The Musicians of the KSO are excited our unfortunate furlough is over, and we are eager to bring back live classical music to our community. Thank you to all of our supporters who stood by us during this difficult time.
The musicians of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra voted by an overwhelming majority on Thursday to reject an offer from management to renew the season and reinstate them with a drastic pay cut.
On August 24, KSO management publicly announced the cancellation of the season and furlough of musicians through January 31, in violation of the current collective bargaining agreement. Privately, however, they contacted the musicians and said they would reinstate the season and hold concerts if the musicians would agree to a 27.5 percent pay cut.
“The movement to furlough us was a strong-arm tactic to force us to accept a drastic pay cut that would have made many musicians dependent on government assistance,” says Sam Chen, a member of the orchestra negotiating committee. “Musicians on salary would have been cut from $31,500 to $18,000 annually after health insurance costs.”
Even with the drastic pay cut, musicians considered accepting the agreement as long as management allowed time off to pursue part-time work that would help them survive, but that was refused. “Management asked us to be available 14 hours a day, 6 days a week to perform on demand,” Chen says. “We could not agree to that in good conscience. We want this orchestra to survive, but it can’t if the musicians are starving.”
The Knoxville Symphony has over $9 million in unrestricted cash on hand, the result of aggressive moves to fund the endowment while keeping musician salaries on the poverty line.
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The musicians of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra voted by an overwhelming majority on Thursday to reject an offer from management to renew the season and reinstate them with a drastic pay cut. On August 24, KSO management publicly announced the cancellation of the season and furlough of musicians through January 31, in violation of the current collective bargaining agreement. Privately, however, they contacted the musicians and said they would reinstate the season and hold concerts if the musicians would agree to a 27.5 percent pay cut.“The movement to furlough us was a strong-arm tactic to force us to accept a drastic pay cut that would have made many musicians dependent on government assistance,” says Sam Chen, a member of the orchestra negotiating committee. “Musicians on salary would have been cut from $31,500 to $18,000 annually after health insurance costs.”Even with the drastic pay cut, musicians considered accepting the agreement as long as management allowed time off to pursue part-time work that would help them survive, but that was refused. “Management asked us to be available 14 hours a day, 6 days a week to perform on demand,” Chen says. “We could not agree to that in good conscience. We want this orchestra to survive, but it can’t if the musicians are starving.” The Knoxville Symphony has over $9 million in unrestricted cash on hand, the result of aggressive moves to fund the endowment while keeping musician salaries on the poverty line.
In case you weren’t at our February Masterworks, this was the leaflet that we handed out to our wonderful audience. We need all the support we can get in our contract negotiation. It was inspiring and encouraging to see all the bright blue waving leaflets during the audience’s rambunctious applause.
This week we gathered a large group of musicians to surprise KSO management with a variety of home-baked cookies. While we want a fair contract, and negotiations can get tense for all involved, we wanted to show our appreciation for ALL the staff that keep the organization running.
Our musicians share their musical and culinary talents at the symphony soirée. 22 musicians participated for 50 guests in this successful symphony fundraiser. This event was a part of the Knoxville Symphony Society’s Elegant Dining Series.
Click the link to read a great article written by former KSO principal Keyboard Carol Shane about our recent Very Young People‘s Concerts featuring Austin-East African Drum & Dance.
https://www.wuot.org/…/violinists-knoxville-symphony-orches…
Check out this interview about the upcoming concert presented by 11 KSO violinists !!! 
We are exited to see the extreme diversity represented in the maestro’s most recently unveiled symphony season. We hope you are enjoying our current season, and we look forward to performing for you next season!
Knoxville Symphony Musicians gathered this morning to support our Orchestra Committee entering into the negotiating room with management! #solidarity
As you know, we’ve been working on an expired contract since August 2019 and have been negotiating even longer.
