July 13, 2009
Dear Friends,
The Musicians of the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra would like our audience, friends and supporters to be fully informed of the impact that the changes management has outlined for the 2010 Festival will have on us and our continued participation in the Festival Orchestra.
Only a few days before the opening of this years’ Festival, the musicians, who travel from as far away as Seattle and San Francisco, were informed by Festival President David Graham and Festival Director Henry Fogel that they would be required to reapply for their positions if they wish to be reengaged for the 2010 orchestra season. The musicians, many of whom have served for ten, twenty, and as many as forty years, are being asked to submit an audition portfolio consisting of a CD or DVD of their individual solo performances of music from three periods of music history as well as optional additional performances of jazz, improvisation or alternative styles, and three written essays regarding their approach to music-making and mentoring. The reapplication process is an insult to our professionalism and is unheard of in our industry.
We believe that the intent is to eliminate the present NHMF orchestra.
The New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra is a 57-year old institution that presents concerts to audiences in Plymouth and the Lakes Regions for six weeks each summer. The members of the orchestras are professional musicians from orchestras all over the United States and Europe including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra the San Francisco Symphony and the Seattle Symphony.
The Musicians of the Festival Orchestra are passionate about preserving our relationship with the Festival and the community, a relationship that is in jeopardy under management’s reapplication requirement. If you would like to express your solidarity with our cause, please call or email David Graham and Henry Fogel. Contact information can be found at www.nhmf.org or call 603-279-3300. If you are a donor to the Festival, you may want to reconsider how your contribution dollars are being spent.
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Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
The Musicians of the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra
