December, 2013
Please consider writing a letter or email
to Minneapolis Mayor-Elect Betsy Hodges, sharing your personal feelings and thoughts about the lockout
Click here to view or download a .pdf file containing some message suggestions, previous statements from Mayor-Elect Hodges and contact information for her
If you are willing to share what you send to the Mayor-Elect, we would love to see it! Just send us an email at [email protected]
August, 2013
Please consider writing a letter to express your concerns about the lockout!
OK troops, here is a way that you can communicate your feelings about the lockout to those who can do something about it: Write a letter to any or all of the contacts in the list below and tell them how you feel. Please send a copy to us HERE if you are inclined.
Some sample letters follow the contact information. Thank you for your continued involvement and support!
Some sample letters follow the contact information. Thank you for your continued involvement and support!
Jon R. Campbell, Chairman of the Minnesota Orchestral Board of Directors [email protected]
Richard K. Davis, Immediate Past Chairman of the MOA Board of Directors [email protected]
Michael Henson, President and CEO Minnesota Orchestral Association [email protected]
Governor Mark Dayton Contact the Governor’s Office
130 State Capitol St. Paul, MN 55155 651-201-3400
Mayor R.T. Rybak [email protected]
350 S. 5th St., Room 331 Minneapolis, MN 55415 612-673-2100
Editor, Star Tribune Star Tribune
Editor Pioneer Press Pioneer Press
In addition, you can click HERE for the contact information of the Minnesota Orchestral Board of Directors
Richard K. Davis, Immediate Past Chairman of the MOA Board of Directors [email protected]
Michael Henson, President and CEO Minnesota Orchestral Association [email protected]
Governor Mark Dayton Contact the Governor’s Office
130 State Capitol St. Paul, MN 55155 651-201-3400
Mayor R.T. Rybak [email protected]
350 S. 5th St., Room 331 Minneapolis, MN 55415 612-673-2100
Editor, Star Tribune Star Tribune
Editor Pioneer Press Pioneer Press
In addition, you can click HERE for the contact information of the Minnesota Orchestral Board of Directors
-----------------------------------------------------
Dear Mayor Rybak,
I am a violin professor at the University of Georgia and have many musical friends in the Minneapolis area, both in the Minnesota Orchestra, and connected with the University of Minnesota.
Many years ago I played with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the UK. At that time, the conductor of the orchestra, Simon Rattle(now Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic) had already helped to secure the financial turnaround of the city of Birmingham that had still been suffering post-war gloom. With the building up of the Arts there--music, theatre, and the rest-- Birmingham suddenly grew in its international reputation as a world class city. Business leaders now had places to entertain their colleagues from around the world, and the locals had something of which to be proud.
In brief, the opposite could well happen in Minneapolis if there are no high class arts there. Sadly the international image of the city has already started to take shape due to the short-sighted, unenlightened board of the Minnesota Orchestra. It is not too late to make amends, but it is going to need some inspirational involvement from outside at this point.
Music DOES matter! The Arts DO matter! Investment in such an orchestra is clearly one of the best investments you can ever make, financially, culturally, and ethically.
Thank you for reading this and considering how you personally can inspire others to challenge the apparent accepted norms of financial crisis thinking.
Sincerely,
----------------------------------------------
Dear Mayor Rybak,
I am a violin professor at the University of Georgia and have many musical friends in the Minneapolis area, both in the Minnesota Orchestra, and connected with the University of Minnesota.
Many years ago I played with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the UK. At that time, the conductor of the orchestra, Simon Rattle(now Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic) had already helped to secure the financial turnaround of the city of Birmingham that had still been suffering post-war gloom. With the building up of the Arts there--music, theatre, and the rest-- Birmingham suddenly grew in its international reputation as a world class city. Business leaders now had places to entertain their colleagues from around the world, and the locals had something of which to be proud.
In brief, the opposite could well happen in Minneapolis if there are no high class arts there. Sadly the international image of the city has already started to take shape due to the short-sighted, unenlightened board of the Minnesota Orchestra. It is not too late to make amends, but it is going to need some inspirational involvement from outside at this point.
Music DOES matter! The Arts DO matter! Investment in such an orchestra is clearly one of the best investments you can ever make, financially, culturally, and ethically.
Thank you for reading this and considering how you personally can inspire others to challenge the apparent accepted norms of financial crisis thinking.
Sincerely,
----------------------------------------------
Dear Governor Dayton:
Please use the power of your office to speak for the audience members and music lovers of the Minnesota Orchestra, and urge the orchestra management to accept the preconditions to mediation set forth by Senator Mitchell.
As you know, mediation must begin within days or the orchestra will be irreparably damaged. Maestro Vänskä has stated that he will resign if negotiations have not begun by September 9th. Already, almost one quarter of the orchestra members have left. Rebuilding at this point will take months but without Osmo Vänskä, becoming an acclaimed orchestra may never again be achievable.
The orchestra management, as stewards of a nonprofit arts organization, is accountable to the taxpayers of Minnesota. It is immoral for orchestra management to stonewall the mediation process after initially agreeing to participate. As a frustrated fan of the Minnesota Orchestra, I ask you to forcefully remind them of their responsibility and bring an end to their delaying tactics. The musicians have already agreed; with your help, let’s get both sides to the table. That is our only hope to preserve this incredible cultural asset.
Sincerely,
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dear Attorney General Swanson :
Help us bring the music back!
Please use the power of your office to speak for the audience members and music lovers of Minneapolis, who mourn the incipient loss of the Minnesota Orchestra. I urge you to call upon the orchestra management to accept the preconditions to mediation set forth by Senator Mitchell.
Mediation must begin within days or we will lose Maestro Vänskä. Already, almost one quarter of the orchestra members have left. Rebuilding at this point will take months but without Osmo Vänskä, becoming an acclaimed orchestra may never again be achievable.
The orchestra management, as stewards of a nonprofit arts organization, is accountable to our community. It is immoral for them to stonewall the mediation process after initially agreeing to participate. Please remind them of their responsibility and tell them to bring an end to their delaying tactics. The musicians have already agreed; with your help, let’s get both sides to the table. That is our only hope to preserve this incredible cultural asset.
Sincerely,
-----------------------------------------------------------
To the editor:
I write as a dismayed audience member about the lack of movement in the Minnesota Orchestra lockout.
It is immoral for orchestra management to stonewall the mediation process after initially agreeing to participate. As stewards of a nonprofit arts organization, they are accountable to its patrons and audience members—as well as to the taxpayers of Minnesota—to uphold the mission of the organization. This mission is about music, yet they have caused an orchestra season to pass without a concert. The lockout must end; the music must start again.
The musicians have already agreed to the conditions set forth by mediator Senator George Mitchell, but both sides have to come to the table. The clock is ticking; without any progress in the next few days, the Minnesota Orchestra will lose its music director, an incalculable loss. Rebuilding at this point will take months but without Maestro Osmo Vänskä, becoming an acclaimed orchestra may never again be achievable. Mediation must be allowed to proceed.
And, in the future, perhaps the Minnesota Orchestra board will include regular audience members and musician representatives. It seems that a more inclusive sense of their responsibility and their community would help sustainability over the long run.
Sincerely,
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mayor Rybak,
Recently more than a thousand Minnesota Orchestra audience members gathered to express their frustration with the lack of progress in the Minnesota Orchestra's labor dispute and to brainstorm ways in which orchestra patrons might assist in breaking the logjam.
George Mitchell has proposed preconditions to mediation that have been accepted by the orchestra's musicians. Yet, the orchestra board and management--the very group that brought in Senator Mitchell--refuses to agree to the preconditions. Their refusal is especially ironic, for these preconditions hold far more serious consequences for the musicians than for the board and management.
It is time for a thoughtful voice to speak out and demand that all parties come to the table. I urge you to take on that role.
The Minnesota Orchestra is a priceless asset of the city and the state. Like a sports team, an orchestra is more than a random collection of talented players who come together in a special venue; it's a community of relationships-- among the musicians, but also between the musicians and their audience. These relationships enrich the cultural life of the Twin Cities in many ways.
Mayor Rybak, your policy aide, Erica Prosser, can give you statistics and numbers demonstrating the financial importance of the Minnesota Orchestra to the city. It is harder to measure the impact on the soul of the city that this protracted conflict (and the accompanying loss of music performances) has had.
Breaking this logjam would add additional luster to your legacy as mayor of this great city. Please stand up and publicly demand that the orchestra's board and management accept Senator Mitchell's preconditions and come to the table. The clock is ticking very loudly; soon the damage to the orchestra will be beyond repair.
Yours truly,
-------------------------------------------------
The Office of the Corporate Secretary
U.S. Bancorp
BC-MN-H21O
800 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402-4302
To whom it may concern,
With the shameful lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra approaching one year, it is getting harder for me to separate the board members from the companies they represent.
US Bank should demand that Richard Davis step away from his MOA board responsibilities before these leaders sully their companies' image further.
Sincerely
----------------------------------------------
Dear Representative Kahn,
I attended the recent Community Forum hosted by Orchestrate Excellence at Westminster Presbyterian Church. I want to reiterate the clarion call sounded by the keynote speaker, Dr. Alan Fletcher:
"I will go so far as to be definite about one thing: the current lock-out of musicians should end, and end unconditionally."
I urge you to exert every possible influence of your office to persuade the management and board of the Minnesota Orchestral Association to accept the conditions proposed by Senator Mitchell so that talking can begin immediately.
Osmo Vänskä has publicly announced that we will be forced to resign in early September if the orchestra is not yet playing. Time is running out. If we lose Osmo, I believe that the situation may well pass the point of no return. We will no longer be able to attract top musical talent to Minnesota, which will be loss with repercussion far beyond the walls of Orchestral Hall.
Yours sincerely,
Please use the power of your office to speak for the audience members and music lovers of the Minnesota Orchestra, and urge the orchestra management to accept the preconditions to mediation set forth by Senator Mitchell.
As you know, mediation must begin within days or the orchestra will be irreparably damaged. Maestro Vänskä has stated that he will resign if negotiations have not begun by September 9th. Already, almost one quarter of the orchestra members have left. Rebuilding at this point will take months but without Osmo Vänskä, becoming an acclaimed orchestra may never again be achievable.
The orchestra management, as stewards of a nonprofit arts organization, is accountable to the taxpayers of Minnesota. It is immoral for orchestra management to stonewall the mediation process after initially agreeing to participate. As a frustrated fan of the Minnesota Orchestra, I ask you to forcefully remind them of their responsibility and bring an end to their delaying tactics. The musicians have already agreed; with your help, let’s get both sides to the table. That is our only hope to preserve this incredible cultural asset.
Sincerely,
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dear Attorney General Swanson :
Help us bring the music back!
Please use the power of your office to speak for the audience members and music lovers of Minneapolis, who mourn the incipient loss of the Minnesota Orchestra. I urge you to call upon the orchestra management to accept the preconditions to mediation set forth by Senator Mitchell.
Mediation must begin within days or we will lose Maestro Vänskä. Already, almost one quarter of the orchestra members have left. Rebuilding at this point will take months but without Osmo Vänskä, becoming an acclaimed orchestra may never again be achievable.
The orchestra management, as stewards of a nonprofit arts organization, is accountable to our community. It is immoral for them to stonewall the mediation process after initially agreeing to participate. Please remind them of their responsibility and tell them to bring an end to their delaying tactics. The musicians have already agreed; with your help, let’s get both sides to the table. That is our only hope to preserve this incredible cultural asset.
Sincerely,
-----------------------------------------------------------
To the editor:
I write as a dismayed audience member about the lack of movement in the Minnesota Orchestra lockout.
It is immoral for orchestra management to stonewall the mediation process after initially agreeing to participate. As stewards of a nonprofit arts organization, they are accountable to its patrons and audience members—as well as to the taxpayers of Minnesota—to uphold the mission of the organization. This mission is about music, yet they have caused an orchestra season to pass without a concert. The lockout must end; the music must start again.
The musicians have already agreed to the conditions set forth by mediator Senator George Mitchell, but both sides have to come to the table. The clock is ticking; without any progress in the next few days, the Minnesota Orchestra will lose its music director, an incalculable loss. Rebuilding at this point will take months but without Maestro Osmo Vänskä, becoming an acclaimed orchestra may never again be achievable. Mediation must be allowed to proceed.
And, in the future, perhaps the Minnesota Orchestra board will include regular audience members and musician representatives. It seems that a more inclusive sense of their responsibility and their community would help sustainability over the long run.
Sincerely,
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mayor Rybak,
Recently more than a thousand Minnesota Orchestra audience members gathered to express their frustration with the lack of progress in the Minnesota Orchestra's labor dispute and to brainstorm ways in which orchestra patrons might assist in breaking the logjam.
George Mitchell has proposed preconditions to mediation that have been accepted by the orchestra's musicians. Yet, the orchestra board and management--the very group that brought in Senator Mitchell--refuses to agree to the preconditions. Their refusal is especially ironic, for these preconditions hold far more serious consequences for the musicians than for the board and management.
It is time for a thoughtful voice to speak out and demand that all parties come to the table. I urge you to take on that role.
The Minnesota Orchestra is a priceless asset of the city and the state. Like a sports team, an orchestra is more than a random collection of talented players who come together in a special venue; it's a community of relationships-- among the musicians, but also between the musicians and their audience. These relationships enrich the cultural life of the Twin Cities in many ways.
Mayor Rybak, your policy aide, Erica Prosser, can give you statistics and numbers demonstrating the financial importance of the Minnesota Orchestra to the city. It is harder to measure the impact on the soul of the city that this protracted conflict (and the accompanying loss of music performances) has had.
Breaking this logjam would add additional luster to your legacy as mayor of this great city. Please stand up and publicly demand that the orchestra's board and management accept Senator Mitchell's preconditions and come to the table. The clock is ticking very loudly; soon the damage to the orchestra will be beyond repair.
Yours truly,
-------------------------------------------------
The Office of the Corporate Secretary
U.S. Bancorp
BC-MN-H21O
800 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402-4302
To whom it may concern,
With the shameful lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra approaching one year, it is getting harder for me to separate the board members from the companies they represent.
US Bank should demand that Richard Davis step away from his MOA board responsibilities before these leaders sully their companies' image further.
Sincerely
----------------------------------------------
Dear Representative Kahn,
I attended the recent Community Forum hosted by Orchestrate Excellence at Westminster Presbyterian Church. I want to reiterate the clarion call sounded by the keynote speaker, Dr. Alan Fletcher:
"I will go so far as to be definite about one thing: the current lock-out of musicians should end, and end unconditionally."
I urge you to exert every possible influence of your office to persuade the management and board of the Minnesota Orchestral Association to accept the conditions proposed by Senator Mitchell so that talking can begin immediately.
Osmo Vänskä has publicly announced that we will be forced to resign in early September if the orchestra is not yet playing. Time is running out. If we lose Osmo, I believe that the situation may well pass the point of no return. We will no longer be able to attract top musical talent to Minnesota, which will be loss with repercussion far beyond the walls of Orchestral Hall.
Yours sincerely,