“After nearly nine months of a concert season lost to a musicians’ strike and failed contract negotiations, the 83-year-old San Antonio Symphony is no more,” writes Nicholas Frank in Thursday’s (6/16) San Antonio Report (TX). “The Symphony Society of San Antonio board of directors announced Thursday that it had reached a unanimous decision to dissolve the orchestra and file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy…. The board of directors cited the withdrawal from negotiations of the musicians’ union, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 23, in April, and musicians’ demands for ‘a budget that is millions of dollars in excess of what the Symphony can afford.’ During negotiations that began in 2021, the musicians and the orchestra management made multiple proposals to continue the 2021-2022 season with concessions including a reduced schedule and wage reductions. What ended negotiations was the musicians’ refusal to accept a two-tier wage schedule imposed on them by management in September, which resulted in a strike that continued until the season was canceled in May…. The board of directors thanked ‘the hundreds of talented musicians and administrative staff who have served our organization since its founding.’ ”
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