Known to bring joy to thousands of music lovers, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, has decided to cancel the reminder of the 2019-2020 season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, due to concerns related to the coronavirus. As a result, 94 part-time employees have been layed off, and the company has lost over $9 million in ticket sales.
The music and art director for the philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, will not receive a compensation during this layoff period, according to the orchestra. The leadership team will also face a pay cut of 35 percent, fortunately the 101 full-time members of the orchestra, and the 124 full-time administrative staff are able to keep their health benefits.
“It is an impossible situation, we’re an institution that brings large groups of people together to experience music communally,” said Chief Executive, Chad Smith. “That’s our entire reason for being, and in this time, that’s exactly what we can’t do.”
Smith futher explained how this time of year is usually the busiest, and the organization would normally sell subscriptions to the Hollywood Bowl, but at the moment, the decision whether to keep the Hollywood Bowl in operation for the summer season is undecided.
“We know there isn’t going to be one solution,” said Smith. “We know it will be series of solutions that get us to the other side, and philanthropy is a big part of that.”
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