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August 31, 2006
Symphony musicians get pay increase
The four-year contract is the result of 'positive' negotiations with orchestra management.
BY DAVID NICHOLSON
247-4794
NORFOLK -- Salaries for Virginia Symphony players will increase 23 percent over four years under a new agreement negotiated by musicians and orchestra management.
Pay for the orchestra's 54 core players will rise from $25,500 to $31,300 during the four-year contract. The increase has been a goal of the musicians for many years. It puts them on a par with other orchestras of similar size around the country, said Amanda Armstrong, a violinist and member of the musicians' negotiating committee.
Armstrong called the new agreement a "sea change" as a catalyst for moving the orchestra toward a more professional organization.
Ratified by the players in a secret ballot Monday night, the contract better defines the paid and unpaid leave that musicians use for professional development or to audition for other orchestra jobs. It makes a gradual transition to more daytime rehearsals, something common among more professional orchestras with full-time players.
The contract also contains an "electronic media guarantee" that allows for more recordings and radio and television broadcasts. Pension and health insurance benefits remain essentially the same, said Carla Johnson, the orchestra's president and general manager.
In return, the players agreed to participate in more community service activities designed to educate students and increase the orchestra's visibility.
These include solo or ensemble concerts in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other nontraditional music settings, said Johnson.
Last year the orchestra began an in-school program called S.O.A.R., which stands for School Orchestra Artistic Residency.
Both Armstrong and Johnson described the negotiating process, which began in January, as positive.
Johnson said the expanded concerts at the new Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, which has become the orchestra's best-selling series, will help pay for the salary increases. The orchestra also plans to offer more concerts at the Virginia Beach performing arts center set to open in 2007.
"But we still have a lot of tickets to sell and a lot of money to raise," she said.
Copyright © 2006, Daily Press
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The Virginia Symphony Orchestra with a complement of 79 professional musicians under the direction of Grammy-nominated Music Director JoAnn Falletta performs 140 concerts annually, reaching 200,000 concert goers every season in venues throughout the region. Our education and outreach programs reach 53,000 students and adult learners every year. The Virginia Symphony Orchestra is the cultural cornerstone of the performing arts in Hampton Roads.
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