British-Australian pianist Jayson Gillham has lost his workplace discrimination case against the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) over comments he made about Gaza during a performance.

He sued the orchestra after it cancelled one of his performances in 2024, days after he said during another concert that Israel had killed more than 100 Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

But Justice Graeme Hill ruled that Mr Gillham’s concert was not scrapped because of his political beliefs.

Rather, it was to « address the anticipated adverse impacts » of the pianist’s comments on the orchestra’s business and reputation, he ruled.

« I find that the MSO did have a policy for not expressing support for either side of the Israel-Gaza conflict, » Justice Hill said.

« I find that there is a custom or practice that classical musicians do not make statements on sensitive political or social issues from the stage without approval of the host. »