New York Times Proves My Point on Foreign Orchestras

From today's Times:

When the great orchestras of Europe glide through the United States on tour, they stay at elegant hotels like Le Parker Meridien near Carnegie Hall, play in grand spaces like Symphony Hall in Boston and can receive more than $100 a day in meal money.

Then there is the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra.

The pay? About $40 a concert in most cases, the musicians said.

Check out the map of this foreign orchestra's most recent tour. Did they play in your jurisdiction? Can you compete with $40 a concert? AFM collected a visa processing fee for every member of this sweatshop foreign orchestra.

It is more clear than ever why we have to redirect visa processing fees to MPTF to offset unfair competition from sweatshop foreign orchestras.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/arts/music/04symphony.html