2\/5\/18<\/p>\n
I. FROM THE EDITOR
\nII. MY RESIGNATION LETTER
\nIII. EVENTS<\/p>\n
…Absolutely guaranteed anonymity – Former Musician’s Union officer
\n‘
\n…The one voice of reason in a sea of insanity – Nashville ‘first call’\u2028scoring musician
\n…Allows us to speak our minds without fear of reprisal – L.A. Symphonic musician<\/p>\n
…Reporting issues the Musicians Union doesn’t dare to mention – National touring musician<\/p>\n
================================<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. FROM THE EDITOR<\/p>\n
WHY I’M LEAVING THE AFM\u00a0AND LOCAL 47<\/p>\n
Dear fellow musicians,<\/p>\n
I and others started this blog 12 years ago
\nin the hope of keeping recording work in
\nLos Angeles and addressing some of the
\ninjustice done by local 47 against our
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
During this time, we’ve all witnessed the
\nsteady decline of recording work in Los
\nAngeles. We’ve also witnessed, with the
\nconsent of our local, the wholesale transfer
\nof work from one group of musicians to
\nanother (e.g. the Pasadena Pops and the
\nLos Angeles Ballet orchestra).<\/p>\n
In response. our union leadership has failed
\nto address any of our underlying problems
\nand selectively punishes anyone who questions
\nthe status quo.\u00a0 As opposed to standing up
\nfor the rights of rank and file musicians, our
\nAFM national officers have condoned our
\nlocal’s actions and have also sanctioned
\nanyone who protests against their policies.<\/p>\n
Despite losing two thirds of its membership
\nin the last ten years and facing the possible
\ndemise of our pension fund, you would think
\nthe AFM and our local officers would try to
\nreform their policies and conduct. Unfortunately,
\nthis is not the case.<\/p>\n
As a result, I will be withdrawing my local union
\nmembership after a total of 40 years and will
\nbe electing Financial Core status. I encourage all
\nmusicians of conscience to do the same.
\nI believe the AFM will eventually
\nfail under its own mismanagement.<\/p>\n
I invite all progressive musicians of good will to
\nform an new organization that will generate
\nboth work and justice for musicians.\u00a0 We must
\nbe proactive in trying to create something new.<\/p>\n
The blog will remain committed to the
\nrank and file.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Charles Fernandez
\nEditor, Committee for a More Responsible Local 47 Blog<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
====================================<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
II. MY RESIGNATION LETTER – Enough is enough.<\/p>\n
Colleagues,<\/p>\n
Here is the resignation letter I included with my shift to Fi-Core Status.<\/p>\n
Local 47
\nAmerican Federation of Musicians
\nAttn: Secretary
\n3220 Winona Ave.
\nBurbank CA 91504<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Re: Election of Financial-Core Status Effective Immediately<\/p>\n
To the Secretary:<\/p>\n
I, Charles Fernandez, hereby elect financial-core status effective
\nimmediately. And to the extent necessary, I hereby resign as
\nan active member of Local 47 and the AFM, effective immediately.
\nPlease refund a pro rata portion of my dues previously paid which
\nwere allocated by you to political causes.<\/p>\n
I want you to know the reason why I am electing financial-core status.<\/p>\n
For the past 35 years, I have taken it as a point of great pride to
\nbe a member of the American Federation of Musicians and Local
\n47; but no longer. The AFM and Local 47 no longer represent the
\ninterests of the majority of its members. Instead, the union has
\nfailed to adopt policies and procedures ensuring that the majority
\nof our members who are willing and want to work as musicians,
\nare able to do so. While the union is not responsible for changes
\nin technology and in the marketplace, the union IS responsible
\nfor how it reacts to those changes so that the minimum harm is
\nfelt by the members.<\/p>\n
The AFM and Local 47 \u2013 as work has dried up over the past
\n15 or 20 years \u2013 have more and more favored the interests
\nof a minority of members who belong to the RMA. It has
\ndone so at the expense of the interests of the majority of
\nmembers. That is an undeniable fact.<\/p>\n
By ignoring the interests of a majority of our members,
\nleadership of the AFM and Local 47 have demonstrated
\nan utter lack of creativity, imagination and flexibility in
\nresponding to the changing marketplace, and the union
\nhas severely hurt the majority of members.<\/p>\n
As for myself, I got hauled up on totally bogus, trumped
\nup charges because, in my capacity as an educator, not
\na union musician, I conducted a couple of pieces of music
\ncomposed by my students at what was nothing more nor
\nless than a demo session to provide the students with a
\nreel of their music to assist them in getting work as composers.
\nAs a reminder to you IEB and Local 47 board members,
\nthere is NO bylaw against a union member conducting
\non a session, union or not. Look it up.<\/p>\n
We all know I was treated so harshly with the size of the
\nfine because of my past activism and the Local using the
\nexcuse of a supposed position with the Collective Media
\nGuild. This was so obviously fraudulent that all of the
\ncharges against me relating to my alleged affiliation
\nwith CMG were dropped for the lack of evidence.
\nI can only conclude that the fine of $2500 was simply
\nunderhanded and vindictive.<\/p>\n
So in the end I was selectively targeted for simply
\nattending the session as an educator, which is absurd,
\nbut those prosecuting the charges against me didn\u2019t
\ncare about that reality, or the truth, and designed
\ntheir actions to cost me the most money possible,
\nin the end the amount will be approx. $15,500.<\/p>\n
Had I been treated fairly I would\u2019ve been called
\ninto Local 47, and given a warning.<\/p>\n
If I had been a well-placed RMA member and\/or
\na member of the board I\u2019d have faced no charges.<\/p>\n
I have been a member of Local 47 since 1983
\n(35 years) and never, ever, been charged with a
\nviolation or infraction of the Bylaws.<\/p>\n
I read the blog \u201cThe Truth about Fi-Core\u201d on
\nthe Local 47 website. It is filled with platitudes,
\nsuch as \u201cwe shouldn\u2019t get screwed over by those
\nwho would happily see us work for less than our
\nworth;\u201d \u201cstanding together, in unity, is the best
\nway to make [more work] happen;\u201d and that
\nmembers who \u201cshare in a democratic process,
\nhave a voice, and be active participants in crafting
\nand maintaining the terms of our employment.\u201d<\/p>\n
That all sounds very nice but it isn\u2019t realistic, nor
\nis it true. Working for \u201cour worth\u201d is a moving
\ntarget which depends on the realities of the
\nmarketplace. It would be nice if the union could
\nset scale rates without taking into account the
\nrest of the world, but that bubble has long since
\nburst. The fact is you can record anywhere in the
\nworld except with the AFM with a buyout. There
\nmust be a more realistic distinction between big
\nbudget, Hollywood films and all the rest of the
\ncomposers, producers, and production houses
\nwho are trying to get off the ground. No one,
\nincluding me, wants to work for a pittance. But
\nthere is a range of scales that can ensure that
\nthose of us who want to work for a certain minimum,
\nare able to do so.<\/p>\n
No union member wants to take nonunion work,
\nunless that\u2019s the only work available. And in that
\nsituation, no union member wants to be hauled
\nup on charges simply for trying to feed their family.
\nUnfortunately, what the union is left with is the vast
\nmajority of its members who are unable to earn a
\ndecent living playing union gigs. This will inevitably
\nlead to more and more members resigning or electing
\nfinancial-core status to avoid charges. This is the
\ndilemma which the union has created for the majority
\nof its members.<\/p>\n
The bigger picture is that there is little recording work
\nfor anyone other than a minority of RMA members;
\nthere are numerous members of Local 47 who are
\nfine musicians and perfectly capable of doing excellent
\nrecording work, but don\u2019t work because of the few
\ncontractors and RMA members who have a monopoly
\non recording work. That leaves the rest of the members
\nwho are capable of performing at the highest levels
\nwith no work and no prospect of work if they are to
\nadhere to the union rules. That\u2019s the intersection that
\nmost qualified members find themselves.<\/p>\n
All members do non-union work (board members
\nincluded \u2013 you know who you are), but as mostly
\nRMA members occupying favored status with the
\nunion leadership, none of you will ever be brought
\nup on charges, be it for playing on recordings or
\norchestrating for film or musical theater.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the kind of favoritism that makes the majority
\nof our members, cynical; and when the choice is
\npresented go ahead and take nonunion work and
\nhope they don\u2019t get caught. How long is this vicious
\ncycle going to continue? And how long will loyal dues
\npaying members who want, and are able to, do recording
\nwork continue to turn down nonunion recording work.
\nIt\u2019s a Hobson\u2019s choice!<\/p>\n
In fact, given the perception by most members
\nthat the union no longer protects their interests,
\nincluding their desire to perform as musicians,
\nthere is no reason for anyone to remain a member
\nso long as the union crafts policies that discriminate
\nagainst members who want to work but have to
\nreject work for fear of being brought up on charges.
\nAfter all, what\u2019s the point of these musicians remaining
\nmembers? There is none.<\/p>\n
The AFM cannot continue protecting the interests
\nof a tiny minority at the expense of the majority and
\nexpect to survive in the long term. That is simply a
\nfact of life.<\/p>\n
That is why I am electing financial-core status.
\nMy decision is based on ineffectual, unfair union
\npolicies about what work I can accept; and on the
\nvindictive, spiteful and malicious manner in which
\nI was treated in connection with the bogus charges
\nfiled against me, and the inordinate fine attached.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fraternally,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
________________________
\nCharles Fernandez<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
================================<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
III. EVENTS
\nDEAN AND RICHARD
\nare now at Culver City Elks the first \u2028Friday of \u2028every month.
\n7:30pm-10:30pm,
\n11160 Washington Pl.
\nCulver City, 90232
\n310-839-8891<\/p>\n
——————————————<\/p>\n
2\/6\/19<\/p>\n
Tuesday, February 6, 7:30 pm
\nUSC Newman Recital Hall (AHF)
\nUSC Thornton Faculty Recital with
\nbassoonist JUDITH FARMER and
\ncellist ANDREW SHULMAN<\/p>\n
Program:
\nGernot Wolfgang – ROAD SIGNS (world premiere)\u2028Judith Farmer \u2013 bassoon
\nNic Gerpe \u2013 piano<\/p>\n
Frank Bridge \u2013 CELLO SONATA, H.125
\nAndrew Shulman \u2013 cello
\nJeffrey Kahane \u2013 piano<\/p>\n
INTERMISSION<\/p>\n
Gernot Wolfgang \u2013 WINDOWS\u2028Edgar Lopez \u2013 clarinet
\nJudith Farmer \u2013 bassoon
\nNadia Shpachenko \u2013 piano<\/p>\n
Benjamin Britten \u2013 CELLO SONATA, Op.65\u2028Andrew Shulman \u2013 cello
\nJeffrey Kahane \u2013 piano<\/p>\n
FREE ADMISSION<\/p>\n
——————————————-<\/p>\n
2\/7\/18<\/p>\n
Brendan White- Piano & Jacqueline Suzuki- Violin at Music@Mimoda
\n\u00b7 Hosted by Maksim Velichkin and Jacqueline Suzuki<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wednesday, February 7 at 8 PM – 9:30 PM<\/p>\n
MiMoDa Studio
\n5774 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
——————————————-<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2\/11\/18<\/p>\n
BAXTER MEMORIAL CONCERT SERIES
\nan Afternoon with Brahms and Clara Schumann<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Timothy Durkovic, piano
\nIsabelle LaForet Senger, violin
\nLaura Brenes, french horn<\/p>\n
Sunday, February 11, 2018, 2:00pm
\nFirst REEMethodist Church of Whittier –
\n13222 Bailey St. Whittier, CA 90601
\nAdmission: Free<\/p>\n
Program:
\nClara Schumann:3 Romances Op.22,
\nJohannes Brahms:Violin Sonata No.2 in A major Op.100,
\nJohannes Brahms: Horn Trio Op.40<\/p>\n
Please join us for an afternoon of a romance
\nthemed program, featuring some of the most
\nbeautiful music written by Brahms and Clara Schumann.<\/p>\n
This program will be repeated in the High
\nDesert Chamber Music Concert Series on
\nWednesday, February 14, 2018, 8:00pm
\nat the Tower Theatre in Bend, Oregon.<\/p>\n
For more information, please visit:
\nhttp:\/\/www.highdesertchambermusic.com\/index.php\/events\/hdcm-series<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
——————————————-<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2\/10-11\/18<\/p>\n
RIVERSIDE PHILHARMONIC<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimatus Eventus\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday, February 10, 2018 @ 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Sunday, February 11, 2018 @ 2:00 p.m.<\/p>\n
Music to entertain the young and the young
\nat heart, with a unique concert celebrating the
\nmusic of cartoons including \u201cAlice\u2019s Wonderland,\u201d
\n\u201cFelix goes to Hollywood,\u201d and others, composed
\nby some of Hollywood\u2019s top\u00a0cartoon composers,
\nlike Mark Watters and Charles Fernandez.<\/p>\n
Plus: Animatus Eventus (Cartoon Suite),\u00a0a three
\nmovement symphonic work by Charles Fernandez
\nbased on original material with nods to cartoons
\nfrom the last 80 years, including classic cartoon
\nfootage shown on a large screen.
\nEmail – info@riversidephilharmonic.org
\nPhone – 951-787-0251
\n——————————————-<\/p>\n
2\/11\/18
\nLOS ANGELES SYMPHONIC WINDS
\nSteve Piazza, Director
\nSubscription Concert 4 \u2013\u00a0Valentine Concert
\nSunday February 11, 2018\u00a0at\u00a02:30 pm
\nCalabasas High School Performing Arts Education Center
\n22855 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA 91302<\/p>\n
Valentines Concert featuring music of some of
\nhistory\u2019s greatest pairs of lovers including
\nRomeo and Juliet and Tristan and Isolde.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
——————————————-<\/p>\n
3\/11\/18<\/p>\n
\u201cWESTERN SUITE\u201d by
\nAdrienne Albert<\/p>\n
Sunday, March 11th, 2018 at 6 pm.
\nThe Southeast Symphony, under the direction of Anthony Parnther,
\nwill be performing my \u201cWESTERN SUITE\u201d for orchestra along
\nwith works by Leonard Bernstein, Rimsky Korsakov, and Capuzzi:
\nConcerto for Double Bass.<\/p>\n
Sunday, March 11th, 2018
\nTime: 6 PM
\nPlace: First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
\n540 S. Commonwealth Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90020<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.southeastsymphony.com\/march-11-scheherazade<\/p>\n
More information will be coming soon!!<\/p>\n
All best,
\nAdrienne
\n——————————————–
\nAdrienne Albert
\nadrienne@adriennealbert.com
\nwww.adriennealbert.com<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute<\/p>\n
is now accepting applications for the one-year<\/p>\n
Master of Music in Film Composition<\/p>\n
One of the Top 4 Film Music Programs in the World!<\/p>\n
Recently rated as the #4 school in the world for film scoring education by\u00a0Music School Central.<\/p>\n
“in just one year, the school places students into a pressure cooker of intense learning resulting in a professional demo reel that can be used to obtain future paid commercial opportunities.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Learn from Industry Professionals<\/p>\n
All PNWFS faculty are active professional film and game composers, orchestrators, copyists, and engineers, including the program’s creator and lead instructor Dr.\u00a0Hummie Mann. \u00a0Hummie is the two-time Emmy Award winning film composer of “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and featured in Variety Magazine’s article\u00a0“Leaders in Learning”.<\/p>\n
Our Program Features:
\n\u2022 9 live recording sessions with professional musicians at Studio X, Seattle’s premiere, world-class studio.
\n\u2022 Opportunities to work with student directors to score actual films from film programs all over the world.
\n\u2022 \u2028Training in all major software programs used in the industry.
\n\u2022 \u2028A state-of-the-art workstation assigned to each student fully installed with the latest versions of all software, sample libraries and plug-ins needed to complete the program.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Accelerated and Affordable<\/p>\n
We are a one-year Master of Music in Film Composition program which not only gives our graduates the opportunity to enter the industry and start their careers a year sooner than other programs but saves them an entire year of living expenses. In addition to our accelerated format we also offer the most affordable tuition out of competing programs. Our students have access to FAFSA financial assistance, loans, and scholarships as well.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
History of Success<\/p>\n
We are very proud to have a high success rate for our graduates who have gone on to work on television shows such as Castle, Empire, and Once Upon a Time; video games such as World of Warcraft, Spate, and Destiny; and films such as The Revenant, Trolls, The Dark Tower, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.\u00a0Apply now\u00a0and you could be joining their ranks!<\/p>\n
Applications are being accepted for the Fall 2018\u00a0school year.
\nWe offer rolling admissions – no deadline to apply.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
(800) 882-4734 | www.pnwfilmmusic.com
\n——————————————–<\/p>\n
UNTIL NEXT TIME,\u2028\u2028THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
2\/5\/18 I. FROM THE EDITOR II. MY RESIGNATION LETTER III. EVENTS …Absolutely guaranteed anonymity – Former Musician’s Union officer ‘ …The one voice of reason in a sea of insanity – Nashville ‘first call’\u2028scoring musician …Allows us to speak our minds without fear of reprisal – L.A. Symphonic musician …Reporting issues the Musicians Union doesn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}