In 2003, the musicians took a pay cut of approximately 18 percent, to prevent the orchestra from being forced to cancel at least one season. The musicians accepted a yearly paycheck of $17,500, according to the Post and Courier.
The proposed contract stipulates that a section player would earn $20,903 and a principal player $26,128 in the 2006-07 season. The 46 core CSO musicians perform more than 100 concerts from mid-September to mid-June.
The paper had previously reported that CSO musicians walked away from contract talks in January because it believed management would cancel upcoming seasons unless a contract was negotiated by February 1; the board later said the musicians had until June 30, the end of the CSO's fiscal year, to sign contracts.