Atlanta Ballet Musicians Picket Over Cuts to Live Orchestra

Musicians from the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra picketed outside the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre over the weekend as the company opened its season with "Passion and Pride," a mixed program performed to recorded music instead of live accompaniment. The demonstrators, members of the Atlanta Federation of Musicians Local 148-462, said they spent roughly six months trying to reverse the decision before going public. Cellist Alana Bennett said live music adds an energy dancers and audiences can feel that recordings can't match. Union secretary-treasurer Bill Johnston said the protest was meant to inform patrons rather than call for a boycott, and he stressed it was not a strike. According to Johnston, the orchestra's 48 positions will now be used only for the company's Nutcracker run and its new Swan Lake production, marking one of the smallest roles for the ensemble in about two decades. Atlanta Ballet said the decision reflects a balance between artistic ambitions and available funding, and it reaffirmed its commitment to the orchestra long-term. The dispute revives memories of 2006, when the company cut the orchestra entirely before restoring it for select shows in 2009 with help from a major donor gift. Musicians say they hope audiences will again pressure the ballet's leadership to prioritize live music and donate to support it.