FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 27, 2026

Contact: Stacey Champion | sc@champion-pr.com | 602-788-0033

Phoenix Symphony Musicians Launch Face the Music Campaign:

Meet the People Who Make the Music, Before It Disappears

Board says it wants the music to return “as soon as possible.” Musicians say, “let’s start now.”

PHOENIX – Today, with five days left until they are laid off, the 66 musicians of the Phoenix Symphony launched “Face the Music,” a new campaign to share their faces and personal stories with the world. Between now and their last scheduled performance on Sunday, November 1, every musician will be individually highlighted on social media channels and the musicians’ website.

Their stories are personal and heartfelt. While many of us are so moved while attending symphony performances, we often forget these musicians are also our neighbors. They are couples, single parents, and caregivers for aging parents or ailing partners. Some moved here alone for the opportunity of a lifetime. They are the Valley’s teachers and volunteers. All are just struggling to get by like so many of us in this current world.

Earlier today, David Leibowitz, a spokesman for the Phoenix Symphony Board of Directors, told the Arizona Republic: "The Board deeply respects the musicians, and the Board understands that right now they’re very upset. The members of the Board are very upset, too. They want to fix this so that the music returns as soon as possible."

So do the musicians. “If the Board truly wants the music back as soon as possible, we are ready to sit down and figure out a way,” said Bridget Pasker, Associate Principal Cello. “But respect means more than words. We learned we were losing our jobs by email and press release, with less than two weeks’ notice, right before the holidays. Our health insurance will be cut off. Real ‘respect’ would be providing true transparency into the finances and how this decision was made, telling us the plan, and working with us to get the orchestra back on stage.”

Follow the Face the Music campaign.

Phoenix Symphony Musician’s Instagram, Facebook and Website.