Atlanta Symphony Back in Black After Deficits and Labor Fights

Following years of persistent budget deficits that led to two bruising labor battles, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra ended its truncated 2014-15 season hundreds of thousands of dollars in the black, reports The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

While final fiscal tallies are not yet in, preliminary numbers show revenue exceeding expenses by a “solid six figures,” said Randy Donaldson, a spokesman for the Woodruff Arts Center, which oversees the orchestra.

The orchestra ran deficits for 11 straight years before the 2014-15 season, which started late due to a nine-week lockout of musicians, the organization’s second in two years. The lockout ended in November with the signing of a federally mediated, four-year collective-bargaining agreement, under which musicians will receive 22 percent of the budget surplus. The Woodruff also said it has passed the halfway point in a $25-million fundraising drive for a musicians’ endowment.