A Collective Bargaining Agreement makes everything possible.
Contracts
The current CBA between Arizona Opera and American Federation of Musicians Local 586 has a built-in term limit. When that term expires, the opera and the union have the opportunity to meet in good faith once again to fine tune their commitment and to establish a new, revised CBA. Term limits are standard fare; they bring everyone together for more face-to-face discussion.
The process of collective bargaining is very detailed and is sometimes complicated. The ultimate goal is this "master" agreement -- the CBA -- which then "trickles down" to individual contracts for each musician.
With individual musician contracts, many things happen. Musicians are secure in their employment, Arizona Opera is secure in having an experienced cast of talented musicians to count on for rehearsals and performances, and the community-at-large is secure in knowing that the high quality music they expect from the Opera will continue.
The "show will go on," so to speak.
"Per Service"
In the world of classical music, musicians are often paid a set fee for each rehearsal or performance they attend, rather than being paid by the hour or with a regular salary with benefits. The Arizona Opera Orchestra is a "per-service orchestra." That is, we are paid a fee for each service (rehearsal or performance) we play.
In the 2006-2007 season, a section member of the orchestra who played every service in the entire season earned $6,332.80. More than 25% of the musicians were not required for all of the Arizona Opera’s productions, so they made significantly less.
In order to make a living, the Arizona Opera Orchestra’s musicians supplement their income through a variety of means. Many of the Opera Orchestra’s musicians teach music in addition to performing. For example, the members of our orchestra teach upwards of 250 private music students each week.
Others hold miscellaneous full-time and part-time jobs, or "freelance" with other music ensembles to collectively make a living.
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