Musicians forced to take a cut in pay

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This article was published 18/09/2003 (8319 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ON the eve of what might be their do or die season, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra musicians have been forced to take another pay cut.

“The musicians have made a decision to contribute to the plan,” said Patti Sullivan, who heads the WSO’s interim management committee.

“Other details will be made available when they’re ready to be rolled out.”

The CBC reported yesterday that the 65-member orchestra agreed to a wage rollback of 15 per cent and CJOB reported total concessions of $470,000. But the WSO players’ committee spokesman, Richard Turner, could not be reached last night to confirm the figures.

The orchestra is set to open a full season of concerts tomorrow and Saturday nights at the Centennial Concert Hall with music director Andrey Boreyko conducting a tribute to the music of his home town, St. Petersburg, Russia.

It was unclear yesterday whether Boreyko had also agreed to a salary reduction to help offset what could be another season of horrendous losses at the box office.

The organization carries an official deficit of $1.8 million, and this was supposed to rise to $3.3 million by the end of the last fiscal year in June. The organization, which has no official board of directors, hasn’t held an annual meeting, as is its custom, in September.

The provincial department of culture, which is essentially running the show, is apparently on the hook for WSO losses. The orchestra did not pay many of its creditors last season and has not paid its hall rental to the Manitoba Centennial Centre Corp. for almost two seasons.

In June, the interim management committee, appointed by the province last winter, submitted a sub-contracted business plan to the province. But no information contained in the plan has been made public since then.

Last spring the musicians voted to accept a 20 per cent rollback for the last two months of the season. Boreyko contributed 50 per cent of his pay for the same period.

At full salary, WSO musicians earn an average of $40,000 for their 38 weeks of work, which is similar to what musicians at similarly sized Canadian orchestras make.

The orchestra performed a promotional concert outdoors at The Forks in a drizzle last Sunday afternoon.

About 150 people took in the free show, according to WSO marketing director Marnie Grona.

She referred all queries about the state of the WSO season ticket sales to Sullivan, who did not return a phone call on the subject earlier this week.

morley.walker@freepress.mb.ca

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