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Cleveland Orchestra musicians strike, canceling Severance and Ann Arbor concerts

Cleveland, OhioPublished 27 Sep 2026

Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra, in University Circle.
Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra, in University Circle.

w_lemay / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Players walked out at midnight Friday after wage talks with management stalled. A European tour set to begin within days is in doubt.

Cleveland Orchestra musicians went on strike at midnight Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, after contract talks failed to close a pay gap. Concerts in Ann Arbor and at Severance Music Center were canceled, and a European tour is in doubt. Musicians say base pay is about $163,000 and lags inflation and peer orchestras. They want a 25 percent raise over three years. Management called that unsustainable and the strike premature.

Shared facts

Cleveland Orchestra musicians and management have been negotiating since July.

The musicians' contract was extended while negotiations continued.

The musicians' contract extension expired just before the strike.

Cleveland Orchestra musicians went on strike.

Months of bargaining failed to produce a new contract.

The sides say they are still far apart on salary.

The sides made progress on parental leave, workload, touring, and hiring.

The musicians are seeking a 25 percent salary increase over three years.

Management says it cannot grant a 25 percent increase.

Musicians put current base pay at about $163,000.

Musicians say base pay is about $15,000 behind inflation over six years.

Musicians say they have lost 10 percent of their purchasing power to inflation.

Musicians say Cleveland pay lags the other Big Five orchestras.

Musicians say their pay trails comparable orchestras.

Elayna Duitman said Cleveland musicians are the worst paid among seven peer orchestras.

Elayna Duitman said the music director and the president and CEO are among the highest paid in the country.

Elayna Duitman said musicians are being asked to accept pay that does not keep pace with inflation.

Musicians want a greater voice in auditions and hiring.

Elayna Duitman said musicians received management's healthcare-cost details only on Thursday.

Negotiations were set to resume Friday.

Musicians scheduled a Friday morning press conference outside Severance Hall.

Friday's Cleveland Orchestra concert at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor was canceled.

A Severance Music Center performance was canceled because of the strike.

A European tour was scheduled to begin Monday.

The European tour is planned to last about three weeks.

The European tour is in doubt unless the sides reach an agreement before departure.

Musicians said they want the European tour to happen.

Elayna Duitman said the musicians love playing for audiences in Europe.

Musicians planned a free chamber concert Saturday, Sept. 26, at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights.

André Gremillet said he was disappointed by the decision to strike.

André Gremillet said management had more to offer and wanted to keep negotiating.

André Gremillet said the union struck without receiving management's best offer.

André Gremillet said there have been 11 negotiating sessions, compared with an average of about 15.

André Gremillet said negotiations are not close to finished.

André Gremillet said the sides could keep playing under an extension and keep negotiating instead of striking.

André Gremillet said that, adjusted for Cleveland's cost of living, orchestra pay ranks at or near the top of the industry.

A Cleveland Orchestra French horn player said audiences came to hear the musicians, not the endowment.

Ticket holders for the canceled concert can get a refund or exchange tickets.

Non-orchestra events at Severance Music Center are still scheduled.

Elayna Duitman said community support has been overwhelming.

Disputed facts

Sources disagree on whether the free Plymouth Church concert starts at 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.

Sources put the Cleveland Orchestra endowment at $360 million or $365 million.

Shared opinions

Management says a 25 percent raise is not financially sustainable.

Elayna Duitman said the pay offer is not how to invest in a top-tier orchestra that represents Cleveland.

Elayna Duitman said it is unfortunate that the dispute has reached this point.

André Gremillet called the strike premature and unnecessary.

Elayna Duitman called management's handling of contract details delay tactics.

Ideastream Public Media

Cleveland Orchestra musicians set to strike Friday after months of bargaining

Kabir Bhatia

Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 27 Sep 2026

Facts

Elayna Duitman said upper management is well compensated.

A four-hour Thursday bargaining session led only to an agreement on tour scheduling.

Elayna Duitman said her family was supposed to come on the tour.

The strike comes during Franz Welser-Möst's 25th and final season as music director.

Franz Welser-Möst has stayed out of the contract conflict.

Franz Welser-Möst said this month that he had no idea what will happen.

Opinion

Elayna Duitman said the healthcare audit was enlightening and should have arrived about a month earlier.

Elayna Duitman said healthcare costs are complex and take time to review.

Elayna Duitman said the contract issues matter enough that the musicians have to get the deal right.

Elayna Duitman said it would be disappointing if the tour did not happen.

News 5 Cleveland

Cleveland Orchestra musicians go on strike as contract talks remain unresolved

Maya Lockett

Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 27 Sep 2026

Facts

Musicians and management remain divided over pay and working conditions.

Compensation remains a major sticking point.

Elayna Duitman said that even if musicians won their full ask, they would still rank eighth in pay.

Two upcoming performances have been canceled.

The musicians say recent Boston and Philadelphia contracts pushed base salaries above $200,000.

André Gremillet said management's offers can move only if the musicians move down.

André Gremillet declined to disclose the raise management considers feasible and said the musicians know that figure.

Both sides said they want a resolution.

Elayna Duitman said musicians are available 24/7 for negotiations.

André Gremillet said he looks forward to an agreement and to working with the musicians.

Opinion

The musicians say they deserve an agreement that keeps compensation competitive with other major orchestras.

Brian Pearson said the strike is about dignity for these workers.

Cleveland 19 News

‘We did not want this day to come’: Cleveland Orchestra musicians on strike

Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 27 Sep 2026

Facts

The stage at Severance Music Center sits empty this weekend as Cleveland Orchestra musicians picket.

The European tour spans 15 cities and nine countries.

Elayna Duitman said musicians lost 20 percent relative to peer orchestras.

Musicians are demanding safer workload rules to prevent overuse injuries among string players.

Elayna Duitman has been with the Cleveland Orchestra for 16 years.

Management said the guaranteed minimum base salary is $165,516 a year, not including seniority pay and overscale.

Megan Guegold-Hege said community support helped the endowment grow past $360 million.

André Gremillet said a 25 percent increase would take millions of dollars in additional fundraising.

Management said it already draws about $13.6 million a year from the endowment, about 20 percent of operating expenses.

Both sides said they are prepared to keep bargaining through the weekend.

Management said musicians receive 10 weeks of paid vacation.

Management said the orchestra pays an 8 percent retirement contribution.

Management said the endowment is meant to exist in perpetuity and must keep its purchasing power against inflation.

Cleveland 19 said this strike is only the second in the union's history.

Cleveland 19 said the last strike was in 2010.

Opinion

Elayna Duitman said management is insisting on a double standard.

André Gremillet said an endowment is not a slush fund.

André Gremillet said the musicians' Sept. 23 deadline was arbitrary.

André Gremillet said the sides do not need pressure or threats to reach an agreement.

Elayna Duitman said it is frustrating to face a three-week European tour this late without management's best offer.

Elayna Duitman said management's lack of availability and preparation over two months has been disappointing.

Cleveland Scene

Cleveland Orchestra members go on strike

Mark Oprea

Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 27 Sep 2026

Facts

Scene said this is the first Cleveland Orchestra strike in a decade.

Scene said members are demanding at least $178,000.

Scene said Los Angeles Philharmonic base salaries reach $250,000 for the 2028-29 season.

The Cleveland Federation of Musicians backed the players, with support from the AFL-CIO and SEIU.

Scene said performances and salaries are funded through a $360 million endowment, donors, and ticket sales.

Elayna Duitman and others said the endowment has been growing while members' salaries have not.

Scene said it is unclear how many are planned for the following week.

Orchestra leadership said it hopes the musicians will be playing again soon.

The Cleveland Orchestra website posted a pledge.

Opinion

Musicians say they deserve pay on par with peers in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia.

Supporters at the Friday rally said Cleveland's reputation and the musicians' pay do not match.

Leonard DiCosimo said the musicians need leadership that respects them and gives them dignity at work.

Leonard DiCosimo said the musicians are the very best at what they do.

Spectrum News 1

Cleveland Orchestra musicians go on strike prompting cancellation of upcoming concert

Corey O'Leary

Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 27 Sep 2026

Facts

The Cleveland Orchestra is considered one of the Big Five orchestras in the U.S.

Elayna Duitman said the pay gap is what the musicians are trying to address.

Spectrum News 1 said the musicians' original contract was up in July.

Opinion

Elayna Duitman said the cultural institution is at stake.