Musicians say breakdown with MSO management 'irreparable'

The boss of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has defended asking stood-down musicians to canvas donors and take part in social media marketing initiatives for no extra pay amid claims there has been an "irreparable" breakdown of trust between senior management and players.

MSO managing director Sophie Galaise justified a series of controversial decisions about musicians' pay and conditions during the coronavirus pandemic saying she was "fighting for our survival, facing challenges we've never faced before".

Ms Galaise said the orchestra would be insolvent by the second quarter of 2021 unless the organisation could resume non-socially-distanced concerts or find extra government support. She also revealed she had taken a 45 per cent pay cut, after the orchestra originally said essential administrative staff, including Ms Galaise, would have a 20 per cent pay cut.

Asked if there was a serious rift between musicians and the executive team, Ms Galaise said: "I'm not sure. I love dearly our musicians... it's saddening to see how this is playing out."

Tension between players and management has risen during the crisis with musicians claiming to have been "blindsided" by the organisation's decision to put them on JobKeeper in April, rejecting an offer from musicians to stay on the books but accept half pay for a year.

Relations soured further when the the MSO unexpectedly sent musicians a letter informing them that from Friday, May 22 they would be required to return to work part-time, on the JobKeeper wage but stripped of funds for instrument maintenance and other allowances.

The letter, which was sent by chief operating officer Guy Ross on May 18, requested musicians do "donor work" - phone or Zoom calls to donors - and take part in "marketing initiatives" such as an "Instagram takeover [or] YouTube commentary" for no extra pay. It did not recognise music practice as part of their work.

Current and former MSO players have expressed their frustrations to The Age on the condition of anonymity as management has warned players that speaking with the media is a breach of their code of conduct.

One musician said they had been asked to work as untrained "telemarketers", with no recognition or pay for the hours of practice each day professional musicians must do to keep their skills and repertoire up.

Another said they were "aghast" at being put in a "really dreadful position" having to speak to the public while also being told not to discuss the internal conflict.

They said musicians would struggle to live on JobKeeper even before paying for repair and maintenance of their instruments.

Ms Galaise said the marketing work was optional. She confirmed that instrument maintenance allowance was considered included in the JobKeeper payment.

Several musicians said that relations with management had been deteriorating for years and the coronavirus shutdown had "really just been a catalyst... the straw that broke the camel's back."

One musician added that the breakdown between players and management had reached an irreparable state and there needed to be a change of personnel at the highest level - "it's a divorce, really". Another said trust had "gone forever".

The Age was told orchestra players recently conducted an internal poll assessing the level of trust in executive management, and the response was a score of 1 out of 10.

It can also be revealed that the MSO has gone back to players, after rejecting their offer to take a 50 per cent pay cut, to seek a new workplace agreement.

On Thursday, The Age's CBD column revealed that on a US tour in 2019 Ms Galaise had checked into the luxury Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, while the orchestra was put in a Maryland hotel that according to an online review "looked like a set piece from Stephen King's horror classic The Shining".

Ms Galaise said she stayed at the Trump International because she "had a responsibility to be with our donors" and had only heard about the problems with the players' hotel at the end of the tour - it had been recommended by an agency that books tours for orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, she said.

Paul Davies, director of MEAA musicians, said he was "not going to comment on the bona fides of our negotiating partners".

However he added it was a "commonsense judgement" that musicians were better off playing music than doing telemarketing, even if it was legal to ask them to do the latter under JobKeeper regulations.

And he said he was "very concerned about the wellbeing of the musicians" under the current arrangements.