Symphony, musicians union finalize contract

Following mass layoffs due to the coronavirus pandemic — cuts that forced maestro Giancarlo Guererro to temporarily put down his conductor’s baton — the Nashville Symphony and the Nashville Musicians Association union have announced a new three-year contract for the orchestra musicians.

According to a release, the contract replaces an interim agreement, reached in December 2020, that ended the six-month furlough of the orchestra and provided a $500 weekly stipend to the musicians beginning this past January (read more about the matter here). Under the new agreement, which takes effect Aug. 1, the musicians will return to full-time work in September, beginning with a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on Sept. 11 at Ascend Amphitheater.