San Antonio Philharmonic rises from symphony's ashes

Three months after the 83-year-old San Antonio Symphony came to an end, the symphony's former musicians will be performing again with a new name and a familiar mission. The San Antonio Philharmonic is the new name for the nonprofit previously known as the Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony Performance Fund. The new orchestra will kick off a 13-concert season Sept. 16. "We're the symphony for San Antonio," said bassoonists Brian Petkovich, president of the group, succinctly summing up the new venture's role. The San Antonio Symphony musicians went on strike in September 2021 during a labor dispute with the Symphony Society of San Antonio, the nonprofit board that ran the orchestra. On June 16, the board announced that it had initiated Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, which are ongoing. The orchestra, which had endured decades of financial turmoil, was shut down for good.

The season mapped out by the musician-led San Antonio Philharmonic, titled “Forward Together/Adelante Juntos," will run September through May and include 10 classical and three pops concerts, many conducted by former symphony music directors with deep ties to the city. All will be performed at the First Baptist Church of San Antonio, where the musicians produced three concerts in the spring. The philharmonic also will perform 36 young people's concerts at nine high schools across the city. The budget through the end of the year is $1.1 million, Petkovich said, adding that fundraising is going well. The symphony had 72 positions, some of which were vacant at the end because auditions had not been held in a long time. Between 60 and 70 musicians will play this fall, Petkovich said. "Some people have, to their credit, found work at the last minute around the country and around the world, frankly. So we're down a little bit from where we were," he said. "The people that are in town are really committed to making this work. And we’ll fill in with people as we need to to put on great concerts. "Right now, we’re not in a position to start holding auditions. We want to get there as soon as possible, but it's going to take a lot of work." All of the musicians will be paid at union scale. "This is a professional endeavor, and part of keeping people here playing is providing pay," Petkovich said.