The orchestra is so poor they expect musicians to take a 40%-50% pay cut, yet they somehow have the money to spend $50 million on a new lobby. It's always the same, everywhere: money for buildings and executives, while workers get the shaft.

Perhaps we could get a "universal orchestra Support tax" added to the plates of the rich, those of us who have income outside of government assistance. clearly, these musicians' talent requires them to be paid far and above what the market will provide, so we need tax dollars to help them live the life they so richly deserve.

I support the musicians unequivocally.

Since everything is supply and demand one should ask why there isn't enough demand to fill orchestra hall. Do the all the people involved with the orchestra think that the music is enough in itself? One night it took 30 minutes to get out of the parking ramp because only one lane was open. Not good. Coffee concerts are fun but for the price of two tickets I expect more than a plain donut that is available at the local gas station. With all the great bakeries in the twin cities one would hope for something special each time. The music should be enough but must not be. Come up with better marketing ideas and fill the place. Then you can pay those great musicians what they are worth.

Absolute silliness that these musicians are being paid $130-140k. How did it ever get this out of control....oh, thats right....... they rely on donations, not sound business practices....what the heck, if its OTHER peoples money, what the heck.....

This has happened before and it'll happen again. Arts should not be immune the economic pressures. Arts do not contribute to the economic vitality of a community, the arts are the result of ecomic vitality. Somehow, no matter how tough things may get, music will still get written and played. It always has.

I'm not a fan of consultants per se, but the orchestra needs to sit down with the staff and an independent mediator. Not to discuss only salary issues, but the future of the organization. There currently is not enough revenue on an annual basis for the salaries. This delema needs to be solved by building a more robust organization that creates new and younger fans who can support with attendance and contributions.

This beaten down economy is going to be with us for a while and we all need to be more creative in delivering the services that consumers value and will pay for. Perhaps instead of striking how about a free concert in the rotunda of the Mall of America to expose more potential customers to the great orchestra music they are missing by not buying tickets? Another idea is to perform at the casinos---because thats where the people are.

If they don't like the $40k pay cut, they are free to find employment elsewhere. Good luck with that.

Nicebiscuits, I see you read between the lines too. Yep, making above $120k and might still be making $80k with the concessions. Not too shabby. I DO realize that a good musician is as rare as a good athlete but baseball earns billions in profits while symphonies are non-profit organizations needing donations just to keep lights on.