ASO Labor Dispute is Part of Nationwide Orchestra Funding Crisis

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and its musicians remain deadlocked on a new contract; the musicians are locked out just three weeks before the scheduled season-opening concert.  The standoff comes as orchestra managers battle a growing debt, which is projected to be $20 million next year.  But Atlanta’s orchestra is not alone.  Many others around the nation face deepening pools of red ink.  Robert Flanagan, a professor emeritus of economics at Stanford University, has just written a book on the financial crisis facing America’s orchestras.  He spoke with WABE’s Denis O’Hayer.