On Monday, the Eastern Music Festival board of directors announced its vote to dissolve the organization. The nationally recognized summer educational and musical performance program was founded in 1962.
The board's decision followed nearly two years of negotiations. In a statement, it called the musicians’ union demand for control over managerial, programmatic and staffing decisions a key sticking point.
Speaking on behalf of the musicians, percussionist and lead negotiator John Shaw says he and his colleagues have always been committed to education. At issue for them was the performance aspect of the festival.
"We were just trying to come to a collective agreement to keep the model of the festival unchanged," says Shaw. "We just wanted to get the commitment from them that none of us were going to be needlessly fired."
EMF Executive Director Chris Williams calls that model almost fictional.
"EMF had a 64-year run history, and it changed shapes and sizes over time," says Williams. "There was never a set number of faculty. There was never even a set curriculum. There were times when we tried a little jazz program. There were times when we tried a choral program. There were times when things changed."
Williams adds that an unchanging model doesn’t fit with the needs of a nonprofit in this day and age.
Over the past six decades, more than 10,000 young musicians from 40 countries have participated in the festival.
EMF will soon begin identifying suitable nonprofits and transferring its remaining assets.
