Atlanta Ballet Orchestra
The Atlanta Ballet Orchestra: A Tradition of Live Music
For decades, the musicians of the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra have brought the music of ballet to life for Atlanta audiences. From the great scores of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Delibes to contemporary works and world premieres, the Orchestra has been an essential artistic partner to the dancers of Atlanta Ballet.
The history of music and Atlanta Ballet stretches back to the company’s earliest years. Founded by Dorothy Alexander in 1929, Atlanta Ballet grew alongside Atlanta’s developing cultural institutions. Remarkably, in 1946 the Atlanta Civic Ballet donated the proceeds from its season to the Atlanta Youth Symphony—the ensemble that would eventually become the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Music and dance have therefore been intertwined in Atlanta’s performing-arts history for generations.
Fighting to Keep Ballet Live
The Atlanta Ballet Orchestra’s history has not always been easy.
In 1989, while Atlanta Ballet faced serious financial difficulties, the professional orchestra was dismissed and recorded music was substituted for live musicians at Atlanta performances. Musicians and supporters protested the decision, arguing for the importance of live music as an integral part of the ballet experience.
A decade later, the Orchestra again faced a defining moment. In 1999, Atlanta Ballet musicians represented by the Atlanta Federation of Musicians, Local 148-462 of the American Federation of Musicians, went on strike during negotiations over issues that included the use of recorded music, guaranteed services, and pension contributions.
The dispute stretched into 2000. At one point, Atlanta Ballet sought to bring musicians from the Czech Republic to Atlanta to replace the striking orchestra. Musicians and their unions responded nationally and internationally. The Atlanta Ballet then hired a strikebreaking orchestra to play the season. Eventually negotiations resumed, helping preserve a professional orchestra as part of Atlanta Ballet’s performances.
Those events remain an important part of the Orchestra’s history. The presence of live musicians in the pit is not something that can simply be taken for granted. Generations of Atlanta Ballet Orchestra musicians have worked not only to perform at the highest professional level, but also to preserve live orchestral music as an essential part of the art form.
The Orchestra Today
Today, the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra is a professional, per-service orchestra whose musicians work under a collective bargaining agreement with AFM Local 148-462.
Its members are among Atlanta’s accomplished professional musicians, many of whom also perform, teach, record, and contribute to other musical organizations throughout the region. Some musicians have devoted decades of their careers to the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra.
In recent seasons, the Orchestra has accompanied major productions including The Nutcracker, Giselle, Coppélia, La Sylphide, The Rite of Spring, Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon, and Frida, as well as contemporary works and world premieres.
The musicians believe that an orchestra does far more than accompany dancers. Every performance is a collaboration. The conductor, musicians, and dancers respond to one another in real time—shaping tempo, phrasing, energy, and emotion together. This synergy means that no two live performances are exactly alike.
That interaction is one of the things that makes ballet a living art form.
Keeping Live Music in the Pit
The Atlanta Ballet Orchestra is proud of its long association with Atlanta Ballet and of the generations of musicians who have performed in the pit.
We are equally proud of those who have stood up for the principle that great ballet deserves great live music.
Our history continues every time the lights go down, the musicians tune, the conductor raises the baton, and dancers and musicians create something together that can happen only once—in that theater, with that audience, at that moment.
We are the Musicians of the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra.
We believe ballet is at its best when the music is live.
