As a Tier One opera company in the US, we believe the Atlanta Opera Orchestra should be fairly compensated for our work and artistry. Fair pay will improve the lives of our current musicians, and will allow us to attract and retain talent when new positions open up. With cost-of-living increases alone, the orchestra has functionally taken a pay cut of nearly 12% since 2019.
Our committee proposed a contract which would give a well deserved pay increase to the orchestra to bring our wages closer to industry standards and ensure continuing job protections. Management countered our first offer with a pay freeze and the removal of job protections and rights.
Currently, management has proposed small increases with a long contract. These minimal increases would leave us behind through 2029, as they fail to account for the past five years' cost of living increase and ongoing inflation.
The Atlanta Opera is thriving and we have been an integral part of this company's success. It is time for management to acknowledge our hard work and our sacrifices during leaner times, and to pay us like the Tier One orchestra we are.
- The orchestra is the heart and soul of opera as an art form. Without the music, there can be no opera.
- Despite our central role, increasing amounts of time and money are being allocated to non-musical aspects of our organization—such as film projects, executive salaries, and office improvements—while resources for musicians have stagnated with respect to cost of living and increased revenue and budgets of the Atlanta Opera.
- As we tackle more challenging repertoire, our time commitment to the organization increases. In addition to requiring more rehearsal time, we also dedicate many unpaid hours to personal preparation before the first rehearsal. For example, preparing for a Wagner opera can easily take 80 hours.
- To sustain and elevate the quality of our performances, it is vital to attract and retain new talent. However, the current base compensation of approximately $9,000 per year is not nearly enough to attract skilled musicians to Atlanta.
- The recent elimination of the Music Director position has further destabilized our structure, reducing our ability to provide consistent leadership and mentorship necessary for artistic development.
- Our section musicians earn only about $9000 per year.
- Our musicians lack meaningful job security. Some musicians of our orchestra who aren't hired for all mainstage productions in a typical year earn roughly $6000.
- We earn less than half of our immediate "Tier One" peers in Houston and Dallas.
- General Director Tomer Zvulun made $727,749 in the 22-23 season, an increase of 121%, in just two years1.
- The Atlanta Opera just announced a $45M project for offices and an arts center, just after the current building was renovated at an undisclosed cost in 2024.
Since 2000, we've been negotiating under a union contract, and we believe it's important to share the real numbers with you. As highly trained professionals, our dedication to our craft is unwavering, yet our compensation has not kept pace.
- On average, hourly pay for a 2.5 rehearsal has only increased $1.19/year.
- On average, hourly pay for a 3 hour performance has only increased $1.15/year.
These increases average only about 2% each year over the last 24 years and have not kept pace with the rising cost of living in Metro Atlanta, especially considering the heightened inflation over the past 4 years and lost wages during the pandemic. While these rates might have sufficed for a smaller regional opera company, it's disheartening that, as a Tier One company thriving on the dedication of its talented artists, we are still compensated at this level.
- Fill out the form on this page to write a message to our management & board voicing your support of our cause.
- Spread the word - like us on Facebook and Instagram @atloperaorchestra
- If you are a local musician, join the AFM (Atlanta Federation of Musicians)
- If you have questions, comments, or need to get in touch with us for any reason, please reach out to us at: admin@atloperaorchestra.com