Musicians from the San Antonio Symphony have been on strike for almost nine months, resisting the sudden cuts that management has proposed to destroy the ensemble. As the controversy prolonged, much of the 2021-22 season was canceled, players found part-time jobs, and mediators sought to negotiate a compromise to save the 83-year-old orchestra.
The deadlock ended Thursday with the announcement that the Symphony had filed for bankruptcy and decided to dissolve. The symphony orchestra’s board, which claimed that maintaining a large orchestra would be too expensive, especially during a coronavirus pandemic, said there was no way forward.
“I regret it very much,” the board said. statement“The Board of Directors of the San Antonio Symphony has announced the dissolution of the San Antonio Symphony.”
The board said the musician’s request to maintain work and payments would require “agreeing to a budget of millions of dollars more than what a symphony can afford.”
With this decision, San Antonio, with a population of 1.5 million, will be the largest city in the United States without a major orchestra.
“”A major American city that can’t support an orchestra loses tremendous inspiration to history and the community, “said Simon Woods, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the American Orchestra Federation. “It’s just incredibly sad.”
Many orchestra players said they were disappointed with the announcement and were disappointed that they couldn’t reach a compromise. Since the strike began in late September, some have replaced other orchestras such as Boston, New York, Dallas and Nashville.
“It’s sad and it’s completely unnecessary,” said Mary Ellen Gory, a former second violinist of the orchestra involved in the negotiations. “I strongly hope that our leadership has removed ourselves without burning up the organization.”
The pandemic, which forced many orchestras to cancel concerts for more than a season, exacerbated these problems. The majority of orchestras were able to return to the concert hall this past season, relying on government grants and increased donations, but other orchestras struggled to reopen.
In San Antonio, orchestra managers have cut sharp cuts, including reducing the size of full-time ensembles from 72 to 42 by more than 40%, shortening seasons and cutting wages by almost one-third. I quoted a pandemic that justifies the need.
Musicians resisted these moves and blamed managers for mismanagement and greed. The controversy became extraordinarily fierce as the orchestra discontinued the health insurance of the striking player.
The board continued to defend the cut, stating that a cut was needed to avoid the financial crisis. Musicians then accused managers of misusing pandemics to drive salary and allowance cuts.
Gory, who joined the orchestra in 1988, said the musician would continue to look for ways to play in the community under a new name. Over the past few months, they have held concerts independent of symphonies in their local churches and have raised their own money. They hope to announce the fall season soon.
“San Antonio is a major city and can support major orchestras,” she said.
