Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago (Santiago Chile Orchestra)
An open letter to musicians around the world
Fellow Musicians,
The Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago, choir and workers of the Municipal Theater (Teatro Municipal) in Santiago, Chile,
sound an alert to the international artistic community, concerning a grave crisis which has been imposed on us by our administration.
In an effort to resolve labor disputes that could perhaps be best described as "kamikaze", the Corporation Cultural of Santiago,
the administrative body which governs the cultural activity of the Municipal Theater, has revealed it's intention to fire the
entire Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago! Foreign musicians and productions are being contracted to replace the theater's own
orchestra and chorus as this letter is being drafted. Needless to say, the situation could best be described as volatile.
Please be advised that satisfactory working conditions in the theater cannot be assured, given that serious artistic,
financial and safety aspects have been "swept under the rug" by an administration that seems to be more interested in
sustaining a modern feudal system than it is in making a serious and lasting contribution to this country's cultural evolution.
In January of this year, the core orchestra was reduced by more than 15%, (as was the chorus and other technical areas) and
was left with the need to rely on freelance musicians as replacements. After management neglected payment for lapses up to
8 months, the replacement players refused to perform until their overdue wages and taxes had been brought up to date.
The administration, instead of quickly resolving the conflict with the freelance players, decided to extend negotiations
causing the cancellation of a performance of Verdi's Othello. The following day, again after unsuccessful negotiations
with the extras, management proceeded to extract vengeance on all the musicians, unveiling their long awaited, oft-mentioned
plan to re-restructure the orchestra and suspend the rest of the 2006 season (Opera, Concerts and Ballet w/Orchestra)
including the remaining sold-out performances of Othello.
At this crucial point in the Orquesta Filarmonica's otherwise stellar 50-year history we invite our peers in other parts of
the culturally globalized world to reflect on the ideals and ethics that motivate all manner of artistic expression, and to
join us in denouncing this malicious act of cultural vandalism in a country which boasts of vanguard economic development,
two Nobel prizes in literature, and one of the 20th century's foremost interpreters of Beethoven's vast piano repertoire.
Please share this message with as many colleagues as possible, and feel free to contact us with any suggestions or observations
that may help us in our defense of Chile's cultural legacy.
Thank You
Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago
Email: filarmon@entelchile.net
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