In theory, in the absence of a contract there would be nothing to prevent the symphony’s board from locking out the players again after the regular season ends in June 2020 and imposing a 40-week season. But Barry said both sides could use the next nine months to hammer out an agreement. Moreover, a cooling-off period would give the task force created this spring by the Maryland General Assembly time to analyze the BSO’s finances and make recommendations for restoring the organization to solvency.