Hartford Symphony players OK wage cuts

The musicians with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra have voted to accept a wage concession agreement that management said was necessary to save the orchestra.

Steve Wade, an oboist with the symphony, said Tuesday that some musicians cried as they spoke, others expressed anger, in four hours of discussion Sunday night before voting to approve major cuts to wages for the majority. He declined to say how many voted, but said it was not unanimous.

The part-time musicians are guaranteed a certain number of rehearsals and performances during the year, and all three tiers will have less of that work in the future.

Wade, who is entering his 20th year with the symphony, said the final offer from management was slightly more generous than one that came early in January. At the lowest, point, management was suggesting that the core musicians — the ones who are called on most often — would have about $14,000 worth of work. The musicians agreed to a contract that pays $1,287 more a year than that, but is still 33 percent less than they were paid last year. The middle tier of musicians will earn 9 percent less than they had, or about $12,500; the most-part time group took an 18 percent cut, to about $5,400 annually.

Management had said the cuts were for concerts that never happened, but the union said the gap between promised work and performances only became so large this year, as school performances dwindled.

“The vote reflects that we want to be on stage for a long time,” Wade said. He said listening to his colleagues Sunday filled him with admiration. He heard “such passion for the arts.”

Steve Collins, director of artistic operations and administration for the orchestra, would not speak to the Courant Tuesday. A public relations employee of the orchestra put out a statement on his behalf: “We are thrilled that the musicians of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra have voted to approve our proposal ...”

Management said a more sustainable union contract was needed because the orchestra has been running deficits for more than a decade.