In Thursday’s (8/25) Courier-Journal, Patrick Howington reports, “The Louisville Orchestra has canceled its September and October concerts because of the ongoing contract dispute with musicians, including their New York-based union’s threat to fine members who show up for work. ‘The musicians’ bargaining unit and their union are forbidding their own members from showing up for work,’ orchestra CEO Robert Birman said in a statement. ‘What this means is that a resolution to our labor impasse is not imminent.’ The cancellations were announced late Wednesday by the orchestra’s board of directors, two and a half weeks before the season’s opening performance was scheduled to occur on Sept. 10. Six concerts will be canceled from the Pops, orKIDStra, and Coffee and Classics series, the statement said. However, that doesn’t include all scheduled events, including educational and Kentucky Opera performances, said orchestra violinist Kim Tichenor. … Tichenor, head of the players’ negotiating committee, said she was surprised to hear of the cancellations. … She said musicians are ‘more than willing to work for what we made last year’ and are willing to extend the current contract and continuing playing concerts while talks continue.”
Posted August 25, 2011
