ear monitors for a diverse clientele of musicians such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, as well as popular musicians like Beyoncé.
She impressed upon us the fact that orchestral musicians have the highest risk of hearing loss or music induced hearing disorders largely because we do not protect our hearing as effectively as would musicians in an amplified rock band setting. She recommends annual physicals and hearing care, developing a strong relationship with a specialized audiologis, and discussing your auditory values as a musician with your audiologist. The most effective protection for musicians is to have customized, filtered earplugs for the best sound quality so that you will actually use them while playing. The most important thing is to have accurate ear impressions made, and that playing position and air pressure or embouchure can effect the fit, so you should actually play your instrument when the ear impressions are done!
If there is enough interest, we could consider having her come for a residency to do hearing testing and impressions for us as a larger (cost sharing) group, either as members of the PBOO, or the local AFM. I am working to get her to Miami for a residency, so please let me know if you would be interested in joining together to bring her to WPB for a residency with our orchestra, or through the union. Her website is here:

https://www.soundcheckaudiology.com/about
AFM President, Ray Hair, lead a presentation on the state of the AFM-EPF Pension fund. The main thing to understand is that benefit payouts are exceeding contributions, and this could put the fund in jeopardy in the future. Of course the details of the health of our pension fund are much more complicated than that. So I highly recommend that you read up on the information yourself. The AFM-EPF "Roadshow" presentations are available at:

www.afm-epf.org

You can also read about it from the musicians perspective here:

http://afmpensionperspectives.com

There are also some great informative articles about the AFM-EPF pension fund and the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 in the October 2017 issue of the ICSOM publication Sensa Sordino:

https://www.icsom.org/senzasordino/
I left some paper copies of the fall 2017 issue of the ROPA newsletter The Leading Tone in the greenroom. That issue and others are available online at:

http://ropaweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/LeadingToneFall2017.pdf

I have also attached the most recent issues of The Leading Tone and Una Voce the newsletter of OCSM, The Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians. There is an especially interesting article entitled, The new tax act and it's impact on musicians.

Again, it is my honor and pleasure to serve as your ROPA representative and now Orchestra Committee Chair. I have already spoken to a few of you regarding your concerns and ideas about the orchestra and I look forward to hearing from everyone. As I am a relatively new member, I am not fully familiar with the longer history of the orchestra, so I am dependent on you all to share your insights with me! Please don't hesitate to contact me and I'd be happy to talk with you over text, phone, email, coffee, drinks, whatever! I'm of the mindset that we are stronger when we communicate with each other and work together for our common goals of making beautiful music while also making a living!

All the best,
Kendra