10/07/2026
LETTER TO THE PUBLIC
Hello Friends and Opera Fans!
As some of you may know, the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, members of the American Federation of Musicians Local 30-73, are currently negotiating with Minnesota Opera (MNOP) management for a successor agreement. Our 4-year contract expired on June 30 of this year.
Our previous contract negotiations, which concluded in May 2023, were difficult and protracted. We worked for 9 months without a contract and narrowly averted a strike. Programming was drastically reduced (from 5 Ordway productions to 3) and Minnesota Opera Musicians faced cuts of more than 35%. We ultimately came to a concessionary agreement with management through the establishment of a salary of $12,500 for all 46 core members of the orchestra.
This salary was meant to create job security to retain the orchestra. Musicians were told that MNOP was intending to build back programming which would add cost of living increases to our total compensation each year of the 4-year agreement. Unfortunately, management did not build back programming and musicians’ compensation remained flat for all 4 years. Additionally, titled musicians did not receive overscale to their salaried compensation (overscale is industry standard).
We are saddened to report that once again, negotiations are not going well. Our current proposal includes cost of living increases, corrected salary overscale and totals less than an $80,000 increase in year 1. This is less than 0.5% of the organization’s total operating budget. Last year the orchestra was at an all-time low of 5.8% of MNOP’s total operating budget.
The Musicians presented a very modest economic proposal designed to facilitate a speedy contract resolution, although orchestra compensation has remained flat for the past 4 years. Management, however, initially proposed deep cuts to the orchestra and now proposes keeping our compensation flat for four more years without appropriate overscale on the salary for titled players. Meanwhile, MNOP, while cutting programming, has raised the salaries of its 4 highest-paid administrators by between 18% and 20%, according to the last four years of publicly available financials.
Management has stated that “…the Opera has not claimed that it cannot financially afford to agree to agree [sic] to any of the Union’s proposals, rather, it has communicated its unwillingness to agree to the Union’s proposal because it is not, in the Opera’s assessment, in the best interests of the Opera.”
For further clarification, management says “there is no appetite for increases to the minimum salary” for the Orchestra.
Between 2020-2025, MNOP has seen its total assets increase by $13.8 million to $42.5 million, however programming has not rebounded. Despite claims of increased expenses, in 2025 they spent less money on productions than in any year since 2015 (excluding 2021).
How many ways are there for MNOP to devalue the orchestra, the music and the musicians themselves? Management is racking them up. Not least of these is MNOP’s President and General Manager’s decision to be completely absent from the negotiation table, and instead using a union-busting national law firm that represents Starbucks and Amazon.
For 33 years, the Minnesota Opera Orchestra has been a foundational part of the growth of the organization as a whole. Many orchestra members have been a part of MNOP longer than most current administrators or artistic staff. The orchestra has been internationally recognized and frequently cited for its excellence. It has recorded the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera “Silent Night” and “Doubt” for PBS Great Performances.
Management’s proposal to the Musicians does not represent a commitment to retaining and growing the artistic integrity of the orchestra and the company as a whole.
Is MNOP trying to cut its way to success? Where is the artistic vision for the future of the company and its ability to fulfill its artistic purpose for the community? We have asked and not received an answer.
To support the opera orchestra musicians, please follow our social media pages, subscribe to our newsletter, and consider donating to support our organizing efforts.
https://linktr.ee/musicians_of_mnoperaorchestra
Please email our opera leadership and tell them to retain and respect their orchestra with a fair contract!
Ryan Taylor (MNOP President & General Director ) - [email protected]
James Powell (MNOP Board Chair) - [email protected]
Benjamin Ollendick (MNOP Board Treasurer) - [email protected]
Rachelle McCord (MNOP Board Vice Chair) - [email protected]
Roma Calatayud-Stocks (MNOP Board Secretary) - [email protected]
