Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Cancels Jayson Gillham After Gaza Comments, Then Calls It An Error

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra cancelled Australian-British classical pianist Jayson Gillham’s Thursday concert at Melbourne Town Hall after he performed a solo dedicated to the journalists of Gaza and said their deaths were being done to "prevent the documentation of war crimes".

“- Published A judge has urged the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and an acclaimed pianist to resolve a court case over Gaza comments between themselves”

BBC

The orchestra later said it made an "error" in asking Gillham to step back from his performance on Thursday 15 August, while still cancelling the entire Thursday evening concert citing "safety concerns".

BBC

Gillham had been due to appear at the show at Melbourne Town Hall on Thursday night, but was asked to step aside after he performed a solo "dedicated to the journalists of Gaza".

In the same account, Gillham said at the time: "The killing of journalists is a war crime in international law, and it is done in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world," and the BBC reported the case centres on a short introduction he read out during a performance in Melbourne on 11 August 2024.

The BBC also reported that the court heard evidence from almost two dozen witnesses including Gillham and former senior executives of the MSO, as the dispute over the Gaza comments moved through the courts.

A judge urged the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Gillham to resolve the court case over Gaza comments between themselves after a three-week trial, with Justice Graeme Hill telling them to resolve it "without me having to say the things I need to say in a judgement".

Gillham told the court that there had been "two attempts to resolve it already which were unsuccessful," and he said the case was "not that sort of case" where a judgement would be quick.

SBS Australia

The BBC reported that Gillham said Israel was carrying out "targeted assassinations of prominent journalists as they were travelling in marked press vehicles or wearing their press jackets" during the Sunday morning concert for an audience of about 150 people.

In its most recent update, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that 206 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, and the BBC said Gillham’s comments prompted the MSO to cancel an upcoming performance on 15 August 2024.

The BBC further reported that the MSO cancelled the entire concert due to safety concerns and said it had made an "error" in cancelling the show while trying to reschedule the performance.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra said it "acknowledges that an error was made in asking Jayson Gillham to step back from his performance on Thursday 15 August" while also maintaining that "a concert platform is not an appropriate stage for political comment".

“The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on Thursday tried to extricate itself from controversy caused by its earlier decision to cancel future performances by Australian-British classical pianist Jayson Gillham”

Variety

Variety reported that Gillham had called the deaths of over 100 journalists during the conflict in Gaza a "war crime," and it said the MSO’s Thursday decision was criticized by lawyers and the Australian performers’ union Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance as censorship.

The BBC reported that Gillham sued the MSO in late 2024 after it rejected "reasonable requests to remedy the situation," and it said the case centres on the short introduction read out during a performance in Melbourne on 11 August 2024.

Variety added that the Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 113 journalists have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, while the BBC reported a different figure of 206 journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023.

Across the dispute, the MSO said it was blindsided by Gillham’s comments and that he had put patrons in a "difficult situation," while Gillham’s barrister Sheryn Omeri said the MSO’s decision to cancel and then ask him to come back was "insulting".