Today, the Nashville Symphony announced that its Board of Directors voted to suspend all concert and event activity through July 31, 2021, and to furlough a total of 79 musicians and 49 full-time staff members, effective July 1.
“This is one of the most difficult messages we’ve ever had to write, but we wanted to let you know first, before we released this information to the public,” shared a statement from the Symphony. “Like many other businesses and organizations, the Nashville Symphony has been profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: To date, we have been forced to cancel or reschedule more than 65 concerts and events, with losses thus far caused by the pandemic projected to total $8 million, or nearly 30% of our annual income.”
“We realize this news must be terribly disappointing to you,” their statement adds. “And we want you to know that we are working hard to support our musicians and staff through this difficult transition. Without the ability to perform for the public, we are unable to generate essential operating revenue. And without that revenue, the Nashville Symphony faces a threat to its very existence. Until we have certainty that our economy can remain open, and that audiences are ready and able to return to large public gatherings, attempting to restart concert activity poses significant risks to our institution.”
According to the statement, the decision was based on multiple factors, including maintaining the health of staff and visitors, and preserving the Symphony in the face of its “very vulnerable financial position.”
“As our community continues to reopen, concert venues will be required to maintain social distancing for an unspecified amount of time. Because of our high operational costs – which total $2.3 million each month – we cannot sustainably operate with social distancing, due to the loss of revenue associated with reduced audience capacity,” the statement explains. “Postponing the concert season we had originally planned provides us with what we hope will be sufficient time for the pandemic to run its course, and for the Nashville Symphony to conserve its limited resources until we have reasonable assurance that we can safely resume concerts and welcome the community back to our concert hall.”
The Nashville Symphony is currently working to reschedule all 2020/21 concerts to the 2021/22 season. Ticketholders will be contacted no later than July 15, 2020 to be informed about their options, which include donating your tickets back to help support the Symphony, keeping your tickets for your rescheduled concert(s), receiving a flexible ticket credit, or requesting a refund.
For more information about today’s decision, please click here to read a list of Frequently Asked Questions.
