Los Angeles Master Chorale to Pay Musicians Lost Wages in 2019-2020 Season

The Los Angeles Master Chorale announced today that it would compensate singers for lost wages resulting from 2019-20 season concerts canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the Master Chorale will provide 91% of the orchestra musicians' wages, as well as full benefits, lost due to the cancelation of the The Faur?- Requiem concert, which was scheduled to take place on March 28 and 29, 2020. Additional canceled performances include Come Away to the Skies: A Celebration of Alice Parker and the High School Choir Festival. Rachmaninoff's All-night Vigil, scheduled to take place on June 13 and 14, 2020, has not been canceled as of yet, but musicians will be compensated regardless of whether or not the show will go on as planned.

The Master Chorale is successfully able to provide compensation for the remainder of the 2019-20 season thanks to the contributions of its board of directors, particularly Honorary Director Lillian Pierson Lovelace; Secretary Courtand Palmer, who made a challenge grant to support the musicians; and those directors who responded to the challenge, including Robert Hanisee, Alex Romain, Jennifer Rosenfeld, and Chair Philip A. Swan. The Master Chorale applied and was granted funding from the federal government's CARES Act and Small Business Administration's Payroll Protection Program.

"We are truly grateful for the unwavering support from our board of directors and our Master Chorale community, who recognize that our artists are vital contributors to the fabric of our choral family," said Jean Davidson, President & CEO. "Combined with federal financial support, we are able to pay our artists as our capacity and resources would allow, which has been our goal from the start. While we are proud to share this good news, we do recognize these are very challenging times, and we hope for a vibrant return to normalcy for the entire artistic community."

"Simply put, the Los Angeles Master Chorale is its artists. Our musicians have set the bar incredibly high for the choral field throughout the entire world," said Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director. "During this challenging and unsettled time I am hugely grateful to the Master Chorale board for providing this tangible show of support to these artists who have provided us all with so much beauty. Building upon this foundation, we look forward to the day when we can gather and sing together in real time."

For the time being, the Master Chorale has created two new digital series-Sundays at Seven and Offstage-to share the beautiful and inspiring power of choral music with online audiences, as Angelenos continue to observe stay-at-home orders. Featuring both music and conversation, each of the series offers a welcome opportunity to connect through music during this unprecedented period of self-isolation. Sundays at Seven is made possible by the generosity of American Guild of Musical Artists and American Federation of Musicians Local 47.

Photo Credit: Jamie Pham

To post a comment, you must register and login.