BY SAMANTHA ALISANKUS

On Nov. 8 the Minnesota Orchestra announced in a press release that it will cancel five shows for the remainder of the year and potentially reschedule an additional five.

The decision comes after months of contract negotiations between the Minnesota Orchestra Association and Minnesota Orchestra musicians. Negotiation discussions began in April and since then the two bodies have been unable to come to an agreement regarding a new contract.

The musician’s most recent contract expired Oct. 1 and according to a Pioneer Press article, initial proposals from the MOA called for a $46,000 cut to musician salaries.

The MOA’s release states that in 2011, the orchestra posted its largest deficit in history — $2.9 million. According to Minnesota Orchestra’s press release, MOA Negotiations Committee Chair Richard Davis said that the salary cut is an attempt to “safeguard the Orchestra for the long term so that it may serve our community for many decades to come”.

A separate Nov. 8  release  from the Minnesota Orchestra stated, “The Minnesota Orchestra Board of Directors today announced it will accept the offer of its Musician Negotiating Committee to have its Chair address the full Board after musicians have returned to the bargaining table with a substantive proposal that addresses the organization’s financial challenges.”

However, according to this release, the committee has yet to offer a counterproposal