WSO lays off entire orchestra, 30 full-time staff

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This article was published 18/03/2020 (2341 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has temporarily laid off its entire orchestra as the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to hammer the arts and culture industry.

Late Wednesday, layoff notices were issued to all 67 orchestra members as well as 30 members of the WSO’s administrative staff. The layoff is effective March 29.

“It’s heartbreaking,” WSO executive director Trudy Schroeder told the Free Press.

On Tuesday, the province announced it was encouraging the cancellation of events with more than 50 people. The Centennial Concert Hall, where the WSO performs, announced all events and rehearsals are cancelled or postponed until April 15.

“We have 67 musicians who can’t even get together to practice. If you’re not supposed to have a group of more than 50 in a room, well, just the orchestra is 67, let alone having any kind of an audience. We can’t get into the concert hall, and we’re not supposed to have events,” Schroder said.

“Our hope is that this is a temporary layoff, of course, and our hope is that the pandemic runs its course and we’re able to run events again. We… want to get back to playing music.”

Four of the current season’s shows have been cancelled or postponed, along with the WSO Spring Gala on April 20. The Manitoba Opera’s performances of Carmen (March 28, 31, and April 3) have been cancelled.

The WSO’s anticipated tour of the Netherlands this May, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of that country at the end of the Second World War, is up in the air as well, due to international travel restrictions.

Unless something major changes, the WSO stands to lose more than $1 million this year, Schroeder said. “Fiscally, this year is an absolute and total wreck — which is probably true for every business and arts organization.”

The cancellation of last weekend’s Troupe Vertigo performances, alone, meant a revenue loss of roughly $300,000.

“And every two weeks, our payroll is $283,000. So you get to the point where there’s no revenue coming in and there are gaping holes. It’s amazing how fast it can become horrendously bad,” Schroeder said.

“We started this year in the best financial position the WSO had ever been in. We had 12 consecutive years of operating surplus of almost $650,000 — which is not huge on a $10-million budget, but it’s better than nothing. And now, that entire surplus has been eroded. By April 30, barring any special input, we’ll have exactly $4,000.”

WSO is currently operating with a skeleton crew of about six.

Still, Schroeder remains optimistic of a comeback.

“The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is a pretty resilient organization. We have had tough times before. The thing is, this music, particularly in difficult times, I think about how important it is for a community to have access to these works of art, which are among the finest creations of humankind,” she said.

“Our main job now is to make sure there will be an orchestra to re-emerge at the end of this pandemic. I have confidence we’ll be able to do that, but we’ll need our community to rally around us.”

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti