“The Houston Symphony continues to navigate a most unusual era, producing a viable and vibrant 2020-21 season despite necessary concessions to a pandemic that kept its music director an ocean away and its listeners attending through livestreams and socially distant performances,” writes Andrew Dansby in Wednesday’s (10/6) Houston Chronicle. “Then the symphony announced a new incoming music director, Juraj Valčuha, who will take over for the 2022-23 season. And now the Houston Symphony announced a new contract with the American Federation of Musicians, Local 65-699.… The contract will keep the symphony’s musicians performing through a new five-year deal, which is the longest in the organization’s history. John Mangum, executive director and CEO of the organization, said the deal ‘will create long-term stability for the Houston Symphony as we continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic.’ … Music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada … concludes his final season in the spring and [Valčuha’s] first season begins in September 2022. The contract went into effect Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 3, 2026. The deal includes matters of health care, restoration of the musicians’ pre-pandemic salaries by October 2022 through incremental increases. Musicians also negotiated for additional leave for birth and adoption of a child.”
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