My cousin Scott Chamberlain posted an epic rant back in January about the StarTribune’s art scene reporter, Graydon Royce, and his recent summary of the near-legendary Minnesota Orchestra lockout on his blog, Mask of the Flower Prince. I regret missing it back in January and note it now:
Let’s review the tape, shall we? The Orchestra’s previous management actively engaged in a wide-ranging disinformation campaign directed at the musicians, the community, the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota’s State Legislature, and beyond. This isn’t me just being mean saying this, this was abundantly documented during the lockout, and clearly documented in the Orchestra’s actual board minutes I mentioned above. For example, when the Orchestra leadership was approaching the State Legislature to secure bonding money to refurbish Orchestra Hall, it shaded the numbers to create the appearance balanced budgets and overall fiscal health. Then, on the eve of contract negotiations with the musicians, management shaded the finances in a different way to report a large deficit and make it seem that financial collapse was imminent.
Along with this, management lied about the size of the reported deficit. This wasn’t an accident… in 2011, the board retained the public-relations firm Padilla Speer Beardsley to determine “what size of deficit to report publicly.” Once it determined the optimum number, leadership manipulated its fundraising, expenditures and draws from the endowment to match this pre-determined number. And that was the origin of the $6 million deficit the management kept touting.
Again, all of this was documented in the board minutes, and covered widely in the local media when the board minutes came to light. The legislature was furious about the deception, feeling that former President and CEO Michael Henson personally lied to them under oath. At least 10 lawmakers called him out by name and demanded his immediate resignation. Plus, a number of lawmakers began exploring ways to claw back the money, and at least 100 legislators demanded an immediate, independent audit of the organization. The City of Minneapolis was also furious about the deceptive finances, and as the lease holder for Orchestra Hall demanded a full report about what was happening and how the Hall was being used. When the management supplied a report that was obviously and demonstrably mendacious, Minneapolis demanded management submit a new one. And when that revised report turned out to be just as bad, the City began taking action to repossess Orchestra Hall—it was hours from doing so when the lockout ended.
All of this was extensively documented at the time.
The musicians—along with everyone else—were actively lied to. Repeatedly. Over many years. Which is why the public, local government, state government, and funders reacted so harshly. The two sides are not equivalent.
Mr. Royce continues that same pattern here. It’s the little details, like his glib summary of the lockout as essentially “both sides underestimated the others resolve.” “Egos got in the way.”
And more, and more. Scott’s an experienced hand at running non-profits, so he knows how to string up Royce. If you need an invigorating rant, even one that’s a little old, Mask of the Flower Prince should fill you right up. And, if you keep reading, you can get classical music recommendations, meditations on other topics, all from someone a lot brighter than me.
