Reinstate A. Remmereit

To sign a petition to the RPO Board asking they reinstate Arild Remmereit, go to www.change.org. See "Browse" then "Recent."

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Permalink Reply by Mark Sweetland on December 1, 2012 at 10:06am

As of Sat. at 10 AM, there were 324 signatures. And Arild according to news reports wishes to stay.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Sweetland on December 1, 2012 at 5:34pm

Now 429 signatures at 5:34 PM on Sat!

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Permalink Reply by Bill Nichthauser on December 2, 2012 at 11:27am

Mark, I went to the link above and could not find anything. I was tired of going to "next" looking for it. It might be the same petition I have been sent anyway. I refuse to sign anything if I do not know the whole story. And I do not think any of us do.

Sorry to disappoint you.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Sweetland on December 2, 2012 at 8:03pm

No problem, Bill. You have to go all the way to pg. 16 now, and I see there are 617 signatures. Maybe there is an easier way to get there by using search; not sure. I don't think we know the whole story. I just would like it if he could stay here. I think budget may have had something to do with it, and/or some dissatisfaction with his approach. Would be nice if we did know more.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Sweetland on December 3, 2012 at 10:55am

There is a way to search. Once you go to "Browse," there is a search to the right where putting in "Arild Remmereit" will take you to the petition, now with 717 signatures! (My last post, promise!)

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Permalink Reply by Marian Boutet on December 3, 2012 at 4:49pm

For what it's worth, here's a message I received over the weekend from the Board:

Understanding the Board of Director’s Decision on Arild Remmereit
From Elizabeth F. Rice, Chairperson of the Board

On November 28, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Board of Directors decided that 2012–13 will be Arild Remmereit’s final season as music director of the RPO.

The RPO is currently working out the details of an agreement with Mr. Remmereit, and discussing such matters would be grossly unfair to everyone involved; it would also be a distinct violation of the RPO’s own human-resources policy. The RPO does not make a habit of airing its personnel matters in public, and we are saddened and dismayed by people who feel compelled to report rumor and innuendo.

Understandably, there is significant interest in knowing why the RPO Board of Directors voted to terminate Arild Remmereit’s contract at the end of the 2012–13 season; while the RPO will not identify specific reasons, it is important to provide a reliable description of the background that led to this most difficult decision, and the lengthy process through which the board arrived at it.

The Background

Shortly after the RPO appointed Mr. Remmereit to be music director–designate in summer 2010, tensions developed between him and members of the RPO staff, board, and orchestra. At the time, board members provided Mr. Remmereit with constructive suggestions to assist in easing the tensions. By the end of Mr. Remmereit’s first season in 2011–12, the situation had only grown worse, despite several efforts by the board to mitigate the situation; the orchestra and staff were suffering, and the matter became of serious concern to the board.

In April 2012, after repeated attempts to repair the relationship between Mr. Remmereit and the RPO, the board commissioned Craviso & Associates to identify the underlying problems. As research for the report, Craviso & Associates interviewed Mr. Remmereit as well as people involved with the RPO at all levels.

The Process

In June 2012, the board agreed upon and communicated specific expectations for Mr. Remmereit to meet in the wake of the Craviso & Associates report so that the relationship between him and the RPO could be repaired. The board developed a protocol for monitoring his progress, provided Mr. Remmereit with a clear means for communicating with the board, and assigned him an advisor to help ensure success. Mr. Remmereit voluntarily agreed to meet these expectations and to follow the protocol.

After five months, the board reviewed Mr. Remmereit’s progress—a process that included input from the staff, his advisor, and board members, and a survey of orchestra musicians—and determined that he had not made sufficient effort to meet the agreed upon expectations and work toward repairing his relationship with the RPO. It was only at this point that the board, after serious consideration of the consequences, took this matter to a vote on November 28, and decided to terminate Mr. Remmereit’s contract.

Factors Considered

The decision to terminate Mr. Remmereit’s contract was made through thoughtful deliberation, and with a number of factors being considered, including the following:

the input and reaction of the musicians
the input and reaction of other RPO artistic leaders: Jeff Tyzik, Michael Butterman, and Christopher Seaman
the ability to sustain our operations with competent and capable personnel
the impact on major sponsors and patrons of the RPO
the reaction of the general public
the effect on year-end donations

After months of trying to remedy the situation, and assessing all of the above, the vast majority of the board agreed that the best option for the long-term future of the RPO was to release Mr. Remmereit from the contract, as the contract permits it to do. Our assessment of these factors has proven to be accurate and we are very comfortable with our decision.

Moving Forward

The RPO is more than any one individual. While a music director is the public face of an orchestra, just as important are the musicians who make the music. Our musicians have proven time and again that they can play at the highest artistic level with many different conductors and music directors.

The RPO has a vibrant pops program and a world-class principal pops conductor in Jeff Tyzik. It presents educational programs under the capable baton of Michael Butterman, and performs many free community concerts that reach 30,000 people each season.

Mr. Remmereit’s departure does not signal a loss of focus on innovative programming. We will be engaging many talented guest conductors in the future as we begin a search for a new music director. We are confident we can find someone who will bring passion and energy to the position. The RPO’s commitment to education, the community, and artistic excellence in music making remains constant. We hope you'll continue to support our remarkable musicians as so many have done over 90 the past years.

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Arild Remmereit, Music Director
Jeff Tyzik, Principal Pops Conductor
Michael Butterman, Principal Conductor for Education and Outreach
The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair
Christopher Seaman, Conductor Laureate
The Christopher Seaman Chair, Supported by Barbara and Patrick Fulford
and The Conductor Laureate Society
Charles H. Owens, President & CEO

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