In September 2021, the Houston Symphony issued a side-letter to the contract with its musicians, mandating that any musician not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of the month would be stripped of pay and health benefits. Cellist Jeffrey Butler was one of five musicians who declined to be vaccinated on religious grounds.
“Your DNA is your God-given expression of who you are, your soul. And I had difficulty with the idea of introducing something into my body that could change it. It went against my religious beliefs,” says Butler, a member of the Houston Symphony since 1986.
For several months, Butler was placed on unpaid leave without the safety net of health insurance. He doesn’t blame his employer….