Page 21 - BusinessWest May 29, 2023
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 CREATIVE ECONOMY >>
 Playing in Harmony
Amid Labor
Peace, SSO and
Its Musicians Key
in on Growth
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
[email protected]
Paul Lambert left a long career with the Bas- ketball Hall of Fame in early 2022 to become interim director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.
He said his family has often asked him why. Incredulously. Like ... really, Paul, why?
To answer that question, he first notes that he loves music, but that’s only part of why he took over an insti- tution that was still emerging from the pandemic and a long stretch without concerts at Symphony Hall — and embroiled in labor strife with Local 171 of the American Federation of Musicians, which, absent a new contract, had filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the
“Everyone had been reading the negative stories in the press about the labor issues. People were aware of the global pandemic issues. People were aware of all the challenges facing the SSO. And we had to rebuild people’s confidence.”
National Labor Relations Board.
But Lambert, who shed the interim tag and was
named president and CEO of the SSO earlier this year, saw the value in righting the ship, working toward labor peace, and re-establishing — or at least re-emphasizing — the organization’s importance to not only downtown Springfield, but Western Mass. in general.
With the announcement on May 4 of a new, two-year labor deal between the SSO and the union — which calls for a minimum of eight concerts per year at Symphony Hall, annual raises for the musicians, and possibly other community and educational concerts around the region as well — Lambert, the SSO board, and the musicians are all breathing easier as they plan the 2023-24 season.
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Springfield Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Paul Lambert
 














































































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