"I am extremely impressed at the way the symphony management and the union and the current team of musicians are working together to come up with something fair, equitable, and that can be handled by the symphony," union president Les Blasi said. "I can't believe this won't end in a satisfactory manner.

Two years ago, musicians accepted a 5 percent pay cut, with the mimimum salary dropping to $41,123 from $43,540. With NJSO expecting a $900,000 deficit for 2004-05, players are unlikely to see a raise. In June, according to the Star-Ledger, musicians said that they hoped at least to maintain the salary level reached before the cut.