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74-667: Since 1990, Carl St.Clair has been the orchestra's music director . Alexander Shelley will serve as the next music director, starting in 2025. Pacific Symphony was founded in 1979 by Keith Clark , who was a former student-assistant conductor of Roger Wagner at the Los Angeles Master Chorale , and the principal guest conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra . Clark began with the orchestra in his home kitchen in Fullerton, California with

148-464: A $ 9-million rise in nightclub bookings by 1960. In 1966, the tax was finally repealed. In 1955 the AFM formally asked Congress to subsidize the arts industry. The federation cited its concern for preserving America’s cultural heritage and protecting the country’s less commercially viable styles: jazz, folk and symphonic music. The effort paid off in 1965 when President Johnson signed 20 U.S.C. 951, creating

222-553: A Jan. 21, 1988 program of Prokofiev's Ivan the Terrible and Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov . But too often, Clark's performances sounded more like readings than interpretations, and sometimes bad readings, such as his Oct. 2, 1986 opening concert in the center, which was drubbed by critics. The opposition to Clark, within the orchestra, according to musicians, has been vociferous but only talked about privately. Most musicians, essentially employed at Clark's pleasure, have no job security in

296-582: A Tree and Richard Danielpour 's Toward a Season of Peace . The Symphony has also commissioned and recorded An American Requiem (2001) by Danielpour, and Elliot Goldenthal's Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio with Yo-Yo Ma . Other recordings have included collaborations with such composers as Lucas Foss and Tōru Takemitsu . It has also commissioned such leading composers as Paul Chihara, Daniel Catán, William Kraft, Ana Lara , Tobias Picker, Christopher Theofanidis, Frank Ticheli and Chen Yi. Symphonic Voices, an initiative to reintroduce opera to Orange County,

370-427: A better arrangement for paying royalties. In 1918, two important legislative measures, Prohibition and a 20 percent cabaret tax to support the war effort, negatively impacted many musicians. Prohibition ended after 13 years, but the cabaret tax took its toll on the music industry for many years to come. The Copyright Act of 1909 created the first compulsory mechanical license stipulating royalty payments be paid by

444-452: A better understanding and the music deeper meaning. In 2010, a study by the League of American Orchestras, Fearless Journeys , included Pacific Symphony as one of the country's five most innovative orchestras. Pacific Symphony provides various education programs. The orchestra's Class Act residency program has been honored as one of nine exemplary orchestra education programs in the nation by

518-442: A criminal offense for a union to use coercion to win observance of its rules by radio stations. Collective bargaining with broadcasters over hiring standby musicians and paying for rebroadcasts of live performances became illegal. As a result, live broadcasts on radio were almost completely eliminated. When Petrillo retired, Herman D. Kenin took over as AFM president. In 1958–59, rank-and-file committees of recording musicians sat at

592-538: A difficult reputation with some of the orchestra's board of directors and the orchestra's four prior executive directors, all of whom had resigned after relatively short tenures (one as short as six weeks). James Chute, writing in The Orange County Register , described the situation: The standard of a respectable Clark performance seemed to be that he was prepared and that he didn't get lost. Occasionally he went further, as he did most recently in

666-563: A global scale. In 1961, the AFM participated in the Rome Convention to develop an international treaty extending copyright protection. However, because of pressure from American broadcasters, the federal government declined to sign the treaty. To date, only the US, China and North Korea have not signed the treaty. Therefore, American musicians and record companies receive no performance royalties from terrestrial AM/FM radio. Through much of

740-409: A grant of $ 2,000 and personal appeals to local musicians. The musicians who comprised the orchestra were mainly professional freelance musicians from Southern California who performed in the area's movie studios, universities, and other regional performing arts organizations. Many of these musicians were also former concertmasters, associate concertmasters, and players from prominent orchestras, including

814-477: A law prohibiting all armed-services members from competing with civilians. During the World War I era, general unemployment affected musicians. Silent films displaced some forms of traditional entertainment, and with a declining economy and other factors, many musicians were laid off. Among the best known AFM actions was the 1942–44 musicians' strike , orchestrated to pressure record companies to agree to

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888-487: A meeting with representatives of radio, transcription and record companies, threatening to halt all recording work nationwide. After 14 weeks, the stations agreed to spend an additional $ 2 million to employ staff musicians, but the Department of Justice later ruled the agreement illegal. Labor leader James Petrillo took command of the AFM in 1940. He took a stronger stance, challenging technological unemployment. Among

962-454: A row, the symphony offered three new innovative Music Unwound programs, designed to contextualize and enhance the musical experience. This series of enhanced concerts, underwritten by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, continues to deliver creative new formats and thematic programming as part of the concert experience. By creating contextual backdrops, Pacific Symphony endeavors to give the audience

1036-667: A substantial increase in its fanbase, but also a doubling of the orchestra's budget. Consequently, the orchestra soon experienced financial difficulties. This was heightened by their loss of funding from the National Endowment for the Arts . In June 1987, the orchestra hired Louis Spisto, a marketing director of the Pittsburgh Symphony , as its new executive director. Within months, Clark and Spisto began to clash. Prior to Spisto's arrival, Clark had already developed

1110-648: A three-year recording project of the Villa–Lobos symphonies. He became Generalmusikdirektor (General Music Director, or GMD) of the Staatskapelle Weimar in 2005, a post he held for three years. In 2008, he took up the post of GMD of the Komische Oper Berlin , with an initial contract of six years, but in May 2010 he resigned effective with the end of the 2009/10 season. In 2012, St. Clair

1184-587: A time when musicians were losing income as phonograph records replaced radio orchestras and jukeboxes competed with live music in nightclubs. The AFM founded the Music Defense League in 1930 to gain public support against canned music in movie theaters. The AFM set higher scales for the recording work than for live work, negotiating the first industry-wide agreements in the labor movement. While musicians flocked to Los Angeles hoping for high-paying recording work, fewer than 200 new jobs were created by

1258-647: Is an American conductor . Born in Hochheim, Texas , St. Clair went to school in Yoakum, Texas , and graduated from Yoakum High School . He attended the University of Texas and later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood . He was Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (Michigan) from 1985 to 1992, and of

1332-839: Is known as the Canadian Federation of Musicians/Fédération Canadienne des Musiciens (CFM/FCM). The AFM is affiliated with AFL–CIO [the largest federation of unions in the United States]; the Department of Professional Employees , the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) , the National Music Council , and the Canadian Labour Congress , the federation of unions in Canada. Founded more than 125 years ago,

1406-632: Is led by president Tino Gagliardi. Founded in Cincinnati in 1896 as the successor to the National League of Musicians, the AFM is the largest organization in the world to represent professional musicians. It negotiates fair agreements, protects ownership of recorded music, secures benefits such as healthcare and pension, and lobbies legislators. In the US, it is known as the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), and in Canada, it

1480-425: Is to bring order out of chaos and to harmonize and bring together all the professional musicians of the country into one progressive body." At the same time, the trade-union movement was taking hold throughout North America. Unions representing all types of laborers were forming to exercise collective strength to raise wages, improve working conditions and secure greater dignity and respect for working people. In 1887,

1554-784: The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (Ithaca, New York) from 1986 to 1991. Beginning in 1986, he was an assistant conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra . In 1990, he was a recipient of the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award . St. Clair has served on the faculty of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville . In January 1990, he conducted the Pacific Symphony for the first time. On

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1628-663: The Cleveland Orchestra , Detroit Symphony , and Los Angeles Philharmonic . Clark became the orchestra's first music director. Pacific Symphony's first performance was in December 1979, at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, California. By 1981, the orchestra played its concerts at the "Good Time Theater" at Knott's Berry Farm to a fanbase of 3,000 people. In 1983, the orchestra moved its concerts to

1702-816: The Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar in Weimar, Germany, where he led Wagner's Ring Cycle to critical acclaim. He was the first non-European to hold this position at that theatre; the role also gave him the distinction of simultaneously leading one of the newest orchestras in America and one of the oldest in Europe. In 2014, St.Clair became music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Costa Rica . He

1776-643: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). At the 1966 AFM convention, the initial $ 2 million in NEA appropriation was announced. Much of the subsequent growth in professional symphony orchestras in the US was a direct result of the NEA. AFM president Ray Hair said: "Government arts funding is critical to the ongoing financial and artistic well-being of American professional musicians. ... For nearly 50 years NEA funding has enriched our communities, supported our jobs, and helped achieve cultural balance within virtually every congressional district." The Parliament of Canada used

1850-960: The Santa Ana High School auditorium, made its first recording, and hired a full-time manager. In the same year, they performed for their first time at the Music Center of Los Angeles County as part of the City of Los Angeles' bicentennial celebrations. James Chute, in a commentary for The Orange County Register , wrote: [T]he orchestra's growth continued, as Clark's programs at Santa Ana High School offered an engaging mixture of old and new works, especially American works. The ensemble's recordings of music by Copland, Barber, Ives and Harris were enthusiastically received, while its American music programs attracted large audiences by offering apple pie at intermission and world premieres by respected American composers such as Donald Erb . In 1986,

1924-448: The 1989–1990 season. During this time the orchestra also began its search for a permanent music director. Some established conductors, including: Lawrence Foster , Sergiu Comissiona , Zdeněk Mácal , and Stuart Challender , were considered along with lesser known names, such as Christopher Seaman , Richard Buckley, Vakhtang Jordania , Toshiyuki Shimada , and Carl St.Clair . Kord repeatedly said that despite his new titled position, he

1998-694: The 20 percent cabaret tax. Amid the beginning of the British Invasion in 1964, Kenin lobbied directly to the US Secretary of Labor , W. Willard Wirtz , to place an embargo on rock and roll musicians coming to the US from the UK. Kenin worried about British musicians taking away jobs from Americans, contending that there was little difference between their music, making it unnecessary for the Beatles and other acts to perform. When Kenin's desire to ban

2072-564: The AFL and the Knights of Labor first invited the National League of Musicians to affiliate with the trade-union movement, but the offers produced deep divisions within the National League of Musicians. Some members objected to musicians being called laborers, insisting instead that they were "artists and professionals." As the American music scene prospered and more symphony orchestras were founded,

2146-406: The AFM's records since 2006, when membership classification was first reported, about 81 percent of the union's membership are "regular" members who are eligible to vote for the union. In addition to the other voting eligible "life" and "youth" classifications, the "inactive life" members have the rights of active union members except that "they shall not be allowed to vote or hold office" according to

2220-428: The Beatles was widely reported, Beatles fans from across the US sent letters to the AFM condemning the organization. The AFM also sought to lend its voice to national labor issues such as the fight against right-to-work laws. In 1951, lobbying efforts against the cabaret tax paid off when nonprofit organizations, including symphony orchestras, were exempted. In 1957, Congress reduced the tax to 10 percent, resulting in

2294-670: The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which was implemented in 2015. The law states that if the instrument fits in the airline luggage bins and the owner boards early enough to have available space in the bins, a musician cannot be forced to check their instrument. In early 2020, the AFM faced what would become its biggest challenge yet, when the pandemic and subsequent quarantines put thousands of musicians out of work and careers on hold. The AFM quickly adapted agreements to allow live streaming of concerts and recording work to be done at home instead of in-studio. According to

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2368-972: The National Endowment for the Arts and the American Symphony Orchestra League. In addition to the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra , in 2007–08, St.Clair added to the list of programs the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble and Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings, and in the summer of 2012, added the Santa Ana Strings. The Pacific Symphony Youth Concert Band was launched in 2022. Other community engagement programs include arts-X-press, OC Can You Play With Us, and Strings for Generations. Carl St.Clair Carl Ray St. Clair (born June 5, 1952)

2442-545: The Pacific Symphony and those who invoked his displeasure have, according to musicians, been pulled arbitrarily from concerts. In October 1987, Clark signed a one-year contract, giving him a substantial pay raise while also establishing an artistic review process that the board would use to determine the renewal of the contract. By February 1988, Spisto helped to engineer a vote by the orchestra's board on whether or not to renew Clark's contract as music director through

2516-679: The Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts . The move came on the heels of the landmark 2005–06 season that included St.Clair leading the Symphony on its first European tour—nine cities in three countries playing before capacity houses and receiving extraordinary responses and reviews. From 2008 to 2010, St.Clair was general music director for the Komische Oper Berlin , where he led successful new productions such as La traviata (directed by Hans Neuenfels ). He also served as general music director and chief conductor of

2590-558: The San Francisco, Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Indianapolis, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver symphonies. A strong advocate of music education for all ages, St.Clair has been essential to the creation and implementation of the Symphony's education programs. These include Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles, Sunday Connections, OC Can You Play With Us, arts-X-press and Class Act. Pacific Symphony focuses on developing and promoting both young and established composers while expanding

2664-617: The Sound Recording Special Payment Fund. Numerous labor actions in the following decades improved industry standards and working conditions for musicians. New agreements covered TV programs, cable TV, independent films and video games. Pension funds were established and musicians also secured groundbreaking contracts providing royalties for digital transmissions and from recordings of live performances. Petrillo’s tactics were not universally accepted. While his 1955 negotiations had led to increased payments into

2738-426: The US came together to form the National League of Musicians to discuss and rectify common issues, such as competition from traveling musicians. The American Federation of Labor recognized the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) in 1896. A group of delegates had broken away from the National League of Musicians in order to form a more egalitarian organization, inclusive to all musicians. Seeking to give meaning to

2812-503: The bylaws in exchange for the rate less than "life" members. As of 2019, there were 60,345 "regular members" (83 percent of total), 11,297 "life" members (15 percent), 549 "inactive life" members (1 percent) and 880 "youth" members (1 percent). In June 2023, the delegates to the 102nd AFM Convention in Las Vegas elected Tino Gagliardi as AFM international president, succeeding Ray Hair, who did not seek reelection following 13 years at

2886-531: The continuation of a recent slate of recordings that began with two newly released compact discs in 2012–13 featuring two of today's leading composers, Philip Glass ' The Passion of Ramakrishna and Michael Daugherty 's Mount Rushmore , both the result of works commissioned and performed by the Symphony, with three more recordings due to be released over the next few years. These feature the music of Symphony-commissioned works by William Bolcom , Songs of Lorca and Prometheus , James Newton Howard 's I Would Plant

2960-500: The death duties of two Canadian millionaire estates to establish the Canada Council for the Arts in 1957. According to an International Musician article the council was responsible for "creating an aura of musical achievement such as the country has never witnessed." In 2014 and 2015, the council allocated $ 155.1 million to the arts in Canada. By 1960, tape recorders were making sound and video recordings easier and cheaper on

3034-436: The early history of the AFM, union locals were segregated for black and white musicians. Black and white locals eventually began to merge, starting with Los Angeles in 1953, and by 1974 all locals were integrated. Through lobbying efforts to amend copyright law and generate new, innovative agreements, the AFM continues its work to protect and compensate musicians in the increasingly digital world. The AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund

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3108-536: The end of his existing contract. In a vote of 12–11, the board voted against retaining Clark; three days later, Clark tendered his resignation, to take effect at the end of the 1988–89 season. Keith Clark continued to conduct the orchestra through its 1988–1989 season. As part of the terms of his resignation, he was given nine months of severance pay and he still maintained the power to hire and fire musicians at his sole discretion. "I will continue as music director in every sense of that word", Clark said. During this time

3182-507: The funds, the lack of a scale increase angered some full-time recording musicians. Musicians were promised a voice at the next round of meetings in 1958, but talks broke down and a strike was called. When calls for Petrillo to reopen negotiations were rejected, a group of disgruntled Los Angeles musicians formed a dual union, the Musicians Guild of America. In 1946, Congress passed an act known as "the anti-Petrillo Act" that made it

3256-489: The most significant AFM actions was the 1942–44 musicians' strike (sometimes called the "Petrillo ban"), orchestrated to pressure record companies to agree to a royalty system more beneficial to the musicians. The strike forced the recording industry to establish a royalty on recording sales to employ musicians at live performances. This resulted in the Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF), which

3330-606: The need for a national organization for musicians increased. In 1897, the union became international when the Montreal Musicians Protective Union and Toronto Orchestral Association joined. By 1900, the union changed its name to the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada and was actively organizing on both sides of the border. A 1903 resolution was passed prohibiting foreign bands taking work from domestic bands. It

3404-471: The number of recording companies. As the nation recovered from World War I, technology advanced and there was diversity in recording and producing music. In 1927, the first " talkie " motion picture was released and within two years, 20,000 musicians lost their jobs performing in theater pits for silent films. Minimum wage scales were created for vitaphone , movietone and phonograph recording work. In 1938, film companies signed their first contract with AFM at

3478-418: The offer had been rescinded, largely due to concerns about his salary and level of commitment: "I gave them a total package", Foster said. "I was given to understand that the board regarded it as too exorbitant." ... "I am brokenhearted", he added. "From the very beginning I became extremely excited about the project... But that is their right. It is their organization. I can't do anything about it." ... Besides

3552-505: The orchestra a more stable reputation. "Tenure will put to rest the notion that this is a pick-up orchestra", Spisto said. "It will also give the players a sense of security and a better understanding that they are a major part of our future." In May 1988, Kazimierz Kord , the then music director of the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra , was named Principal Guest Conductor and Music Advisor for

3626-440: The orchestra and Spisto began a transformational period, with aspirations of attaining world-class status. The orchestra's first move was to sign the musicians to a traditional orchestra contract, complete with tenure rights in line with typical American Federation of Musicians agreements. While critics frequently assailed Clark's podium leadership, the musicians themselves were given much credit. Establishing tenure helped to give

3700-607: The orchestra became one of the resident companies at the new Orange County Performing Arts Center and gave its first concerts there in October of that same year. Originally, the Center had refused residency to the orchestra, citing elitism from the Pacific Symphony in regards to its membership. However, the Center eventually relented and granted the Pacific Symphony – as well as other regional arts organizations – residency, largely due to Clark's continued lobbying efforts. This move led to

3774-661: The orchestral repertoire. Its focus on new works is illustrated by the Symphony's commissions and recordings, as well as in-depth explorations of American artists and themes at the American Composer Festival and the Young American Composers Competition. The Symphony's support for new compositions has been recognized and rewarded by the ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming in both 2005 and 2010. The 2013–14 season saw

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3848-592: The phrase "In unity there is strength", the first standing resolution of the AFM was: "That any musician who receives pay for his musical services, shall be considered a professional musician." The first convention, upon which the American Federation of Musicians was founded, was held October 1896 at the Hotel English in Indianapolis, Indiana. The group had 3,000 members and Owen Miller became the first AFM president. In 1896, Miller said: "The only object of AFM

3922-449: The possibility that we were considering moving back to the United States in a couple of years, to New York, so we could be midway between Southern California and Europe." The news of the orchestra's decision to pull Foster's offer came on the heels of Carl St.Clair 's debut with the orchestra on January 31 and February 1. By all accounts, the concerts went well; despite changes in programs, concert soloists, and concertmasters, his conducting

3996-507: The pressing issues was competition from both foreign musicians and off-duty military musicians. In its first 10 years, the AFM had organized 424 locals and 45,000 musicians in the US and Canada. Virtually all instrumental musicians in the US were union members. In 1906, the 10-year-old organization made a donation of $ 1,000 to earthquake victims in San Francisco. A 1908 appropriations bill banned armed-services musicians (exempting Marines ) from competing with civilians. In 1916, Congress passed

4070-583: The purpose of the American Federation of Musicians remains the same: to elevate, protect, and advance the interests of all musicians who receive pay for their musical service. The roots of the musicians’ collective action began with the New York City-based Musical Mutual Protective Union, which took the first steps toward creating uniform scales for different types of musical employment in 1878. By March 1886, delegates from 15 different protective unions across

4144-407: The safe transport of instruments on planes and through customs. Disparate airline policies regarding the transportation of instruments long plagued musicians. This problem worsened after the 9/11 attacks and stricter security checks that followed. The AFM spent more than a decade trying to clarify and improve the ability of musicians to fly with instruments as carry-on baggage. These efforts resulted in

4218-469: The salary issue, Foster said, "There was some distrust about my commitment to building the orchestra, that I am regarded as a European person and would not be sufficiently committed here." "I think they wanted more time, but it was impossible with my family commitments and my other activities", Foster said. "And I told them I wasn't able to move to Orange County. With my work in Europe, that would have been impossible. But my wife and I had gotten so excited about

4292-525: The success of that appearance, he was named the orchestra's music director, a position he still holds. During his Pacific Symphony tenure, he and the orchestra have commissioned and recorded several works, including Richard Danielpour 's An American Requiem (Reference Recordings) and Elliot Goldenthal 's Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio (Sony Classical) with cellist Yo-Yo Ma . Other recordings include "Radiant Voices" and "Postcard" by composer in residence Frank Ticheli (Koch International Classics), and

4366-515: The table while Kenin negotiated favorable agreements with the recording, television and jingle industries. The Musicians Guild of America was defeated in a 1960 representation election and the AFM regained bargaining rights for motion-picture studios. During the 1960s, the AFM organized its political lobbying efforts, creating the TEMPO political action committee. Among the pressing issues of the day were government funding for music programs and repeal of

4440-437: The technology. To help musicians find fair pay and union jobs, the AFM created a booking-agent licensing policy in 1936, and in 1938, developed a similar program for licensing record companies. While national scales were set for live musicians working on fledgling radio networks, some stations had already begun using recordings. The 1937 AFM convention mandated Weber to fight against the use of recorded music on radio. He called

4514-608: The two piano concertos of Lukas Foss (harmonia mundi). The orchestra and St. Clair host an annual festival of American composers, including "Uncharted Beauty: The Music of Lou Harrison" (2005–2006), "Los Sonidos de México" (2006–2007), and "The West — Music inspired by the American Frontier" (2007–2008). In Europe, St. Clair was the principal guest conductor of the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart from 1998 to 2004, where his work included

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4588-425: The user of a composer’s work, but the law excluded musicians. In the 1920s, new technologies challenged live music for the first time. The advent of recording and radio forever changed the landscape of musician employment. At AFM conventions, the union decried the use of canned music and forbid orchestra leaders from advertising their orchestras free of charge on radio. By the end of the 1920s, many factors had reduced

4662-408: The vocal initiative, Symphonic Voice; the creation of a series of multimedia concerts featuring inventive formats called Music Unwound; and the highly acclaimed American Composers Festival. In 2013–14, the Symphony launched the music festival //Wavelength//, blending contemporary music and Symphony musicians in unique collaborations. St.Clair led the orchestra's historic 2006/2007 move into its home in

4736-555: Was appointed Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica  [ es ] . American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada ( AFM / AFofM ) is a 501(c)(5) labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in New York City,

4810-617: Was appointed to Principal Conductor and Artistic Leader of the Thornton Symphony Orchestra at the University of Southern California 's Thornton School of Music . St. Clair has worked on the creation and implementation of various symphony education programs, including "Classical Connections", "arts-X–press" and "Class Act". In 2006, he worked with the German Bundesjugendorchester (National Youth Orchestra). On September 13, 2013, St. Clair

4884-434: Was created to administer and distribute statutory noninteractive digital performance and audio home recording royalties established under copyright law and royalties from various foreign territories. In 2020, more than 42,000 session musicians and vocalists in all 50 states and Canada shared $ 62 million in royalties collected by its Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund. The performance rights organization SoundExchange

4958-575: Was established in 1948 and continues to sponsor free live performances throughout the US and Canada. When the MPTF began disbursals, it became the largest single employer of live musicians in the world. Petrillo organized a second recording ban from January 1 to December 14, 1948, in response to the Taft–Hartley Act . In the 1950s, the MPTF was reapportioned to form the AFM Pension Fund and

5032-441: Was established to collect and distribute performance revenue from noninteractive digital services, including those on cable, satellite, and internet webcasts. It works on behalf of 650,000 creators and has paid more than $ 10 billion in distributions to date. The globalization of the industry has also increased the need for musicians to cross international borders for work. Among the challenges musicians face are regulations regarding

5106-564: Was followed by a 1905 letter from the AFM petitioning president Theodore Roosevelt to protect American musicians by limiting the importation of musicians from outside Canada and the US. By 1905, an official position on the International Executive Board was created to provide Canadian representation at the federation level. Early accomplishments of the union included setting the first scales for orchestras traveling with comic operas, musical comedies and grand opera. Among

5180-521: Was inspired by St.Clair's career as an opera conductor in Europe. The initiative began with the successful debut of a concert production of Puccini 's La bohème in 2012, followed by Puccini's Tosca in 2013; in 2014, with Verdi 's La traviata , and in 2015 with Bizet 's Carmen . The entire orchestra is usually present onstage during these productions, which have featured the Pacific Chorale and renowned opera stars. For five years in

5254-473: Was not a candidate. The board originally wanted a strong musician that would also be willing to spend significant time with the greater Orange County community. Zdeněk Mácal was considered a front-runner, as he was a resident nearby in Laguna Niguel in addition to being a conductor with a strong resume. However, by that time he already had a number of other positions to his name, and his busy schedule

5328-674: Was the principal guest conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2004, where he completed a three–year recording project of the Villa–Lobos symphonies. He has also appeared with orchestras in Israel, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South America, and summer festivals worldwide. In North America, St.Clair has led the Boston Symphony Orchestra , (where he served as assistant conductor for several years), New York Philharmonic , Philadelphia Orchestra , Los Angeles Philharmonic and

5402-480: Was thought to be a likely deterrent. Mácal pulled himself out of the running before the 1989–90 season began. In December 1989, the orchestra offered Lawrence Foster – the odds-on favorite – the position of music director. Foster accepted, in principle. Contract negotiations began, and Foster began planning his schedule and the orchestra's programs for the coming years. However, in February 1990, Foster revealed that

5476-635: Was well received by musicians, board, and audience alike. Moreover, he had indicated a willingness to move to Orange County and seemed enthusiastic about being a part of the county's burgeoning arts and cultural scene. On February 26, 1990, the orchestra named Carl St.Clair as its second music director, effective October 1 of that year. Carl St.Clair has been music director with the Symphony for over three decades. He has been recognized for his musically distinguished performances, his commitment to building outstanding educational programs, and his innovative approaches to programming. Among his creative endeavors are:

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