In a lengthy article in Monday’s (5/30) Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), Elizabeth Kramer writes, “On the eve of its 75th anniversary season, the future of the Louisville Orchestra could begin unfolding today. The orchestra, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy early last December, must submit its reorganization plan to U.S. Bankruptcy Court by Tuesday—the same day that its collective-bargaining agreement with musicians, signed in 2006, ends. … ‘We’re working through all the issues and meeting pretty regularly,’ said the orchestra’s chief executive, Robert Birman, last week. ‘And we’re getting into pretty significant levels of detail.’ Birman also declined to comment about the bankruptcy case, or the plan due to U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge David T. Stosberg [on] Tuesday. … if the orchestra isn’t ready to submit a plan, the court could give it more time to work on one or could accept plans from creditors, and the Louisville Orchestra Musicians’ Association is counting itself among them, because the administration is behind in its payments to the musicians’ pension. Instead of closing up shop while working on a reorganization plan, the orchestra’s administration was compelled to maintain its just-concluded season—which was budgeted at $6.9 million last year before the filing—because Stosberg rejected its motion seeking interim relief from the collective-bargaining agreement.”
Posted May 31, 2011
