BSO bassist says new contract does not signal renewed trust in management

Former Players Committee chair Todd Seeber says the musicians’ overwhelming approval of a new collective agreement should not be interpreted as support for the decision to end Andris Nelsons’ tenure.

Boston Symphony Orchestra double bassist Todd Seeber has said that the musicians’ ratification of a new three-year contract does not mean that trust has been restored between the players and the orchestra’s management following the decision to end Andris Nelsons’ tenure as music director.

Writing in an op-ed published by the Boston Globe on 23 September, Seeber, a former chair of the BSO Players Committee and of the players’ negotiating committee, sought to separate the musicians’ approval of the agreement from the continuing dispute over Nelsons’ departure.

In August, 94 per cent of BSO musicians voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement covering wages, pensions, working conditions and increased involvement in artistic matters. The agreement runs through August 2029.

According to Seeber, however, the vote should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the board’s decision concerning Nelsons.

“A trade agreement is always a compromise,” he wrote, adding that it could not serve as a referendum on the reinstatement or removal of a music director. Seeber said that most members of the orchestra wished Nelsons could remain and described the decision to end his tenure without consulting the musicians as “artistically ill-informed”.

Nelsons’ departure was announced in March, with his tenure due to conclude at the end of the 2026–27 season. The decision triggered a months-long dispute between musicians and the BSO leadership and coincided with negotiations over the players’ new contract.

Greater artistic involvement

The agreement leaves final artistic decision-making with management but establishes greater formal involvement for musicians.

In the search for the BSO’s next music director, musicians hold six of the 12 seats on the search committee. Any candidate recommended to the board must receive a majority of the committee’s votes as well as the required support from the musicians on the committee.

The contract also expands the role of the Artistic Liaison Committee, which will meet regularly to discuss programming and future seasons.

Seeber said the musicians had pursued these provisions as safeguards following Nelsons’ removal. He argued that the players still had not received a satisfactory explanation for the decision and said they believed it had been taken for non-artistic reasons.

Different views of the agreement

Seeber’s comments offer a markedly different perspective from the more conciliatory language used when the contract was announced.

In a joint statement on 25 August, the BSO, Boston Musicians’ Association and orchestra musicians described the agreement as “an important step toward a more collaborative future” and said it created a “precedent-setting partnership” between musicians and management.

BSO president and CEO Chad Smith struck a similar tone in his own Boston Globe op-ed published on 15 September, describing the agreement as creating a “historic partnership” and arguing that it could provide a new model for collaboration between musicians and management.

Seeber, however, made clear that the underlying dispute has not been resolved.

“This agreement does not signal new trust in management,” he wrote. “Rather, it challenges management to prove itself trustworthy. We will see.”