The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) did not unfairly dismiss a concert pianist after he made comments about the Gaza War, a judge has found.
Federal Court Judge Graeme Hill delivered his judgment on July 10 after British-Australian performer Jayson Lloyd Gillham took the MSO to court in a three-week trial.
The international concert pianist claimed he was unfairly dismissed by the orchestra after criticising Israel at an August 2024 recital.
Before playing a composition piece dedicated to Gazan journalists, Gillham told the audience that Israel had deliberately targeted some journalists to prevent the reporting of war crimes.
He was sacked the next day, and the orchestra cancelled a subsequent concert at the Melbourne Town Hall, citing safety concerns.
Judge Hill found the MSO did not take action against Gillham because of his political beliefs, rather they were protecting their own business interests and reputation.
The judge determined all of Gillham’s claims against the orchestra should fail.
During the trial, Gillham’s barrister Sheryn Omeri KC argued the case was fundamentally about the right to freedom of expression for workers and whether those rights could be limited by the implied terms of a contract.
The pianist’s comments were lawful and audience members who did not want to listen to them could have left the Southbank venue, she said.
But MSO barrister Justin Bourke KC argued an unfettered right to free speech on the stage could have profound consequences, affecting ticket sales, sponsors and donors.
It would ultimately be unworkable, especially if an artist wanted to speak on stage for an hour, and the MSO was “entitled to have control” over its own stage, he said.
In oral evidence, the pianist agreed he had not told the orchestra or his agent about his intentions to play the piece titled Witness, worried they would have found an excuse to disallow the performance.
The MSO argued Gillham would have anticipated people would be upset by his comments, with management responding to the incident within minutes.
The orchestra received one written and two verbal complaints after the concert, followed by 487 complaints about the cancellation decision, the court was told.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
The offensive was launched after Hamas fighters launched an all-out attack across Israel, including a music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people.
