I didn't want to write for pay. I wanted to be paid for what I write.
Leonard Cohen
What do other professional fees in Minnesota command? I went to the University of Minnesota website where there is statistical information for law graduates:
I believe that we need to honor those at the the top of the music profession. If we do so, it will raise the worth of all musicians.
Leonard Cohen
I can’t explain what it
was about hearing the violin, in my ninth year, that captivated me so, In our Belfast home my father used
to sing opera arias à la John McCormack while accompanying himself on the
piano, and my mother, a music teacher and accomplished pianist, was often asked
to give us her rendition of Khachaturian's fiery Sabre Dance. But it was
hearing a record of Menuhin playing the Beethoven concerto that touched me so deeply;
I knew I had to learn the violin.
Thus, I embarked on
studies and a career, as a violinist and conductor, which eventually led me to
live in Toronto. I often think that my biggest achievement was when at sixteen,
in the midst of the troubles in Belfast, I managed to secure a scholarship to a
specialist music school in Manchester, England. Music truly was my salvation
and quite literally my passage and escape to a better life.
Since that time there
have been many ups and downs in a career, which
has needed much self- motivation and determination. A good part of the struggle has not been the
art form itself, which of course, is ever challenging, rather the fact that interest in music and the
arts is more than ever in decline. It may always have been thus. Every
generation may feel the same. But on what seems like a daily basis, we see the
closure of many arts institutions, which were once held in esteem. (The demise
of New York City Opera is but one recent example.)
I know too that
classical music was, and is, usually the realm of the geek— I was and am a classical
music geek. I love it now as much as I did when I was a youngster. I live it, breathe
it and believe in it with almost a religious conviction. I was lucky to be
exposed to, and to devote my life to music. All around me, as I grew up, were
grown ups who also saw and appreciated the value of the art form. I was
encouraged to go forth and conquer the music world! I have no regrets about
doing so. (The going forth part was accomplished; the jury is still out of the
conquering part!)
However, the main thing
that seems to have changed is the general environment and appreciation of
classical music. Concert attendance is down—and there is a constant (and maybe
a losing) battle to try to introduce young people—or even the young
professional person (20- 35), to the virtues of classical music. In Ontario, I
think we are now seeing the results of the drastic cuts made to music education
in the public school system during the early 1990s. A whole generation of
young professionals have no experience of classical music and can’t find their
way in, even if they wanted to. For sure, our orchestras and ensembles, tails
and all, don’t help and the format is indeed antiquated and unapproachable. But
as an artist, I often feel that it is an overwhelming responsibility to be a
practitioner and also a total advocate and pioneer. It is hard enough to do the
music, never mind to convince the world that it is important. But who else
would do it and who better than we, the artists, we the musicians? I am willing
to do so, and do just that as the Music Director of several orchestras.
But here’s the thing –
there should an understanding, an unwritten social contract, that if and while
we make these efforts to keep music alive and to try to make sure that our
world doesn’t fall into a total cultural black hole, that we be honestly paid
or compensated for such.
As I write this, I have
in mind an article in the British Telegraph by one Ivan Hewett, 2nd October,
2013 entitled: US orchestras are greedy and overpaid:
At one stage—somehow
irritated about the very term compensation, he asks: “Why does a musician need
to be “compensated” for doing what he/she loves?”
I have to laugh, knowing
full well that he, as a writer for a well-known newspaper, is of course, being
paid for his work and deservedly so! He is also, no doubt, underpaid for the
many hours of work he does at his craft and may not always have been, or even
now- not always is, regularly employed at such. Every art form needs many,
many, unseen hours to produce the final result.
The main thrust of Mr.
Hewett’s argument is however, that US orchestras seem to be greedy and
overpaid. His starting point is the Minnesota Orchestra, which has been on
strike for over a year now. He quotes the average pay as nearly
$108,000 in 2011/12 and accuses the musicians of being greedy for wanting to hold
onto this, instead of accepting a cut of one third, as suggested by the
management of the orchestra.
It seems like a lot of money. It is a lot of money. Do they deserve it?
What do other professional fees in Minnesota command? I went to the University of Minnesota website where there is statistical information for law graduates:
A new law graduate would expect a Median starting salary
of $110,000
So, not even someone at the top of his profession, but a
lawyer starting out, would make more than a musician in the Minnesota
orchestra. Yes, of course, lawyers always make a lot of money—but what about
other sectors—let’s say the local government in Minnesota?
I went to a job site for the city of Minnesota, which had
current listings and I found this one as City Clerk: $93,976.00 -
$138,199.00 Annually
So, my question is this:
Is it really so unreasonable that a musician at the top of his
profession earn less than a newly graduated lawyer or a City administrator?
Clearly, I don’t think so!
In order to point out the unreasonableness of the average salary
of the Minnesota orchestra is, Mr. Hewett quotes the fees offered recently to
the strings players of the Halle orchestra in Manchester, as around the £30,000
mark (approx. $50,000).
I wanted to see how that would compare to Mr. Hewett’s own
salary. The salaries for the Telegraph are quoted at:
Reporter £38,000 - £42,000
- ($60,000- $67,000)
Managing Editor £62,000 - £72,000 ($99,000- $115,000)
Mr. Hewett is likely making more than the new string
player in the Halle. Does this make him greedy and overpaid? Of course not! He is likely
being underpaid and can likely not make a living in London, one of the most
expensive cities in the world. The point here is to establish that the arts are
being underfunded and under-resourced. I
believe our top musicians should be paid in the same league as lawyers,
accountants, doctors, dentists etc. or even in the same range as public
servants in either municipal or federal governments. (Let’s not even mention
the bankers….) I definitely believe that the players in the Halle and other
British orchestras are underpaid.
It would do Mr. Hewitt far better to advocate for a better
“compensation” for the arts in general, as a reflection of
their worth to society and as a cause that we need to preserve, if we hope to
have any sort of quality of life in the future.
In this regard he would do well to
follow the example of another one of his compatriots, Winston Churchill, who in addressing the Royal Academy on 30 April 1938, said in
part: The arts are essential to any complete national life. The State owes it
to itself to sustain and encourage them….Ill fares the race which fails to
salute the arts with the reverence and delight which are their due.
I believe that we need to honor those at the the top of the music profession. If we do so, it will raise the worth of all musicians.
