San Francisco Symphony cancels East Coast tour as strike continues

By David Ng

March 18, 2013 8 AM PT

The San Francisco Symphony said on Sunday that it has canceled its upcoming East Coast tour as its musicians continue to strike over compensation.

The orchestra’s tour was scheduled to kick off Wednesday at Carnegie Hall in New York, with two concerts. Carnegie Hall said that the concerts will not be rescheduled. Other scheduled stops included Newark, N.J. and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

Orchestra management said in a statement that musicians rejected a “cooling off” period that would have allowed concerts to resume.

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Musicians went on strike on Wednesday after contract negotiations fell through. The orchestra said on Sunday that musicians have rejected a number of proposals, including one that offered increases in musician compensation to achieve a new annual minimum salary of $145,979 with annual increases of 1% and 2%.

“We are deeply disappointed that the musicians have continued to reject proposals for a new agreement and that the musicians will not proceed with our planned East Coast tour,” said Brent Assink, executive director of the San Francisco Symphony, in a statement.

The strike already has forced the cancellation of four concerts at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

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San Francisco Symphony musicians are on strike, threatening tour