Pianist’s Gaza remarks spark Federal Court fight
A court has heard the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was thrown into turmoil after pianist Jayson Gillham made comments about the war in Gaza during a concert.
Gillham is suing the orchestra in the Federal Court, alleging discrimination on the basis of political opinion after a 2024 performance in which he performed a solo piece dedicated to journalists killed in the conflict.
Jayson Gillham (x.com)
Before performing the piece, Gillham said Israel had targeted journalists in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes, prompting the orchestra to cancel his next scheduled performance, citing safety concerns.
The orchestra argued Gillham would have anticipated that people would be upset, with management responding to the incident within minutes as “all hell broke loose”.
His next concert was cancelled following the performance.
The organisation had no warning about his comments and felt misled by him, MSO barrister Justin Bourke told the court in an opening address on Monday.
“He knew he was overstepping the line; he knew he was going to make political statements about Gaza,” Bourke said.
Gillham’s barrister, Sheryn Omeri, said 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.
She said the pianist’s comments were lawful, and audience members who did not want to listen to them could have left the Southbank venue.
“There is no right not to hear things that make us uncomfortable, even very uncomfortable … there is a difference between feeling uncomfortable and feeling unsafe, and nothing that speech would have made anyone feel unsafe,” Omeri said.
Gillham’s claim survived an earlier attempt by the MSO to have the case thrown out, clearing the way for the current trial.
The orchestra received one written complaint and two verbal complaints after the concert, followed by 487 complaints about its decision to cancel Gillham’s next performance, the court heard.
But Bourke argued that an unfettered right to free speech on stage could have serious consequences, affecting ticket sales, sponsors and donors.
It would ultimately be unworkable, especially if an artist wanted to speak on stage for an hour, he said.
“We are entitled to have control over our own stage, especially when statements are going to be made that are highly controversial,” Bourke said.
Justice Graeme Hill encouraged lawyers on both sides of the dispute to limit their rhetoric about events in the Middle East.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation in Australia, launched an assault in southern Israel that killed more than 1200 people.
Israel has denied deliberately targeting journalists and has argued that Hamas and other armed groups have repeatedly used journalistic cover, including by placing operatives in media roles or presenting members as journalists. The IDF has published documents it says link some Gaza-based media workers to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The trial is expected to run for three weeks, and the orchestra is expected to call about 20 witnesses.
with information by Liz Hobday/AAP
