Musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra approved a new three-year contract retroactive to Sept. 5 on Friday after their morning rehearsal at Heinz Hall. The contract was also accepted by the Pittsburgh Symphony Executive and Finance Committees. The agreement restructures the previous contract that would have run through the current season to save $2.4 million over the next three years, according symphony president Larry Tramburri and orchestra committee chair Hampton Mallory. New contract negotiations were suggested by the musicians, said Mallory, after meetings with management to explore ways to save money in the final year of the old contract. The new contract provides annual base salaries of $97,165 for 2005-’06, $99,474 for the next season and $101,424 in the final year of the contract. The musicians would have been paid $101,424 this season under the old contract, but agreed to give back 4.2 percent and will work a 51-week season in 2006-’07. In addition, the Pittsburgh Symphony has created a “pension window” providing an extra $5,000 per year for eight years to encourage players to commit to retirement by Jan. 6. The pension window, combined with a hiring freeze for the duration of the contract, is expected to produce some of the savings. Asked about the financial assumptions underlying the agreement, Tamburri said the real question is “where you place these assumptions on the scale of understanding what the potential risk is. The wage piece is not even an assumption, it’s a fact.” Tamburri did say the Pittsburgh Symphony expects to be able to draw $500,000 more from its endowment next season than the $6.4 million the symphony took this season. He anticipates an additional $500,000 increase from the endowment for 2007-’08. The endowment is currently valued at $113 million.

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