Minnesota Orchestra Announces New Contract Agreement with Musicians

The musicians of the orchestra will now receive annual pay increases in a new four-year musicians union contract, effective immediately 

In time for their new concert season, the Minnesota Orchestra announced a new four-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) extending through August 31, 2026, giving its musicians 2.5% to 3% annual pay increases. This is also following the orchestra’s recent appointment of Thomas Søndergård as its new music director.

The new contract replaces a shorter two-year agreement signed during the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020, which saw a 25% cut in musicians’ pay until audiences could return to full capacity. 

Despite these pay cuts as being part of the $5 million in cost reductions for 2021, the orchestra operated at a loss of $6.3 million that year while recovering from the pandemic, according to the StarTribune.

“These were collegial and productive negotiations,” said Minnesota Orchestra Board Chair Joseph T. Green. “The Orchestra made its way through the deepest challenges of the pandemic with a flexible, creative and collaborative approach, and the same spirit prevailed in these negotiations,” he continued. “We appreciate the solid partnership we have enjoyed with our musicians as we carefully manage the Orchestra’s finances at the same time as we maintain our commitment to the highest levels of musical artistry.”

Now, with the return of live concerts, Minnesota Orchestra's musicians will see a 2.5% pay increase in the 2022/23 season, a 2.76% increase by 2023/24, and finally, a 3% increase in both the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.

Other terms of the agreement include the inclusion of extra media payments in the weekly minimum salary of musicians, which will allow the organization flexibility in pursuing radio and television broadcasts and livestreams — plus updated hiring practices to further promote consistency and transparency across the process.

“The musicians are very pleased with this agreement that allows the Minnesota Orchestra to continue serving the community at the highest artistic level,” continued Musicians’ Negotiating Committee Chair, Timothy Zavadil. “In partnership with our board and management, we look forward to stewarding the Orchestra into a new era with Maestro Thomas Søndergård.”

“This four-year agreement gives the organization stability as we move beyond the pandemic and into the tenure of our incoming music director,” said the orchestra’s President and CEO, Michelle Miller Burns. “In these negotiations, we were able to sit down with musicians and thoughtfully raise and resolve questions together as part of a healthy, respectful process. Among musicians, staff and board, there is a great desire to work together for the common good of the Orchestra.”

Founded in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra is a GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble and performs almost 175 concerts a year, plus regularly tours Minnesota, as well as nationally and abroad.