Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Musicians Back to Work, First Concert is Thursday

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will begin its 70th season this week after a long labor dispute was settled with the help of a federal mediator over the weekend.

Opening night for the orchestra will be on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. at the Woodruff Arts Center. The orchestra and its chorus will perform Mozart’s “Violin Concerto No. 5” and Beethoven’s ”Ninth Symphony” under the watchful guidance of Music Director Robert Spano. Spano will be joined by Concertmaster David Coucheron.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players’ Association (ASOPA) will go into what remains of the 2014-15 season with only the 77 musicians currently remaining with the orchestra. In exchange for this temporary reduction in the size of the orchestra, management must make efforts to expand the size of the orchestra to 81 members by the end of next season and 84 musicians in 2016-17.

The size of the orchestra was the sticking point between the ASOPA and management, which locked the musicians out on Sept. 7, just two years after a previous lockout and collective bargaining agreement.

The new collective bargaining agreement between the musicians and management includes a six percent pay increase for the musicians. However, musicians will now have to pay in to a high-deductible health program at significantly higher premiums than the previous agreement stipulated.

An encore performance of Thursday’s program will be held on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets for both performances can be purchased through the ASO’s website.