Leaders and Musicians from Arts Organizations across the country have shared their support for the Southwest Florida Symphony musicians, affirming that classical music is alive and thriving—and that it deserves a strong future in Fort Myers. We are deeply grateful for their solidarity during this critical time.
“On behalf of the Florida Orchestra and all of our musicians here in Tampa Bay, we want to extend our deepest sympathies to all the musicians in the Southwest Florida Symphony and all the patrons of the arts in Ft. Myers who may be hurting right now. We believe the arts can be vibrant here in Florida. We are an example that live classical music has a huge appetite, and we do hope that you do manage to find a way to make this work and this orchestra and these wonderful musicians can continue to feed the community and produce wonderful art. And therefore - WE STAND WITH YOU!!” -Michael Francis, Music Director, Ross Holcombe Musicians’ Committee Chair, and the Florida Orchestra Musicians
“The Symphonic Musicians of Sarasota stand in solidarity with the musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony and refute the comments and actions of Tom Uhler and the rest of the Southwest Florida Symphony board.
Mr. Uhler can complain that “classical music is struggling,” but thanks to the latest 990 you can access directly on the SWFSO website, it is clear that this organization has the financial resources to keep the doors open in Fort Myers for years to come, even if these resources are being depleted by the board’s hiring of expensive union-busting lawyers.
You can’t drive up or down Florida’s west coast without passing through cities that have orchestras that are continuing to grow in spite of Mr. Uhler’s perceived notion that “nobody gives a hoot about classical music.” If the board is truly convinced there is no way forward for the Southwest Florida Symphony, please consider stepping down and allowing new leadership to save this important piece of Fort Myers culture and history.
The Symphonic Musicians of Sarasota are proud to have several musicians who regularly perform in both Fort Myers and Sarasota and we refuse to accept the idea that over 60 years of music can just be needlessly silenced.”
“On behalf of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, AFM Local 389, and of all the musicians in Central Florida, we reach out to the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra Musicians and to those in the community who love the music that they create. We are so sorry that some are trying to extinguish your music, and we want to keep the fire burning and keep live, professional classical music alive in Ft Myers. We stand with you and strongly believe that the Southwest Florida Symphony MUST exist in the orchestral world. WE SUPPORT YOU!!!”
“In light of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra's announcement to close after 64 seasons, the Fort Myers Symphonic Mastersingers would like to publicly express our gratitude to the many talented musicians who have brought such beauty and exceptional music to our community.
We stand together in support of the musicians affected by the sudden closure of the orchestra, and affirm the truth that classical music, both choral and orchestral, remains not only relevant, but vital to our community. Music is more than a performance. It is connection, inspiration, and a space to be and become. We urge our community to reject the notion that public interest in classical music is waning, and instead stand with local arts organizations to build a stronger future for the arts.”
“The only reason for this hasty decision to shut down the orchestra is due to a failure of leadership.”
South Florida Musicians’ Association
AFM Local 655
Shutting down an orchestra is a decision that should not be taken lightly. South Florida has lost two orchestras since 2000, and it has created a hole in our community that still has not been filled after 20 years. If the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra truly closes its doors, it is likely that a professional orchestra will never return to Fort Myers.
We do not believe that the end of the Southwest Florida Symphony is imminent, and we question the decision to shut it down. As recently as a few weeks ago, planning for the next season was underway. Why would you be planning for the future if the end is in sight? In their most recently filed tax return, the orchestra had a minimal deficit and nearly $3 million in net assets, IN ADDITION to over $3 million in an endowment fund. These assets alone would fund the orchestra for an additional three years even if there were no new donations or ticket sales. The only reason for this hasty decision to shut down the orchestra is due to a failure of leadership.
We stand with the musicians and call for new leadership to continue the mission of the Southwest Florida Symphony to bring professional, live classical music to the Fort Myers community. -South Florida Musicians’ Association, AFM Local 655
Look close - you can see our own cellist, Scott Crowley to the right of the sign. Jacksonville Symphony is hiring our fine musicians. Why can’t SWFSO?
From the Musicians of the Jacksonville Symphony and the Musicians" Association of Jacksonville!!!
Thank you for sending us this message of support! The musicians of The Southwest Florida Symphony greatly appreciate your message of solidarity. You are an organization that leads the way in community outreach, stellar performances and a management that knows how to reach out to the community for funding and support. When you saw a small union orchestra in Florida closing for reasons that are even now unfathomable, you said "we stand with you."
Music is Alive and Appreciated in the state of Florida. Don't let them take away YOUR Symphony in Fort Myers!
Atlanta Federation of Musicians is with Southwest Florida Symphony Musicians
The musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony have enriched the cultural life of the Fort Myers community for over 60 years. Rather than continue this legacy, their board made the callous and shortsighted decision to close their doors at the end of June. Please join us in showing these musicians your support as they seek to save their institution.
Thank you to the Atlanta Federation of Musicians for your strong words of support and for standing with us in our desire to keep the Southwest Florida Symphony performing in Fort Myers! With each message we receive, it is clear that musicians are WORKING all over this country!
Our board is completely wrong about the state of music around the nation, and the Atlanta Federation of Musicians is correct that the abrupt closure announcement was callous toward our players and the community and extremely short- sighted.....it also highlights how wrong our board President is ......this country cares about live symphonic music. If that wasn't true, we couldn't have support coming in from WORKING musicians across our nation!
Thank you Atlanta Federation of Musicians, and your members, for standing with the Musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony! In Solidarity!
Omaha Symphony Musicians
Though we’re smiling, our hearts are heavy.
The musicians of the Omaha Symphony stand in solidarity with our colleagues in the Southwest Florida Symphony. Their 64 year old orchestra is being abruptly shut down on June 30 with no warning given to the public or musicians before the announcement. This loss is devastating not only to their community but to the orchestral field at large.
Kathleen Beard, their ROPA representative, writes:
“What wasn’t added to the board’s public statement was the rampant mismanagement that had gone on for years, the hiring of an executive director completely unqualified to run a symphonic nonprofit for 13 years, and an acrimonious board who would spend any amount of money on union-busting attorneys.”
We join them in rejecting the idea that classical music no longer matters. The arts are essential. Orchestras can and do thrive with leadership that champions its musicians and its mission with integrity.
To the musicians of Southwest Florida: we see you, we hear you, and we are with you.
When WORKING Musicians, such as the Musicians of the Madison Symphony Orchestra take the time to send a personal message of support to the Musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony, we know how significant and important that message is because they are sending it not just to our players, but to our community and our board! You might think these musicians only care about our musicians, but THEY know what any community will lose if THEIR symphony orchestra disappears!
We are also VERY grateful that John DeMain, Music Director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, asked to join with the musicians for their message of support!
We are very grateful for taking YOUR valuable time to help our Symphony, our players and our community all the way from Wisconsin!
THANK YOU TO OUR COLLEGUES of SANTA ROSA SYMPHONY!!
Nothing else needs to be said but thank you to the 1900 members of the CFM - Chicago Federation of Musicians ! Your support is greatly appreciated! Please take the time to read the entirety of their post!
CFM - Chicago Federation of Musicians
On April 29, 2025, 3 days after the final concert of the 2024/25 season, the Southwest Florida Symphony Board sent out a message to the SWFLS Musicians and minutes later the press was notified that their 60+ year old symphony was going to close its doors on June 30, 2025. This was done with no warning to the musicians or the public that they planned to take this action and after musicians were given planning dates for the next season.
The Southwest Florida Symphony still has an endowment fund. They are not declaring bankruptcy. They are just choosing to close. While the symphony board president cites declining ticket sales and rising venue costs, he failed to mention their mismanagement and acrimonious negotiations with musicians (leading to them spending vast amounts of money on union busting attorneys to break the union from representing the players and they are still paying these attorneys after the closure was announced).
The true feelings of the board president came out the very day they announced the closure on April 29. “Classical music is struggling across the country…” said Tom Uhler, President of the Orchestra’s Board of trustees. “Nationally, only about 5 percent of the population across America gives a hoot about classical music.” Interview with Charles Runnells -Fort Myers News-Press” April 29, 2025
Take a moment today to share your support for the musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony. Shame on your board of directors. You deserve so much more.
Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Musicians took time out before their Vicksburg Military Park concert to show support for our colleagues in Southwest Florida Symphony.
Symphony orchestra musicians whose hard work has brought art and joy to their community for decades deserve better than to have their employment terminated, without notice, due to the mismanagement of their board of directors. The 5,000 members of the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 in Los Angeles condemns the SWFLS board and wholeheartedly stands in solidarity with Southwest Florida Symphony Musicians.
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The Executive Board of the Professional Musicians of Central California, AFM Local 12, and our 412 members including musicians of the Fresno Philharmonic, Modesto Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra, and Broadway Sacramento, offer our support for the Southwest Florida Symphony Musicians
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Thank you Omaha Musicians' Association Local 70-558 and the WORKING members of your Local for supporting the Musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony! We may be separated by almost 1600 miles, but by standing with us, you help spread the message that communities across our vast nation love music and support live music! Thank you for standing toe to toe with us! In Solidarity!
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Almost 1,400 miles separate the Musicians of AFM Local 8 from the Musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony but we are grateful for you message of support!
Your message not only helps our musicians but it helps our community see that live music is being performed all over our nation!
Fort Myers needs THEIR symphony to continue and they need to ask for NEW management that embraces symphonic music and knows how to run an orchestra.
Thank you for standing with us!
Thank you Kalamazoo Symphonic Musicians for once again reaching out to us!!.... and it seems we should thank Harry Potter as well for understanding what we feel we are up against in the fight to keep our Symphony open!
Our musicians are amazed, that while Tom Uhler has implied music is dying away across our country and has used that to bolster his justification to close the doors of the Southwest Florida Symphony?? that working, CLASSICALLY trained Musicians are even now working, performing and bringing audiences in to hear them..... (Shhh) Maybe Kalamazoo can whisper their secrets to running a Symphony Orchestra to the board otherwise we may need a Patronus charm to fight the forces of evil...Expecto Patronum!!
From the Musicians of the Hartford Symphony, 1100 miles away!!!:
"The musicians of the Hartford Symphony took time in the dress rehearsal for their last performance of the season to stand in support of the musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. The SWFSO is one of Florida's most respected professional orchestras, with a rich history of artistic development and community engagement. Established in 1961, this institution has brought musicians and soloists of the highest caliber to the region, and expanded programming to include youth concerts and educational outreach. Its Youth Orchestra and Young Artists Competition, along with the Symphony Masterworks, Pops and Chamber Orchestra series, all bring classical music to new audiences as well as important benefits to the local economy. That is 64 years of great work.
You might ask “how did the SWFSO evolve from its roots as a community orchestra to a fully professional group made up of 70 committed, talented musicians?” The answer is rooted in what the community needed - high quality musical performances, community engagement, and musical education for its young people. We in Hartford applaud this mission, and we stand in solidarity with our colleagues. We urge the Board and Management of the orchestra to come to an agreement with the musicians and do right by the community in which they live!"
Thank you to the musicians of the Hartford Symphony for standing with us and for our community! Fort Myers deserves to have the music of THEIR symphony continue!
“The Tucson Symphony Orchestra stands in solidarity with the musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony. Their commitment, hard work and dedication towards the arts only enriches and elevates the cultural scene of their community. The Southwest Florida Symphony board announced that they are closing operations on a 60+ year old organization on June 30"
Thank you musicians of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra for your message of solidarity! Each of our organizations provides cultural enrichment to our communities and an organization such as the Southwest Florida Symphony, whose 60+ years of performances, shouldn't be FORCED to close down because our management doesn't know how to run the organization. Your message, from almost 2200 miles away, highlights the fact that live symphonic music is thriving in the United States! Thank you!!
"The members of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and the Toledo Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 15-286, stand in solidarity with the musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra in their efforts to continue bringing live symphonic music to the people of Ft. Myers Florida. We fail to see how the shutdown of the orchestra after 64 years of great music making in any way aligns with its duty, which is displayed in its mission statement, “. . . to present outstanding music for the entertainment, enrichment and education of the broadest possible public.” We call on the board and management to reconsider this decision and, if unwilling to reverse it, step aside and let others take on the work of bringing great music to the people of Southwest Florida."
The Musicians of the Austin Symphony Orchestra stand in heartfelt solidarity with our colleagues from the Southwest Florida Symphony. We celebrate your incredible 64-year legacy of bringing joy and inspiration through orchestral music. Your dedication and passion resonate deeply with musicians and communities nationwide.
Let's continue to champion classical music together and remind everyone of its enduring impact and importance. We're with you, Southwest Florida Symphony!
The Musicians of the Detroit Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 5 support the Musicians of the Southwest Florida
Symphony. The actions of the board run contrary to the charter to which they have pledged to uphold. The community deserves a quality orchestra, not a disinterested board who have sought to destroy the Symphony.
WORKING musicians from every corner of our country are stepping up and saying we support you! A message from various Locals around the country….
"The Musicians of Local 7 -Orange County, support the musicians of Southwest Florida Symphony. The actions of the board run contrary to the charter to which they have pledged to uphold. The community deserves a quality orchestra, not a disinterested board who have sought to destroy the symphony."
"The musicians of AFM Local 137 in Eastern Iowa stand in support of the musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony. Now is not the time to let music die in Florida or anywhere."
“The members of AFM Local 37 Joliet, IL support the musicians of The Southwest Florida Symphony"
"On behalf of the members of Local 294 [Lancaster-York Federation of Musicians] I am writing regarding the recent sudden closing of the Southwest Florida Symphony. As you navigate this new and unfortunate reality please know we support all of you and we are keeping you in our thoughts. Classical music is alive and well and together we will keep it that way. In solidarity, President, Local 294"
“As President of the Regional Orchestra Players’ Association (ROPA), I write this message in support of the Southwest Florida Symphony Musicians. The ROPA Executive Board just recently learned of the decision to close the Orchestra. We deplore this decision, and we urge the Board of the SWFSO to come to an agreement that preserves both the identity of the orchestra as a key facet of the cultural identity of the region and the livelihoods of its talented and dedicated musicians.
Based in Fort Myers, Florida, the SWFSO is one of the region’s most respected professional orchestra and the only fully professional symphony in Lee County, with a rich history of artistic development and community engagement. Established in 1961, this institution has brought musicians and soloists of the highest caliber to the region, and expanded programming to include youth concerts and educational outreach. Its Youth Orchestra and Young Artists Competition, along with the Symphony Masterworks, Pops and Chamber Orchestra series, all bring classical music to new audiences as well as important benefits to the local economy. That is 64 years of great work.
You might ask “how did the SWFSO evolve from its roots as a community orchestra to a fully professional group made up of 70 committed, talented musicians?” The answer is rooted in what the community needed which was high caliber music performances, music outreach to their youth and music education. The numbers in publicly available documents don’t support a unilateral move to close and this decision by the board was made in secret with no advance notice to the musicians or the public that a closure was imminent. The SWFSO Board and management should join with their musicians in growing an orchestra that has become a mainstay of the quality of life in Southwest Florida.”
Steve Wade
President, Regional Orchestra Players’ Association