Washington’s Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Photo courtesy of Yakima Symphony Orchestra.
In Tuesday’s (2/10) KIMA TV (Yakima, Washington), Aden Connor writes, “The Yakima Symphony Orchestra announced that they will be increasing wages for their musicians as a part of their 2027 budget. The increases range from 13% to 27%, depending on the positions of the musicians. Executive Director of YSO Sam McClung says … ‘I thought that this was an immediate thing that needed to take place for our musicians. Our wages have been ever so slightly behind industry standards or similar sized orchestras, and it had been a long time since their last wage increase, which was four years ago.’ Musicians with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra are paid by the service, and McClung says that there will be more opportunities for them to work in the future…. McClung says that the increase in wages can present more opportunities to bring in talented musicians… Seasoned musicians with the orchestra are big beneficiaries of the wage increase, as it incentivizes them to perform in more concerts…. In a release, YSO says that successful fundraising played a big role in the pay increase.” Lawrence Golan is the orchestra’s music director.
