Springfield Symphony Orchestra and musicians sign new contract: Agreement ends often acrimonious talks over past two-plus years

By STEVE PFARRER

Staff Writer

Published: 05-15-2023 11:17 AM

SPRINGFIELD — Almost three years after their last contract expired, and following months of contentious negotiations for a new one, musicians with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) have agreed to a new deal with the orchestra’s management.

The two-year contract, set to take effect in June, calls for 5% raises for musicians in Union Local 171 in both years and for a minimum of eight concerts by SSO in each year, with additional chamber music performances in the area, and possibly some additional larger shows.

And, after negotiations became bitter enough that musicians formed their own group to perform concerts, and also filed unfair labor practice complaints against SSO management, both sides say they’re committed to working together to restore classical music to the city and bring back fans who may have been turned off by the acrimony.

At an announcement last week at Springfield Symphony Hall, Paul Lambert, SSO’s new president and CEO, said the challenges of maintaining an orchestra in the city are “very real.”

But, he added, everyone is now focused on building the orchestra’s audience, as well as fostering more philanthropic and business support that’s needed to make SSO sustainable.

“For the SSO to survive and thrive, we need all parties working in harmony and in the same direction to bring this magnificent music and our talented musicians to the entire community,” Lambert said.

For her part, Beth Welty, president of Local 171, said members were pleased with the new agreement, adding that they’re ready to bring more music to the greater Springfield region.

“The SSO belongs to everyone and we are committed to making our music available to all,” Welty said.

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At last week’s conference, Welty also noted that though musicians, a good number of whom live in the Valley, had pushed for having 10 concerts each year, the players settled for eight, given the financial hardships the orchestra has faced in recent years.

Like every other performing group, SSO struggled when the pandemic shut down live performances beginning in early 2020. But after the musicians’ last contract expired in August 2020, players became frustrated with what they said was management’s lack of commitment to them and to bringing back live music.

The players formed their own group, Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MOSSO), in summer 2021 and began staging separate shows that year and in 2022.

Amid the stalled contract talks, the group also filed an unfair labor practice complaint against SSO management — and in early 2022, the National Labor Relations Board ordered SSO to pay its musicians $276,406 in back wages.

However, as part of the new contract, an additional complaint musicians filed with the NLRB, for breaking off contract talks, has now been dropped.

In addition, MOSSO will now be known as the Springfield Chamber Players and will organize smaller concerts in the region, in part to bring more attention to SSO as a whole. The group will also not compete with SSO for fundraising.

Last week, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the city is offering a $280,000 grant to SSO, to be spread over two years, in addition to $80,000 from the city’s federal pandemic relief funding, which will be used for educational purposes.

Lambert says SSO also hopes to hire a new permanent music director to replace former longtime director Kevin Rhodes, whose contract was not renewed during the pandemic. The orchestra’s concerts have been led by guest conductors since 2022.

Now, to wrap things up, SSO will stage its final concert for 2022-2023, “Beauty Amid Chaos,” this Saturday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Symphony Hall. Led by guest conductor Theodore Kuchar, the concert features former Valley resident and UMass Amherst music teacher Matt Haimovitz as a guest cellist.

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