The International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) is a Players' Conference of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM)
In 1962, members of US and Canadian orchestras began to meet and discuss ways they could communicate with each other, drafted bylaws, and began pushing the AFM for formal recognition of ICSOM as a conference of the AFM. Actual conference status was not conferred upon ICSOM until 1969. ICSOM's example and successes over the years inspired other groups to organize into formal conferences as well – the Recording Musicians Association (RMA), the Regional Orchestra Players' Association (ROPA), and the Theatre Musicians Association (TMA). ICSOM's Canadian members left ICSOM when the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM/OMOSC) was formed in 1975.
Several books have chronicled the history of ICSOM, including More Than Meets the Ear: How Symphony Musicians Made Labor History by Julie Ayer (Syren Book Company) and The First Fifty Years of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians by Tom Hall .
ICSOM began tabulating conductor evaluations in 1967 and has nearly 600 different conductors in the database. An online Conductor Evaluation Program for ICSOM musicians to evaluate its conductors was launched in January 2018.
In March 2009, then ICSOM chairman Bruce Ridge appeared before United States Congress. His testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor on the economic impact of the arts and music industry can be viewed on YouTube
ICSOM is also involved in supporting minority-group instrumentalists and currently contributes prize money to winners of the Sphinx Competition .
In August 2012, ICSOM celebrated its 50th anniversary in Chicago. A feature in the Chicago Tribune highlighted ICSOM's achievements and future plans.
Currently ICSOM's membership includes nearly 4000 musicians of the top 51 orchestras in the USA and Puerto Rico.
Each year delegates from ICSOM's member orchestras, along with AFM officers, meet to discuss current business and contracts.
ICSOM is a resource for symphonic musicians, with a purpose of promoting, communicating, enriching, supporting, and celebrating the arts.
Current officers of ICSOM are:
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center.
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, 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 U.S., it is known as the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), and in Canada, it is known as the Canadian Federation of Musicians/Fédération Canadienne des Musiciens (CFM/FCM).
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The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. Its home venue is the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in downtown Portland's Cultural District.
The Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Columbus, Ohio. The oldest performing arts organization in the city, its home is the Ohio Theatre. The orchestra's current executive director is Denise Rehg. Rossen Milanov is the orchestra's music director.
The Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony (PJS). Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910, when music teacher Mary V. Dodge began playing music for local children in Burns, Oregon. Dodge purchased instruments for the children and organized the orchestra, which would become known as the Sagebrush Symphony Orchestra. After touring the state, including a performance at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, the orchestra disbanded in 1918 when Dodge moved to Portland. There, Dodge opened a violin school and became music director of the Irvington School Orchestra.
James Lawrence Levine was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied.
Symphony Nova Scotia is a Canadian orchestra based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Its primary recital venue is at the Dalhousie Arts Centre's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.
On August 1, 1942, the American Federation of Musicians, at the instigation of union president James C. Petrillo, began a strike against the major American record companies because of disagreements over royalty payments. Beginning at midnight, July 31, 1942, no union musician could make commercial recordings for any commercial record company. That meant that a union musician was allowed to participate on radio programs and other kinds of musical entertainment, but not in a recording session. The 1942–1944 musicians' strike remains the longest strike in entertainment history.
The San Antonio Symphony was a full-time professional symphony orchestra based in San Antonio, Texas. Its season ran from late September to early June. Sebastian Lang-Lessing, its music director from 2010 to 2020, was the last to serve in that capacity. The orchestra was a resident organization of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio. In August 2022, the orchestra's musicians reformed as the San Antonio Philharmonic, a name first used in 1914, and announced a ten-concert classical-music series for the 2022–23 season to be given at First Baptist Church of San Antonio, 100 yards from Tobin Center.
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The Rockford Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra in Rockford, Illinois, USA. Now in its 80th season, the orchestra is the third largest orchestra in the state of Illinois.
The Augusta Symphony was founded in 1954. The orchestra has grown from a small group of 15 musicians to a full symphony orchestra offering three concert series each season as well as an education and outreach program. The symphony was first under the baton of Harry Jacobs and then Dr. Donald Portnoy. The next Music Director and Conductor was Shizuo Z Kuwahara. During his tenure, the orchestra for a while was called Symphony Orchestra Augusta. The current director is German-born Dirk O. Meyer.
William McGlaughlin is an American composer, conductor, music educator, and Peabody Award-winning classical music radio host. He is the host and music director of the public radio programs Exploring Music and Saint Paul Sunday.
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