The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra has reached a new three-year agreement with its musicians’ union, both organizations announced today.
Key provisions include:
- A 13.5% salary increase for all full-time musicians over the life of the contract
- An additional work week beginning in the second year of the contract
- A provision that could lead to more racial diversity among orchestra musicians
Under the agreement, reached with the American Federation of Musicians, Local 342, the minimum salary for CSO musicians will increase from $45,861 to $53,709 over the course of the contract.
Beginning in year two of the deal, the number of working weeks will increase from 38 to 39.
The agreement also calls for “updated work practices” that will allow the orchestra “to be more collaborative and responsive to the evolving needs of the community,” according to a statement announcing the deal.
A push for more diversity
David Fisk, president and CEO of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, said the new contract will have an “industry-leading tenure process” heavily influenced by the Black Orchestral Network, a national organization that offers support to Black orchestra musicians.
One goal, Fisk said, is to increase the number of Black musicians who are offered tenured positions on the Charlotte orchestra, a number Fisk currently put at “one or two.”
For years, Fisk said, orchestras nationwide have been “wrestling with the incredibly important challenge of how we create a welcoming environment for musicians, especially those historically disadvantaged.”
Under the orchestra’s new contract, new musicians will get “additional support” during their probationary period, which typically lasts 15 months. That support, Fisk said, will include “clear” “transparent’ and “constructive” feedback.
Fisk said the tenure process, which can lead to lifetime employment for a musician, can often feel mysterious, and even biased.
Fisk said the new contract will continue some of the work the orchestra had begun years earlier to encourage more Black and Hispanic musicians to audition.
A study released by The League of American Orchestras in 2023 found that Black musicians represented 2.4% of the musicians on the orchestras surveyed. Fisk said the low percentage can’t be traced to a single factor.
Last year, when the CSO held an audition for one of its principle wind positions, 90 musicians applied, but only one was black, Fisk said. “The odds, therefore, are very low,” he said. “That’s what we have to change.”
Fisk said the orchestra has been working with historically Black universities and other institutions to increase the pipeline of Black musicians auditioning for orchestral positions.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the number of musicians who auditioned last year for a principle wind position. The correct number was 90. Of that total, one was Black.
