The work stoppage has forced a cancellation of the Verdi Requiem performances.
Amid the San Francisco Symphony’s financial troubles, the orchestra’s chorus members on Thursday went on strike, forcing a cancellation of the upcoming performances of Verdi’s Requiem.
More than 150 musicians and patrons joined the chorus on picket lines, which started Thursday evening in front of Davies Symphony Hall, just before the Verdi concert was to begin.
“Management has repeatedly failed to show how targeting the Symphony’s internationally acclaimed Choristers will solve their alleged financial issues,” said Ned Hanlon, the president of the American Guild of Musical Artists, which represents the chorus union members. “We urge management to immediately return to the bargaining table and work toward a real solution that honors the work of these dedicated artists and gets everyone back to creating beautiful music.”
Matthew Spivey, the orchestra’s chief executive officer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He recently told The New York Times that the orchestra has been “living beyond our means,” having struggled for years with deficits, a shrinking donor base and the decline of the old subscription model of season tickets.
Esa-Pekka Salonen, the symphony’s music director, declined through a spokesman to comment.
Despite the orchestra’s endowment fund, valued at about $315 million — one of the largest of any ensemble in the United States — the union has said that management pushed “for unsustainable and disproportionate cuts to the Chorus.”
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