Allegro

Currently Browsing: June, 2016

President's Report
Tino Gagliardi
Our union is about to celebrate a milestone: the 100th AFM Convention of Delegates will happen later this month. It’s worth getting a refresher on our history, which can also be found on the AFM’s web site. In the mid-1800s,

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler for Congress
The Local 802 Executive Board has endorsed Jerrold Nadler for re-election to U.S. Congress. Congressman Nadler represents New York’s 10th congressional district, which covers the west side of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. He has made artists and musicians a

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ALL LS-1 CONTRACTS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY JULY 15, 2016 for the benefit period that begins Sept. 1, 2016. IMPORTANT: There is NO MORE BUY UP from this point forward. Only teaching (private and institutional) and/or solo, live engagements performed

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Financial Vice Presidents Report
Tom Olcott
Local 802 has always sought to negotiate contracts with fair wages, reasonable working conditions, health care contributions and retirement benefits. After many decades of activism and countless hours of bargaining, Local 802 musicians currently enjoy a robust variety of collective

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A passionate union of music and activism
Chris Reza
My dad and I both grew up in the same small Pennsylvania town. And he was gay. And I was gay. And he killed himself. And I…became a lesbian cartoonist.” So says the character of Alison Bechdel in “Fun Home,”

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Organizing Matters
Maggie Russell-Brown
In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police conducted a now-infamous raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. The event led to what became known as the Stonewall Riots and is largely credited as launching the Gay

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The Musicians’ Voice is an open forum for discussion about the state of union affairs. The letters here do not necessarily express the views of Local 802. E-mail letters to Allegro@Local802afm.org or write to Allegro, Local 802, 322 West 48th

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Guest Commentary
Vincent Alvarez
New York City is a union town! It’s a chant heard at labor rallies all over the city, and it’s true – New York City was built and is continuing to be supported by union labor. And while the classic

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Does New York’s primary system need an overhaul?
Chris Carroll
April 19 came and went, and with it passed New York State’s presidential primary. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton collected 139 of 247 delegates, and real estate mogul Donald Trump secured 89 of 95 delegates. Though both results had

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Bettina Covo
Meet the newest fiddler of “Fiddler on the Roof”! Kelly Hall-Tompkins, a member of Local 802 since 1994, is the concertmaster of the Tony-nominated revival, which is running at the Broadway Theater. “Fiddler” is her first experience playing in a

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Legal Corner
Harvey Mars, Esq.
Recently, two extremely important decisions were rendered by the courts that are worth mentioning to all union activists and musicians. It is very heartening to see that there are judicial opinions being issued in this country that are favorable to

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Feature Interview
UPDATE: This article was re-posted in May 2020 as part of our #BestOfAllegro series. See the end of the article for Eva’s update during the coronavirus quarantine of 2020. French hornist Eva Conti is in her 18th season as principal

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Eva Conti
The festive, flashy costumes of the dancer, percussive footwork, and the impressive guitar playing that accompanies it, are usually the first things that come to mind when most people think of flamenco. Originating in the south of Spain, flamenco music

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Photo Feature
At Local 802, musicians support their fellow artists. We’ve recently begun producing a monthly benefit concert called “Jazz in the Afternoon,” featuring top Local 802 talent, with all proceeds benefiting the Local 802 Musicians’ Emergency Relief Fund. Below, Jay Leonhart

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Jazz Mentors
How do jazz musicians go about securing a viable career? Our new Jazz Mentors program has been attracting enthusiastic crowds to hear top artists tackle this question. As Allegro was going to press, Ron Carter, Bill Charlap, Renee Rosnes and

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Photo Feature
“The Firebird” was Stravinsky’s breakthrough piece in 1910. The American Ballet Theatre recently produced a performance of it, choreographed by the company’s artist in residence, Alexei Ratmansky, which received an outstanding review in the New York Times. On these pages,

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Member to Member
Ray Chew
One memorable experience that I had with Prince was at the 2006 BET awards tribute to Chaka Khan. Previous to this event, I had met but never worked with Prince. I always found him somewhat aloof by design. I was

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MARTY LASTER Marty Laster, 65, who first joined Local 802 in 1973, died on April 9. Mr. Laster’s career as a violinist, violist, mandolinist and guitarist spanned nearly 50 years. In addition to being a performer, he also composed, arranged,

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Melissa White
I joined Local 802 when I was invited to perform with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. My musical goal in New York City is to establish a performing and teaching residency for my string quartet, the Harlem Quartet. My most favorite

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Gwen Laster
I first joined Local 802 to sub on Broadway shows and have access to the various workshops, programs and opportunities offered. After a hiatus of subbing, I rejoined the union to begin subbing on “The King and I” and play

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Sally Barr
After living and playing classical violin with tremendous orchestras – and singing and playing with brilliant jazz and fusion groups in Santa Barbara as a member of AFM Local 308 for the past 23 years – I returned to New

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Susanne Chen
I joined Local 802 after spending years working at a day job in the I.T. field. I wanted to rebuild my musical career as quickly as possible, so joining an organization composed of so many top-notch musicians gives me the

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Darren Lucas
I joined Local 802 after moving from Minneapolis, where I was a member of AFM Local 30-73. I’ve been touring with various Broadway musicals as a guitarist. Most recently, I played in the national tour of “Sister Act,” where I

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Christopher Gurr
I am excited to be a member of Local 802, working as a pianist, music director and arranger in New York City. I joined the union to be a part of Broadway and Off Broadway productions such as “Clinton: the

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February 23, 2016 - March 15, 2016
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016 Meeting called to order at 11:05 a.m. by Financial Vice President Olcott. Present: Recording Vice President Schwartz, Executive Board members Brandford, Cranshaw, Cutler, Dougherty, Hyde, Sharman, Assistant to the President Bond. President Gaglardi absent on union

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News from the Actors Fund
Sarah Meier-Zimbler
The Actors Fund is your one-stop shop for almost any kind of service you can imagine. We offer counseling – both one-on-one and in groups – as well as information on all kinds of social services, including health insurance, housing,

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The Band Room
Bill Crow
In 1945, William Zinn had an audition for the Pittsburgh Symphony at 11 a.m. at Steinway Hall. Zinn lived in the Bronx, and the trains were slow that morning, so he arrived on 57th Street with only five minutes to

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