‘The MSO has blood on its hands’: Protest disrupts Melbourne orchestra’s London show

The horns, strings and reeds of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra were replaced by a far angrier noise on Friday night as they performed in London.

The group Jewish Artists for Palestine disrupted the MSO’s performance at the Royal Albert Hall for a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3, silencing the music and forcing the concert to restart.

“The MSO has blood on its hands,” roared a woman in the crowd, filmed by an audience member in video since uploaded to social media.

“You silenced Jayson Gillham! The MSO is complicit in genocide! You silence artists! The MSO is complicit!”

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Pianist Jayson Gillham was sacked from the MSO after making a statement in support of Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza prior to a performance in August 2024.

The MSO cancelled the next event at which Gillham was to perform and released a statement saying his comments were not appropriate and “an intrusion of personal political views”.

It later said it had made an error in cancelling Gillham’s shows.

Gillham later reached an in-principle settlement with former Melbourne Symphony Orchestra managing director Sophie Galaise, but is still suing the MSO itself.

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The trial begins December 1, with the musician saying he has raised more than $100,000 to put towards his legal fees.

In a statement to its newsroom, the BBC said: “We are sorry about the disruption to our coverage of the BBC Proms on Radio 3 tonight.

“There was a disturbance at tonight’s Prom which meant the concert was paused for a few minutes and the live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 diverted to pre-recorded music.”

“The incident was dealt with swiftly by the Royal Albert Hall.

“Our priority is always the safety and wellbeing of everyone who attends the BBC Proms, and we would like to thank our staff and the performers whose response helped keep disruption to a minimum.”

The MSO has been contacted for comment.

More to come

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