Striking singers force San Francisco Symphony to cancel Verdi Requiem performances
SAN FRANCISCO -- Musicians, choristers and patrons were looking forward to performances of Verdi's Requiem by the San Francisco Symphony beginning on Thursday.
Instead, the three days of shows -- which were music director Esa-Pekka Salonen's first of his final season in San Francisco -- were canceled as members of the Symphony Chorus went on strike and began picketing outside Davies Symphony Hall, demanding better wages.
The paid chorus members are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA).
"Whenever something like a cut needs to happen, we are always the lowest-hanging fruit. We're always the poor cousins who get left out," said Chung-Wai Soong, a bass singer with the chorus.
Soong has been with the chorus for more than 30 years. He says he is disappointed by the symphony's handling of contract negotiations.
"We're never at the table. We're fed scraps -- if that -- and, even then, we're told that is acceptable or that is enough," he said.
The symphony says they have suggested a one-year contract freeze, locking in the current wages. The organization said it is paying more than $22,000 yearly for 26 performances, 53 rehearsals and 26 warmup sessions.
Currently there are 32 paid choristers out of 150 chorus members. The rest are volunteers.
"First offer they gave us was an 80 percent reduction in our salaries and that came along with a 45 percent reduction in programming for the chorus," Elliott Encarnación, a tenor with the chorus, told CBS News Bay Area.
Encarnación, who has been with the chorus for 11 years, says negotiations have been ongoing since May. Their contract ended in July and no agreement has been reached.
"Everyone is suffering. Our administration doesn't seem to be suffering and they're not telling us how these kinds of cuts are supposed to be distributed throughout the company," he said. "We believe that we're being used as a cudgel. Our budget is not significant to the overall budget but they need, in my view, to make a statement that they're going to make huge cuts to the rest of the organization moving forward and that's what's happening."
Symphony performances featuring the chorus are planned this season but are now in doubt.
"Our orchestra's contract expires in November before we start rehearsing again and we expect management's focus is going to be on them," Encarnación said. He hopes that the symphony will come together and discuss better ways to move forward with wages.
The San Francisco Symphony released a statement:
"Our latest contract offer to the AGMA members of the SF Symphony is fair, equitable and competitive. Our offer to maintain current wage levels reflects our commitment to the Chorus, especially in light of the challenging financial pressures this organization is currently facing. We've been transparent about our financial challenges -- similar to many other arts organizations since the pandemic -- and have been working with our union partners to try to collectively address those realities."
"Our Chorus, and each of its members, are an essential part of the Symphony. We have been engaged in good faith negotiations for a new contract and are extremely disappointed that AGMA has rejected the Administration's contract proposal and decided instead to declare a strike. We're saddened that we've been forced to cancel this week's performances of Verdi's Requiem and deeply regret the inconvenience to our patrons and the many other musicians, visiting artists and staff that have worked hard to prepare those performances. We are eager to continue working with AGMA and we are committed to reaching an agreement as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, for these choristers, many are working multiple singing gigs in different states to make ends meet.
Soong said he filed 14 W2s and 1099s last year from all of his jobs.
"To be consistently … so underappreciated, undervalued and insulted, is absolutely heartbreaking," Soong said.
"It's a passion but it's also a job and it's a difficult one and it's a difficult one to maintain and it needs to be valued," Encarnación said.
The symphony said that those who have purchased tickets to the Sept. 19, 20 or 21 performances of the Verdi Requiem will be able to exchange them for a future 2024-2025 season performance or exchange them for a gift certificate or donate the ticket for a tax deduction or receive a refund.
Meanwhile the symphony said they have no future concert cancellations at this time.