Court to deliver judgement on pianist sacked by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra over Gaza

The Federal Court will deliver judgment on an alleged unfair dismissal of pianist Jayson Lloyd Gillham by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) over comments about Gaza on Friday.

In August 2024, the international concert pianist told a recital audience that Israel had deliberately targeted some journalists to prevent the reporting of war crimes, before playing a composition piece dedicated to Gazan journalists.

Gillham was sacked the next day, with the orchestra cancelling a subsequent concert at the Melbourne Town Hall, citing safety concerns.

Gillham’s barrister Sheryn Omeri KC said the case was fundamentally about the right to freedom of expression for workers, and whether those rights could be limited by the implied term 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 the 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, Gillham agreed that he hadn’t told the orchestra or his agent that he intended to play the piece titled Witness, as he worried they would have 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.

According to the United Nations, over 260 journalists have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war since October 7, 2023.

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