SPCO announces list of retiring musicians

One of the remaining shoes to drop in the St Paul Chamber Orchestra contract settlement was just how many musicians would take the retirement package offered to orchestra members aged 55 or older.  Half the SPCO players were eligible and in a letter to SPCO board members and supporters today newly re-appointed President Bruce Coppock revealed the names of the 10 musicians taking the deal.

The departing musicians represent approximately a third of the orchestra, and each of them have played for at least three decades with the SPCO

Here is the text of the letter. Representatives of the SPCO were not immediately available for comment

 

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Dear Members of the SPCO Family,

Many of you have inquired regarding which musicians have chosen to take the special retirement package offered as part of the recent contract settlement. As the deadlines for election and rescission have passed, we are now in a position to be able to share this information with you.

The following is a list of the musicians who elected to retire, along with the number of seasons performed with the SPCO:

Gary Bordner, Principal Trumpet - 31

Fred Bretschger, Assistant Principal Bass - 32

Christopher Brown, Principal Bass - 34

Evelina Chao, Assistant Principal Viola - 33

Thomas Kornacker, Co-principal Second Violin - 36

Brenda Manuel Mickens, Violin - 33

Michal Sobieski, Violin - 34

Paul Straka, Horn - 31

Tamás Strasser, Viola - 38

Thomas Tempel, Oboe - 44

 

Each of these musicians devoted more than 30 years to making great music with the SPCO, and each is beloved by our long-time audience members. We are extremely grateful for their their many contributions both in the concert hall and beyond, and we wish them our very best as they begin the next chapters in their lives.

The Instrumentation Committee, comprised of Steve Copes, Ruggero Allifranchini, Maiya Papach, Julia Bogorad-Kogan, Kyu-Young Kim, Jean Parish and me, has begun the work of determining the SPCO’s instrumentation needs and will continue this work over the coming months. Kyu has been asked by the Committee to keep people informed of its progress as consensus evolves.

Many thanks.

Bruce

Bruce Coppock President

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

 

The new contract, which cut musicians base pay by $15,000, specified that the size of the SPCO will be reduced to 28 players from the previous complement of 34. 

New musicians will be brought in at a lower rate of pay than current players.

 Correction: An earlier version of this post stated new musicians will be hired at a lower rate than current musicians. While a two-tier pay structure was  discussed during contract negotiations, it was not included in the final contract. New musicians will be hired at the same base pay as current musicians.