San Diego's longtime chamber orchestra, Orchestra Nova, has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, North County (San Diego) Times reported yesterday. According to a statement on Dec. 7, the bankruptcy was caused by the orchestra's inability to reach an agreement with the Local 325 branch of the American Federation of Musicians. For much of this year, Orchestra Nova had been in talks with the union over salary increases and the proposed change from typical yearlong contracts to concert-by-concert contracts for musicians. According to former Orchestra Nova Artistic Director and Conductor Jung-Ho Pak, the concert-by-concert approach, allowing for different musicians each night, would have added renewed emotion to the orchestra's performances. But union representatives said that this contract made the musicians' livelihoods too unstable. As a result of the impasse, Pak resigned two days before the season was set to begin, leading the orchestra to cancel its opening performances. The organization then announced on Oct. 26 that it would cancel the entire season.
