New York Philharmonic players reach agreement to raise base pay to $205,000

The New York Philharmonic, America’s oldest orchestra, has long been one of the most respected orchestras in the world. But in recent years, its players have been paid far less than their counterparts in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere.

But that will soon change. Under a new labor contract announced Thursday, orchestra musicians will get a 30 percent raise over the next three years, bringing their base salary to $205,000. They will be among the highest-paid orchestra musicians in the country.

“This is a major shift,” said Colin Williams, assistant principal trombonist, who helped lead the negotiations. “It reflects the Philharmonic’s commitment to ensuring that this venue is a distinctive orchestra.”

Philharmonic leaders hailed the agreement, which about 100 musicians from the orchestra are expected to ratify on Friday, when their current contract expires.

“It’s a reform settlement that brings our musicians up to the level of their peer orchestras,” Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic’s interim president, said in an interview.

The agreement includes changes aimed at making the hiring process fairer and more transparent, including provisions requiring musicians to play behind a screen in the final rounds of auditions. (The screen is now optional in the final round.)

The deal comes as the Philharmonic faces challenges at the start of the 2024-25 season. The orchestra lacks a permanent president and CEO after the surprise resignation in July of its leader, Gary Genstling. An investigation into sexual harassment and misconduct at the Philharmonic has continued. And the orchestra, which is awaiting the arrival of star conductor Gustavo Dudamel in 2026, does not have a full-time music director this season or next.

The contract is the orchestra’s first since the coronavirus pandemic, which has put financial pressure on the ensemble. While the orchestra, which has an endowment of about $237 million and a budget of about $90 million, has largely recovered since then, it faces mounting costs and a cash shortfall of about $8 million.

The orchestra said it will pay for the pay raises, which will cost several million dollars over the next few seasons, through fundraising and other means. The orchestra said it is in the early stages of a fundraising campaign called the Dudamel Visionary Fund Campaign, led by the orchestra’s board co-chairs, Peter W. May and Oscar L. Tang. Some of the money will be used to help pay musicians’ salaries; the orchestra declined to say how much it has raised.

Borda said she was confident the orchestra could afford the pay raises. Under the agreement, musicians will get a 15 percent raise this season; a 7.5 percent increase in 2025-26; and a 7.5 percent increase in 2026-27.

“The board would not have approved this settlement unless it had full confidence that there were financial and fundraising goals that it could and should achieve,” Borda said.

The contract will also bring changes to the Philharmonic’s highly competitive hiring process. American orchestras, including the Philharmonic, have come under fire in recent years for a dearth of black and Latino players.

As part of the deal, the Philharmonic has agreed to revise its audition process with the help of Black Orchestra Network, Sphinx Organization And the National Coalition for Testing SupportThese groups called for more diversity in classical music.

The orchestra will also put protocols in place to ensure that votes on auditions and permanent appointments are conducted by secret ballot “to eliminate any possibility of undue influence by individual committee members,” according to the Philharmonic. Candidates for permanent appointment will be paired with mentors in the orchestra to assist them through the process.

Since talks began in April, salaries have been a priority for musicians. The current base salary for New York orchestra musicians is $153,504; orchestras in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles have received raises that will bring their base salaries to about $200,000 over the next few years.

The agreement will enable the Philharmonic to attract and retain outstanding musicians, said Sarah Cutler, president and CEO of the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 Players Association.

“Our members have earned this increase, and we are grateful to have partners at the Philharmonic who recognize their world-class talent,” she said in a statement.