Musicians at the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony are "shocked" at the sudden decision by its leadership to file for bankruptcy last week.
Allene Chomyn, a member of the symphony's first violin section, says she and her colleagues have been left with many questions after the sudden folding of Ontario's third-largest orchestra.
"None of us really saw this coming," she said. "It's grieving, what we're doing right now."
The turn of events swiftly developed over the course of a week.
On Sept. 16, leadership at the symphony notified its musicians that the board of directors was not proceeding with the 2023-24 season only four days before it was set to begin.
On Sept. 19, the symphony issued a public statement on the cancellation, saying it would've required about $2 million to proceed with the season.
It blamed "an unprecedented rise in costs following the global pandemic."
Two days later, the leadership said it had ceased all operations and filed for bankruptcy.
鈥淲e are absolutely devastated about this outcome,鈥� chair of the board Rachel Smith-Spencer said in a statement Thursday.
Smith-Spencer added that in the days leading up to the decision, the symphony's leadership appealed to its major stakeholders and "exhausted all available avenues" to secure the necessary funding.
Mike Braga, senior vice president at accounting firm BDO sa国际传媒 Ltd. which is overseeing the legal process, did not respond to a request for comment.
Many of sa国际传媒's performing arts organizations are facing significant financial challenges as government support introduced during the pandemic dries up.
Richard Sandals, associate director of symphonic services at the Canadian Federation of Musicians, said the union had just ratified a new collective agreement in August with a three per cent wage increase.
"From our perspective, we thought the organization was facing challenges, but it's always faced challenges," he said.
"We thought that it was looking at some challenges that were maybe bigger than usual, but not insurmountable."
Meanwhile, musicians at the symphony organized a GoFundMe page last week hoping to save the orchestra. As of Tuesday morning, it had raised nearly $370,000 of its $2-million goal.
They say if the funds can't save the symphony itself, they may go towards a successor orchestra, replacing lost wages and benefits or supporting other musical activities in the community.
"All of our meetings and our discussions have been focused on how to move forward as quickly and as best as we can," Chomyn said.
"My hope is that we can build something new, something sustainable, so that ... (we can) continue to serve our community the way that we have been for almost 80 years."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2023.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
