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Musicians' Association of Hawai'i Local 677,
American Federation of Musicians
Michael J. Largarticha, President
B.K. "Benny" Villaverde, Vice President
Marsha Schweitzer, Secretary-Treasurer
http://www.honolulusymphonymusicians.org/www.livemusicbiz.com/local677.htm

MEDIA ADVISORY CONTACT:
SCOTT FOSTER
fosters005@hawaii.rr.com
(808) 637-4262

DIFFICULT TIMES, BUT LOCAL MUSICIANS PLAY ON
Weekend Performances Will Feature HSO Musicians

HONOLULU: OCTOBER 24, 2003 - Usually guest artists from around the world are brought in to perform with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (HSO). But this weekend (Friday night at 8 pm and Sunday afternoon at 4pm) at the Neal Blaisdell Center, you can experience the HSO performing with two of their own in the spotlight as featured soloists. Mike Szabo, Bass Trombonist will give the Hawai'i premiere of the Bass Trombone Concerto by Eric Ewazen. A special treat for early arrivals, composer Eric Ewazen will be speaking at the "Concert Conversations" one hour before each concert. Mike Szabo noted, "While it's always an honor to play with my colleagues on a daily basis, considering recent events, it means a lot more to be able to play a solo with them. It's given me an opportunity to show people what it is we do and why this Symphony is so indispensable to our community."

And Darel Stark, Associate Principal Second Violin, will perform the Hawai'i premiere of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by William Schuman. "A performance of this concerto would have been impossible by a smaller orchestra. The financial cuts have been a very hard thing for all of us to deal with, especially considering the sudden nature in which they came about," said Stark. "Friday and Sunday are going to be very special for me because it will be my opportunity to share the music I love with the people of Hawai'i. I hope that the long term stability of the orchestra will aggressively be pursued by the board and management so that concerts like this weekend's, which focus on local players, can continue to be shared with the community."

This concert will be conducted by returning Japanese guest conductor Naoto Otomo and will also feature Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, Opus 76 - the "Pathetique."

The Honolulu Symphony Musicians, currently in year two of a five year contract, have recently agreed to a 20% reduction in salary for the third and fourth years of their contract in order to protect their already small core of 63 full-time and 20 part-time musicians. In addition, they will lose 25% of their pension contributions in those two years. Year five will be negotiated at the end of the 2005-2006 season which includes the possibility of reinstating the orchestra salaries to a minimum of this season's wages, weeks, and pension contributions.

The Musicians' Association of Hawaii Local 677 AFM was formed in 1923 and has about 700 members. While mainly composed of professional musicians, anyone with an interest in music may join. It is a statewide organization, and a part of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada. The AFM has some 100,000 members.