The Price of Music: A Reflection on the VSO Strike

 🎶 The Price of Music: A Reflection on the VSO Strike 🎶

For the first time in 107 years, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra musicians have issued a strike notice. These are the people who dedicate their lives to beauty, to lifting our souls, and yet face salaries far below their peers, sky-high rents, and the constant strain of a demanding profession. 💔🎻

Music used to be everywhere. Pete Seeger and his wife traveled to share their talents, only to discover every family had its own band. Every street, every home, a rhythm. 🎹✨ Today, kids are surrounded by endless electronic noise—repetitive, anxiety-inducing—and yet music still lives on, in films, in social media, in our hearts.

I think back to my own childhood: accordion keys beneath my fingers, flute notes trembling in the air, dreams cut short by peer pressure. I tried to nurture my child’s musical spark, but lessons were expensive. And now, musicians are forced to fight for fair compensation, to protect their art and their lives. 🎵💖

Supporting them isn’t just charity—it’s a recognition that their work sustains the cultural heartbeat of our communities. Without them, the world grows quieter, less vibrant, less human. This strike is not just about money—it’s about respect, survival, and the preservation of something sacred: the music that connects us all.