Category Archives: Minnesota Orchestra

It seems you can’t swing a dead cat these days without hitting yet another politician looking into the Minnesota Orchestral Association. Here’s the latest…

On Tuesday February 12 at 2:15pm, there will be a committee meeting discussing Minnesota Legacy funding in Room 5 of the State Office Building in St. Paul. The Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will be subjects of discussion. Representatives from both sides of the Minnesota Orchestra labor dispute (including Mr. Henson) have been asked to speak. Community voices such as Orchestrate Excellence will also be present. The public is welcome to attend. The Legacy Committee is chaired by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, who, as you may remember, was the first lawmaker to sound the alarm over the Minnesota Orchestral Association’s behavior toward musicians and taxpayers back in early December. It’s worth re-reading her editorial to get a vibe for where she stands on this issue. Needless to say, it ought to be one of the more gripping Legacy committee meetings in recent memory.

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This testimony by Minnesota Orchestra musician Doug Wright was given to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives on 23 January 2013. Rep. Joe Atkins chaired.

You can listen to Doug Wright’s testimony here. It begins at 28:10, directly after Mr. Henson’s testimony. Mr. Wright appeared in front of the committee with his coworkers Tony Ross, Cathy Schubilske, and Burt Hara.

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DW: Thank you, Representative Atkins and committee members for your public service and your attention to the impact of lockouts in our region. My name is Douglas Wright, and I am proud to have been the principal trombonist of the Minnesota Orchestra for the past eighteen years. During that time, I, along with my team here, have played literally thousands of concerts for millions of people here in Minnesota, throughout the nation, and around the world. From Minneapolis to Bemidji, St. Paul to St. Cloud, and Pipestone to Roseville, the Minnesota Orchestra has had the privilege to bring world-class performances of great music all over our great state. The Minnesota Orchestra has also had the honor of representing our fine state throughout the United States and abroad, and we’ve been proud to bring home critical acclaim and recognition for our efforts. After our 2010 performance with Osmo at Carnegie Hall, one of the most respected critics in our industry, Alex Ross of The New Yorker, went so far as to call the Minnesota Orchestra the greatest orchestra in the world.

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