Phoenix Symphony to Resume Performances After Funding Push

The Phoenix Symphony plans to restart its suspended season on November 12, following a fundraising effort that secured enough commitments to bring musicians back through December 31. The season is set to resume fewer than three weeks after a cash shortage led the organization to halt performances, and four days after 66 musicians lost their jobs without receiving pay on November 2.

The first concert back will be a chamber performance of Brahms’ “Serenade No. 1” at the Musical Instrument Museum. From November 13 to 15, the orchestra is scheduled to perform “Music of the Knights,” featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John and Paul McCartney, at Symphony Hall.

The orchestra’s musicians said they will work with the board and administration to raise the additional money needed for performances in 2027. Bridget Pasker, an orchestra committee co-chair, said the musicians were grateful to return and prepared to help keep the orchestra playing beyond the end of the year.

A benefit concert is scheduled for November 8 at Monroe Street Abbey in downtown Phoenix. Proceeds will go directly to musicians affected by the layoffs.

The board has also established an 11-member commission to develop a long-term financial plan and review the Symphony’s financial and operating model. Two musicians will sit on the group, alongside civic, business and Symphony representatives. The musicians said pay and working conditions will remain matters for collective bargaining. The commission is expected to develop a plan for the organization’s future.