Pasadena Symphony Orchestra’s Former Music Director Settles Lawsuit

Fired in 2021 for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations, David Lockington has allegedly settled a lawsuit against the orchestra

David Lockington began his tenure as music director of the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra in 2013. 

When he was removed from the role in 2021 following his stance against the COVID-19 vaccine, Lockington filed a lawsuit claiming he was wrongfully terminated by the Pasadena Symphony Association. 

At the time, the conductor had requested a religious and medical exemption to the orchestra’s mandatory coronavirus vaccination policy, reported Pasadena Now. 

In May 2021, Pasadena Symphony and POPS’ CEO Lora Unger sent Lockington an email stating that COVID-19 vaccinations were mandatory for all Pasadena Symphony Association employees.

Lockington submitted his exemption request in June 2021. According to the lawsuit, an Association attorney later stated that his request for an exemption on religious and medical grounds was invalid as he was an independent contractor and not an employee. 

In August 2021, the orchestra announced that Lockington would be taking a leave of absence for the 2021/22 concert season, according to the press release.

The lawsuit states that when pandemic restrictions were being enforced in 2020, Lockington was required to travel monthly from his Indiana home to California for work-related activities. During this time, he wore a mask and practiced social distancing, and was tested regularly.

The suit also claimed that during this period, Lockington had urged management to take seriously the musicians’ requests for better safety measures, including larger rehearsal spaces and screens for social distancing. Allegedly, the requests were not heeded. 

Filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Lockington’s lawsuit cited wrongful termination, religious discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination and harassment, and various state Labor Code violations. 

Additionally, he sought unspecified damages alongside a court order that he be reinstated and given appropriate religious accommodations.

Recently, the defendant's lawyer told Judge Daniel M. Crowley that the case is now settled. A subsequent hearing has been scheduled for February 20, 2024. Crowley stated it would be canceled if a request for the case’s dismissal is filed before then. It is not yet known if Lockington will be reinstated. 

With a conducting career spanning 30 years, Lockington was previously the music director for the Modesto Symphony, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and the Grand Rapids Symphony, which he took to Carnegie Hall and produced a GRAMMY-nominated recording, among four others, the suit stated.