Musicians playing for Opera Pacific will receive...

Musicians playing for Opera Pacific will receive a 19% increase in wages and benefits, the company announced Monday. According to a contract with the Orange County Musicians Union, Local 7, of the American Federation of Musicians, the increase will be spread over the next four years. The new starting rates range from $128.50 to $192.75 per performance and from $102.76 to $154.14 per rehearsal. The contract, signed in August, runs from Sept. 1, 1994, through Aug. 31, 1998. It also gives the Irvine-based company permission to broadcast one production per season over radio in Southern California.

Compiled by Kathy Stickel