Collaboration & Carmina Burana: Facts And Our Perspective
April 28, 2026
In a recent statement, the Boston Musicians Association (BMA) Local 9-535 made several misrepresentations regarding the Back Bay Chorale’s collaboration with the Boston Conservatory at Berklee for a performance of Carmina Burana on May 1, 2026. The Back Bay Chorale wishes to clear up any misunderstandings and explain the context and purpose of this collaboration.
- The Back Bay Chorale has enjoyed its longstanding working relationship with the members of the Boston Musician’s Association. This includes our recent 50th anniversary concert in October of 2025, in which our contracted orchestra was all BMA members - we value professional musicians and the talent they bring to our performances.
- We note, for the sake of clarity, that we have no collective bargaining agreement with the BMA. Our process has been to work with a contractor to engage musicians for individual concerts, for which we pay union rates and pension benefits. We believe this arrangement is typical for small performing arts non profit organizations in Boston.
- At the same time, the Chorale is focused on growing and expanding our partnerships, programs and community outreach around the city – through our ongoing Bridges English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) chorus with the Boston Public Library, our free community sings with Trinity Church in Copley Square and at Church of the Covenant earlier this year, and our partnership with Boston Conservatory at Berklee to present Carmina Burana this spring. The Chorale is committed to engaging with audiences, singers and performers of all backgrounds and we stand by that.
- Our partnership with Boston Conservatory grows out of our commitment to education and fostering the next generation of musicians. This is reflected not just in the collaboration for this concert but also our ongoing conducting apprenticeship and carol composition competition initiatives. The Carmina Burana concert features the Boston Children’s Chorus as well as Boston Conservatory student singers, musicians and dancers.
- Boston Conservatory students participating in this event have worked on this piece as part of their for-credit educational experience - the orchestra, choirs, and dance ensemble all have syllabi that contain this performance as part of the educational experience, and students will receive grades for their efforts. The benefit: all coming together for the singular experience of performing a large multi-disciplinary work that each individual organization alone could not produce.
- The BMA’s recent statement makes clear that it has missed the point of this collaboration. Nevertheless, the Back Bay Chorale welcomes ongoing dialogue with representatives of the BMA.
Questions can be directed to