Sounds of disharmony

There is one effect the four-month-old Detroit Symphony Orchestra strike has had. Folks are hearing our good musicians elsewhere. For instance, bassist Alex Hanna has worked with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and the East Coast Chamber orchestra, and he's got work lined up with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.

"Any orchestra that has an open spot for a week or a weekend, they know that there are 84 top-notch musicians in Detroit who are probably available," Hanna says.

Traveling all over the country to pick up work isn't what Hanna had in mind when he joined the DSO in August 2008. Then the 24-year-old musician was elated to be coming to Detroit to join one of the nation's top orchestras as its principal bassist.

Hanna, who was born in Bowling Green, Ohio, says he's "dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort" to the DSO as the ensemble where he'll make a name for himself. "I haven't played with them in Orchestra Hall since August. It's frustrating not to be doing what I came to Detroit to do."

The strike started Oct. 4, after DSO management implemented a more than 30 percent pay cut for musicians. Union negotiators offered a 22 percent cut. Management's offer was built around an overall total compensation package of $33 million over three years; the musicians' offer would have cost about $39 million.�

The initial management offer would cut base pay from a guaranteed minimum of $104,650 to the low $70 thousands. Although orchestral musicians' pay can vary based on seniority and which chair the musician has, according to several websites, starting pay at top U.S. orchestras — Cleveland, Chicago, New York, Boston and Philadelphia — is about $110,000. A first chair violinist can make about $300,000.

"When I first got this job, it was definitely the greatest job available," says Hanna. "I had the best job a classical bass player could have in the United States except maybe three or four positions. If we accept management's proposal there would probably be hundreds of jobs that are this attractive."�

A couple of weeks ago, each side was to have submitted $36 million packages to a federal mediator, a number based on a December proposal from former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Sen. Carl Levin. Each side's proposal includes draconian cuts, although there are also differences on work rules, pensions, and community outreach and education issues. Last week, the union hand-delivered letters to DSO board members rejecting the management offer, claiming it's actually for $32 million over 40 months.�

"They [management] believe Detroit is down for the count, it's not a major city anymore and cannot support a major performing arts institution," says cellist Haden McKay, a union spokesman.

"I really can't predict what's going to happen at this point. If there is a contract, we'll do our best to go forward, bring the audience back and bring the music back. We're trying to get through a difficult period without losing what's wonderful about the DSO and trying not to have such a terrible impact on the orchestra. They seem to want to change the work place once and for all and don't really care were the pieces fall."

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