Anonymous donor gives Atlanta musicians a pay rise
mainThe Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players’ Association agreed today on a three-year contract extension, six months ahead of schedule.
The players will get a three percent pay rise annually over the three years.
An anonymous donor apparently made the deal possible.
The ASO has also agreed to fund 11 more seats in the orchestra, restoring a full complement of 88 musicians.
The deal draws the line beneath the residue of a bitter lockout of the musicians four years ago.
If you attended a ASO concert, you’d know there’s little to celebrate here. Their dedication, care & commitment ranks below a random university orchestra and until that changes, compensation should decrease by 3% yearly. RIP Robert Shaw.
Yadda yadda yadda. Atlanta’s been no good since Shaw. New York’s been no good since Bernstein. Chicago’s been no good since Solti (or better yet, Reiner). And on and on.
+1
Only 77 full-time orchestra musicians must have made it difficult to play a whole load of repertoire. And perhaps made it difficult to maintain high musical standards when a large section of players are changing from concert to concert.