By The Shout

Wichita Symphony, musicians’ union agree to three-year deal

The Wichita Symphony Orchestra reached an agreement with Wichita Musicians' Association, local union No. 297 of the American Federation of Musicians, reports Shasheer Naveed for the Wichita Business Journal. The new contract begins July 1 and runs for three years. 

Contract negotiations began Jan. 31,  (WSO Executive Director Tim) Storhoff told the WBJ, and a final vote was held April 15. Forty-five union members unanimously approved the contract, which will cover around 80 orchestra musicians...

The new contract includes structured wage increases over three years, improved rehearsal pay policies and refined language around artistic evaluations and musician protections, the Wichita Symphony's news release said. It also reduces the pay gap between principals, the designated principal player or leader within a section of the orchestra, and the section musicians, who constitute the majority of the orchestra.

Bethel College leader signs statement on political interference in higher ed

Jon C. Gering, president of Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, appears to be the only leader of a Kansas college or university to sign “A Call for Constructive Engagement,” an open letter initiated by the American Association of Colleges and universities. The letter, which has 606 signatures as of yesterday, begins:

As leaders of America’s colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education. We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.

“President Gering, who rarely signs public statements, added his name in recognition of the urgent need to preserve higher education's essential freedoms: the freedom to teach, to learn, and to exchange ideas,” according to an April 29 statement posted on Bethel’s Facebook page. 

Bethel is a private religious college associated with the Mennonite Church USA. Many leaders of art schools have also signed the letter, including Allison Puff, co-interim president of the Kansas City Art Institute in KCMO.

Briefly

• Mulberry Arts. Inc., which administers Wichita’s Mulberry Art Gallery, is one of 22 organizations to receive a Mid-America Arts Alliance cultural sustainability grant, “a pilot program supporting culturally driven arts organizations and arts-centric businesses with operating expenses under $500,000,” MAAA announced on Thursday. Mulberry is one of two Kansas organizations to receive the $50,000 grant. The other is the Museum of Deaf History Arts and Culture, Inc., in Olathe.
• "Getting your film in front of audiences is an (expletive) marathon,” reports Wichita-based film producer and exhibitor Lela Meadow-Conner in an entertaining interview with Brook Berman. We recently featured Meadow-Conner in the first installment of Creative Lives Kansas, a video series by Kseynya Gurshtein and Ellie Keppy. 
• The Active Age covers "The Mothership Has Landed," a show by art collective ID...ology. It's on view at CityArts in Wichita's Old Town Square.

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