Following Esa-Pekka Salonen’s announcement that he was leaving the San Francisco Symphony next season, Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony have released an open letter urging the Board of Governors to take steps to retain Salonen as Music Director and to reverse planned cuts to programming, touring, and education, which threaten the Symphony’s status as a world-class institution.

The Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony said, “We are deeply saddened by the news that Esa-Pekka Salonen will not be returning as Music Director as a result of the Board of Governors’ lack of investment in the future of the Symphony. The decision to cut innovative programming and cancel touring, as well as the failure to competitively invest in the Symphony’s musicians, has led to the departure of a world-class Maestro and raises serious questions about the future of the Symphony.”

The statement continued, “We joined the San Francisco Symphony because of this orchestra’s cutting edge reputation and its commitment to musical excellence. Esa-Pekka is a visionary artist and a force for the kind of innovation and experimentation our orchestra needs going forward. There were many groundbreaking things that he had hoped to do in San Francisco, and we were looking forward to going on that journey with him. Esa-Pekka’s decision not to renew his contract is a great loss not only for the musicians and the organization, but for our city and our community.”

“While we will continue to create the best possible musical experiences for our audiences, it is critical that the Board and the public understand that this requires financial investment in our artistic product. It is hard to reconcile these draconian cuts with the reality that the Symphony has one of the largest endowments of its kind in the country and attendance now exceeds pre-pandemic levels. We remain the only Symphony among our peer orchestras that has not had our compensation restored to pre-COVID levels. While other world-class orchestras have resumed touring, our tours have been canceled for the foreseeable future. These misguided cuts threaten the future of our orchestra and will make it more difficult to attract and retain top talent, grow our audiences, and ensure we remain a world-class orchestra.”

The statement concluded, “We care deeply about the San Francisco Symphony and we are incredibly grateful for the support we have received from our patrons, subscribers, and donors. We call on the administration to reverse course so that we can keep producing innovative and compelling programming for years to come and ensure that San Francisco has a world-class orchestra that continues to enrich the community.”

 The budget cuts would include cuts to the SoundBox series, semi-staged productions and educational programming, and the cancellation of an upcoming European festival tour in 2025. The board also noted that it would not restore musicians’ salaries to competitive levels following pandemic-era cuts.