Symphonic metamorphoses Variations on vulnerability: orchestral musicians’ employment in times of crisis

Motivated and augmented by musicians' articulated concerns, Symphonic Metamorphoses moves through two selected national terrains renowned for orchestral excellence: the Netherlands and the United States. Although Dutch and U.S.-based orchestral musicians perform virtually the same tasks, the organizations that employ them rely on totally different means of support. The fundamental question of how employees are differentiated from the self-employed in the sector is given pride of place throughout. While a great deal of academic awareness has been paid to precarity in a multiplicity of sectors, orchestral musicians have for the most part escaped such attention. This enquiry hopes to augment existing research by discussing vulnerabilities exacerbated by economic and other forms of crisis including the COVID-19 pandemic to contribute to an understanding of an oft­-forgotten sector. Drawing on original source materials and extensive interviews, Symphonic Metamorphoses intends to provoke discussion and to enlarge the frame of reference for further research.
The research is divided into five parts, (Background to Orchestral Journeys; Symphonic Variations: orchestral employment and the law; Symphonic Variations: the original gig workers; Dissonance: discrimination in the orchestra, and Closing Chords) further subdivided into movements, which impart essential information and intermezzi, which supply ancillary information. Analysis of relevant jurisprudence from the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad (HR) as well as case law from the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reflect the impact of judicial decision-making on the orchestral work floor in the two countries selected for analysis.
The voices of musicians who took part in legal actions shed new light on tensions and contradictions that cloud the interpretation and implementation of judicial holdings. Notes of encouragement can be found in accounts of employment-related victories on the part of individual musicians, and the positive reliance on new variations on alt-labor.