AGMA and Musica Sacra Announce New Three-Year Contract

CONTACT:
Alicia Cook, Director of Communications, AGMA: acook@musicalartists.org.
Jennifer Wada Communications for Musica Sacra: jennifer@wadacommunications.com

AGMA and Musica Sacra Announce New Three-Year Contract

New York, NY — The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and Musica Sacra are pleased to jointly announce a new three-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA), effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2028. The contract was overwhelmingly approved by AGMA artists working at Musica Sacra and officially ratified by the AGMA Board of Governors on July 28.

“Our new three-year agreement reflects a continued spirit of collaboration between Musica Sacra and the artists who bring its music to life,” said the New York Area Concert Singers Committee, which represented the singers of the Sacra shop for this round of collective bargaining with Musica Sacra. “We’re proud of the progress made around compensation and job security, and in affirming our voices as artists within the broader vision and operations of Musica Sacra.”

The agreement includes a 10% wage increase over the contract's duration and strengthens hiring practices through the creation of a Seasonal Chorus List and a new Auxiliary List, both governed by a formalized, inclusive audition and notification process.

"We're thrilled to have reached this new agreement with AGMA, one that strengthens the collaborative spirit between our artists and our organization through our shared commitment to artistic excellence and mutual respect," said Mark Hanke, Executive Director, Musica Sacra. "We look forward to a partnership that amplifies our artists' voices during these challenging times for the arts, so that we may collectively champion the art of professional choral singing together."

The CBA reaffirms shared commitments to equity, transparency, and organizational sustainability, while thoughtfully responding to the evolving needs of today’s professional choral artists—including new provisions that address artificial intelligence, health and safety, and artist participation in decisions about the company’s future.

About AGMA:

The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is the labor union of singers, dancers, and staging staff in opera, ballet and contemporary dance, and concert choral performance in the United States. A national union with a membership of ~7,000 artists, AGMA provides forceful advocacy and defense of its members’ employment and artistic rights. AGMA negotiates and enforces over 70 collective bargaining agreements nationwide, ensuring fair and safe working conditions and enhancing the quality of life for its members. AGMA has a direct charter from the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO Branch of Associated Actors and Artists of America and the Department for Professional Employees (DPE). AGMA is also a part of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG).

About Musica Sacra:

Since its founding in 1964, the mission of Musica Sacra has been to create definitive, professional, choral performances of the highest caliber. It does so with concerts, recording, the commissioning and performing of new choral works, and collaborating with other top tier performing arts organizations. Led by Music Director Kent Tritle, Musica Sacra is known for its interpretations of the masterpieces of choral music – Tallis’s Spem in Alium, the choral oeuvre of J. S. Bach, the masses of Mozart and Haydn, the Requiems of Mozart, Brahms, and Fauré, choral touchstones by Bruckner, Strauss, Stravinsky, Schönberg, Bernstein – and its involvement in contemporary repertoire; recent releases include Messages to Myself, a disc of contemporary works including commissions by Daniel Brewbaker and Michael Gilbertson; and Eternal Reflections, music of Robert Paterson. Recent collaborations include joining the New York Philharmonic for performances of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Mozart's Requiem under Jaap van Zweden, as well as their live score performances of Amadeus, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

July 30, 2025