This is a great day for Springfield and for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.
For the SSO to survive and thrive we need all parties working in harmony (literally!) and in the same direction to bring this magnificent music and our talented musicians to the entire community. The agreement that was reached with the Local 171 American Federation of Musicians will result in the SSO and our musicians working together to grow our audience and build the philanthropic and business support we need in order to be sustainable.
I sincerely want to thank all of our concert attendees and the community at large for your steadfast support of the SSO through our return of a full season of on-stage performances in 2022-23. I’m also appreciative of our talented musicians, our dedicated Board and hardworking SSO staff.
Through this new, two-year labor agreement, the SSO will offer a minimum of six Classical concerts and two Pops concerts – eight concerts for each season. We also hope to offer other community and educational concerts as additional funding can be identified.
I’m pleased to report that as part of the agreement, the musicians will receive a raise over each of the two years of the contract and the agreement calls for an average of 64 musicians at each of the Classical concerts.
In a separate agreement with the Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MOSSO), MOSSO will transition into a newly named entity, the Springfield Chamber Players, and will assume the role of creating chamber music concerts, including the long-standing Longmeadow Chamber Series, bringing elements of the Springfield Symphony to the community.
I am truly grateful to the entire SSO Family – Musicians, Staff, Board and Advisors – for their patience and good faith efforts as we worked to finalize these agreements. This is a day of celebration for us all.
I am extremely proud of the achievements and progress we’ve made since the start of our 2022-23 season. Audiences returned to the magnificent Springfield Symphony Hall, our world class musicians and guest artists wowed audiences new and old. The SSO expanded its Board of Directors, we added talented, critically important new staff members and I proudly accepted the new, permanent position of President and CEO.
Most important, I’m thrilled that the SSO is offering a broader diversity of music and artists to our community, and in that vein, we look forward to announcing details of a new 2023-24 season with exciting Classical and Pops performances, Chamber concerts and more – stay tuned.
With great appreciation for the community’s continued support and engagement with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra,
Paul Lambert
President and CEO
Springfield Symphony Orchestra
