It is with regret that I write to inform you that we have not reached a new contract agreement with our Musicians’ Union and as a result, concerts have been canceled through November 4.

This is a very difficult day for all of us at the SPCO. Like many orchestras across the country, we face a major financial challenge and we must make very difficult choices in order to align our fixed expenses with our sustainable revenues. Unfortunately, after 10 months of negotiations, we are not close to an agreement with our Musicians’ Union. We have continued to play and talk since September 30 because we have wanted to keep the music going, but every day that we have continued under the terms of the current contract we have added to our million-dollar deficit. With no sign of a settlement in the near future, we cannot continue operating this way and exacerbating what is already a very serious financial situation. Canceling concerts is not something anyone wanted to do, but it is our responsibility as financial stewards of this organization to ensure there will be an artistically excellent and financially sustainable SPCO in this community for years to come. If you would like to read more about how we arrived at this juncture and the contract negotiations overall, we invite you to visit our negotiations website athttp://updates.thespco.org/.

We regret that our ticket holders are affected by this financial challenge. In this email you will find detailed information about your options if you have tickets to a canceled concert. No immediate action is required on your part, as your tickets will automatically be banked in your account for future use. At any time throughout the season you will have the option of exchanging tickets into another concert or receiving a refund.

Please know that we are committed to keeping the negotiations process moving forward, and it is our hope that by working together with our Musicians we will be able to come to an agreement and resume our season as soon as possible. During these very difficult times, I thank you for your continuing support of the SPCO.

Sincerely,

Dobson West
President