In Thursday’s (7/4) Kansas City Star, Steve Paul writes, “In a show of operational harmony, the Kansas City Symphony and its musicians have reached agreement on a three-year contract a full year ahead of schedule. The new contract, effective July 1, 2014, and ratified by the Symphony board recently, includes a boost in musicians’ base salary and other enhancements.” Paul reports that the orchestra has seen rising ticket sales and “eked out an unplanned $200,000 surplus on its $13.5 million budget. ‘We wanted to settle early as a signal that not only are things going well, but we all want to be part of a proactive plan,’ said Frank Byrne, the Symphony’s executive director and principal negotiator … In the forthcoming 2013-14 season, the base salary is $50,065; by the 2016-17 season, that will increase to $54,284. Musicians also will get small increases in family health insurance coverage, their retirement plans and seniority pay … Brian Rood, a veteran trumpeter and chair of the musicians’ negotiating committee, attributes the Symphony’s success to the rare continuity of board, staff and artistic leadership. He and everyone else noted that Shirley Helzberg’s longtime guidance … has been crucial to the orchestra’s fiscal and creative successes. Rood also applauded artistic director Michael Stern’s leadership.”
Posted July 8, 2013
