Category Archives: All News

General Membership Meeting: July 22, 2019

Members: please join us for our Summer Membership Meeting on Monday night. Arrive early for BBQ and a movie!

6:30 p.m. – BURNT TO A CRISP food truck
(First 20 members to arrive get a FREE food voucher!)

7 p.m. – MPTF Film Screening: “MusicianFest: Never Too Old” (10 min.)

7:30 p.m. – Meeting

On the Agenda (subject to change):
* Presentation of 50-Year Pins 
* Special Election to Fill Vacancy on Executive Board
* Investments Update from Alon Haim, Merrill Lynch
* Officer Reports
* Old and New Business

Open to all members in good standing.

Join us at 6:30 p.m. to enjoy delicious BBQ from the BURNT TO A CRISP TEXAS SMOKEHOUSE food truck. We’ll have complimentary vouchers for the first 20 members to arrive!

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SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL VACANCY ON EXECUTIVE BOARD

During the meeting there will be a special election to fill a vacancy on the Executive Board, currently held temporarily by P. Blake Cooper as appointed by the Board. For information on Vacancies and Special Elections, please refer to Articles IX and X of the AFM Local 47 Bylaws, available in the members section of our website or upon request from the Secretary/Treasurer’s Office.

At 7 p.m. we will present a special 10-minute screening of the new documentary MusicianFest: Never Too Old. Created by the Music Industries’ Music Performance Trust Fund, the film highlights the power of music to bring joy, purpose, connectivity, and healing to all people. It explores the paths that led the professional AFM musicians featured in the film, many who are seniors themselves, to perform for older audiences in New York City, New Orleans and Long Beach, California. Continue reading →

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Services for Ethmer C. Roten Jr.

Additional Details

 

Time: Church Service – 1 p.m.
 
Reception/Celebration of Life – 2-4 p.m.
 
 
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donating to Inspiring Notes, Inc.,
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to create classical music experiences that educate, enrich and inspire our youth and families in the San Fernando Valley, and help to fill the gap in music education in our public schools. 
 
Ethmer performed and taught music to young and old all of his life. His participation in the Inspiring Notes free music education program gave him the opportunity to  teach more than 30,000 youth these past 11 years.  
 
Please send your donations to:
Inspiring Notes, Inc.
11100 Sepulveda Blvd. # 292
Mission Hills, CA 91345

Your contributions are tax deductible.
Tax-exempt ID number is 71-1051594
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Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra: Another View

In response to a laudatory article about the non-union Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra titled “This orchestra wants no conductor: How Kaleidoscope aims to move in different directions” published in the LA Times by Rick Schultz on Feb. 13, 2019, we share another view written by AFM Local 47 Director Vivian Wolf. Kaleidoscope refuses to sign onto an AFM contract and currently appears on the union’s Do Not Work For list for failure to pay musicians according to industry standards. Along with the entire Executive Board, Wolf is deeply concerned about this situation, and Local 47 will continue to reach out to Kaleidoscope in order to discuss organizing the orchestra and its musicians under an AFM agreement.

It was with great interest that I read the article by Rick Schultz describing the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra. The article was highly laudatory and indeed, there is much to praise about the ensemble founded by Benjamin Mitchell. It is the only conductor-less orchestra in the Los Angeles area, it brings music to unique venues and champions new repertoire. What it doesn’t do, is pay the performers a fair wage. In fact, by refusing any involvement with the American Federation of Musicians Local 47, Kaleidoscope is exploiting the enthusiasm and energy of its young musicians. Even though the ensemble receives many large contributions, the orchestra does not have any kind of contract and certainly doesn’t offer the players any health or pension benefits — benefits that would be in play under a union contract. Continue reading →

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EMD Report: Residuals and Royalties

by Roxanne Castillo, Esq.

I have been receiving many calls asking how and when residuals and royalties are triggered and from where the money comes. Residuals and royalties flow from primary markets, secondary markets, and copyrights. Here is a quick guide to help you pinpoint how the money flows and to whom you should reach out if you suspect you are owed money but have yet to see a check. Continue reading →

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Thomas Stevens Memorial Scholarship Launched for Young Trumpeters

Thomas Stevens

Thomas Stevens

The Center for Advanced Musical Studies is delighted to announce the Thomas Stevens Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship for young trumpeters who embody the musicality, educational drive and compassion of the brilliant trumpeter, composer, pedagogue, and friend Thomas Stevens (1938-2018). Continue reading →

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Symphonic Jazz Orchestra: Music in the Schools

Keeping classical & jazz alive one classroom at a time

by Linda A. Rapka

A self-proclaimed torchbearer for its uniquely innovative hybrid art, the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra proudly stands as the only orchestra in the nation dedicated solely to blending the worlds of jazz and classical music. Since its founding in 2001, the 67-piece orchestra has commissioned 13 new works and performed seven world premieres, along with three U.S. premieres. Each year SJO presents a free symphonic jazz concert for the community at the Carpenter Performing Arts center at Cal State Long Beach, and this year’s concert in March included a rare arrangement of “Rhapsody in Blue” with Grammy Award-winning pianist Bill Cunliffe. Continue reading →

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Ol’ Blue Eyes Delights Visitors to AFM Local 47

Jerry Sharell, his son Jeff and Vice President Rick Baptist in front of the Frank Sinatra mural at AFM Local 47.

One fateful night in 1980, AFM Local 47 member Jerry Sharell jumped on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity thanks to his friend, Nancy Sinatra. The daughter of legendary “Rat Pack” performer Frank Sinatra invited Sharell to her father’s concert at Los Angeles’ Universal Amphitheater, where he performed with full orchestra. Continue reading →

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Burbank Philharmonic Announces 19th Annual Young Artist Competition

The Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra, in conjunction with the Hennings-Fischer Foundation, will hold the 19th Annual Young Artist Competition on May 4, 2019. The preliminary rounds will take place on May 1 and 2 with finals on Saturday, May 4 at 7 p.m. (with audience). The finals will take place at Brand Library in Glendale. Continue reading →

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