Vancouver strike may force VSO cancellations

MARSHA LEDERMAN
Globe and Mail

Vancouver — If the strike by Vancouver city workers doesn't end by mid-week, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will probably have to cancel its season-opening concerts. Violinist Sarah Chang is scheduled to play two shows on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 at the city-run Orpheum Theatre. The Orpheum is a city-run property, and is not operating during the strike.

The VSO says there are no alternative venues available for those concerts this weekend, so it will have to reschedule the shows for later in the season, or cancel them altogether.

“We are feverishly looking at rescheduling options,” says Alan Gove, the VSO's director of marketing and sales. “We're waiting literally until the last possible moment to exercise the option of cancelling.”

The two sides in the strike are meeting with a mediator this week. The decision about the VSO's opening weekend concerts will likely be made late Wednesday. If the VSO decides to reschedule, ticket-holders will be offered a ticket to the new show, a ticket to a different VSO show, or their money back.