Striking San Antonio Symphony musicians receive pledge of $10,000 in support from Baltimore
- Courtesy of San Antonio Symphony
- The San Antonio Symphony’s musicians began a strike Monday, September 27.
After a call to action by the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) to support the San Antonio Symphony’s striking musicians, the Baltimore Symphony Musicians have pledged $10,000 to the cause.
“In response to this ‘CALL TO ACTION’ the @bso_musicians have unanimously approved a gift of $10,000 to support our brothers and sisters, the @musiciansofSAS. We are behind you 100% and encourage other orchestras and individuals to follow suit as they can,” read a tweet posted by the Baltimore Symphony Musicians account Thursday.
The San Antonio Symphony’s musicians initiated their strike Monday after the Symphony Society voted to impose the terms of its “Last, Best and Final Offer,” which would cut the orchestra’s full time musicians from 72 to 42, reducing 26 positions to part-time and eliminating four positions entirely.
“The Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony are grateful to our colleagues in Baltimore and elsewhere who stand with us in our unfair labor practice strike,” Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony (MOSAS) Chair Mary Ellen Goree told the Current over email.
While the San Antonio Symphony website currently states that “all concert programs remain as announced,” MOSAS has asked that supporters of the orchestra not attend “purported Symphony performances by musicians who are not the true San Antonio Symphony musicians” while the strike is in effect.
The orchestra was also slated to perform as part of OPERA San Antonio’s production of Don Giovanni next week, but the opera company has made alternate arrangements for its performances.
Don Giovanni will instead feature pianist Mario Marra and additional musicians that have yet to be announced.
“Representatives of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and the Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony have declined OSA’s offer to engage their artists for the production of Don Giovanni,” OSA said in an emailed statement.
“OSA’s objective has been to provide work for artists within its capabilities, and OSA is deeply disappointed there is not a path forward to engage the musicians now.”
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