Seattle Symphony To Play Despite Rejecting Contract

Just hours before they were to play a New Year’s Eve concert, musicians in the Seattle Symphony voted 74-3 to reject management’s contract offer.

The labor dispute jeopardized the sold-out “New Year’s Eve in Old Vienna” concert but, in a close vote, the musicians decided to play, said Alice Burgess, a spokeswoman for the Seattle Symphony and Opera Players’ Organization.

She said she did not have the vote tally.

At the conclusion of the concert, she said, union members were going to distribute to the audience leaflets headlined “It’s a Gala Night for Our Patrons, but a Grim Night for the Musicians.”

“The new year is a time to celebrate … and it’s unfortunate we have this sort of stuff happening at this time,” said Deborah Card, executive director of the symphony.

Performances scheduled for the coming weekend also are uncertain.

The musicians begin a series of rehearsals on Tuesday for five weekend concerts, and they will vote before each practice and performance whether to continue, Burgess said.

Contract talks were expected to continue, the union said.