April has seen the start of a busy SMM season for the ABO staff. Already we have had meetings of the Scottish Members, Finance Managers, Digital Managers and the Opera and Ballet Managers. April also saw, as a legacy of the ABO conference, the forming of a Sustainable Touring steering group and the commissioning of research into orchestral touring and greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to these meetings staff have also met with the following people and organisations on members' behalf:

Claire Whittaker, Serious; Chamber Orchestra Strategy Group; Ian Ritchie; BBCSSO; RSNO; IAMA; London Music Masters; Artifax Software; The Roald Dahl Foundation; National Music Council; UKBA; DHA Communications; Susanna Eastburn, Arts Council England. We have also attended meetings with the Conservative and Lib Dem Culture Teams, the 2009 Proms Launch, the launch of Get It: The Power of Cultural Learning, the IAMA Conference in Luxembourg, and concerts by National Youth Orchestra, Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, AAM, London Sinfonietta, OAE, and Classic FM Live.

The following meetings are confirmed for this spring / summer:

11 May: Chamber Orchestra Managers' Meeting, Barbican Centre, London
14 May: Education Managers' Meeting, LSO Bonhill Street, London
20 May: Development & Sponsorship Managers' Meeting, Wigmore Hall, London
4 June: Concert & Orchestra Managers' Meeting, Royal Albert Hall, London

If you would like to attend one of these meetings please log on to the Members Area of the ABO website and then click on Events and book the relevant Specialist Manager Meeting.
 

Please note that the afternoon of the Concert & Orchestra Managers Meeting on 4 June will be devoted to a workshop on German Tax, in association with IAMA, which will examine the complex issue of withholding tax for orchestras and artist managers when arranging tours to Germany. Speakers include Thorsten Vree, PriceWaterhouseCoopers AG; Karen Clark, Baker Tilly; Burkhard Glashoff, Konzertdirektion Schmid. For further details and to book click here.

Tuesday 9 June - All that you ever wanted to know about fundraising but were afraid to ask!, Course leader Sarah Gee, Senior Consultant with Dixon Raines. Royal Over-Seas League, London.

Tuesday 23 June - Introduction to Press & PR, Course leader Kate Whyman, a freelance PR consultant specializing in music and the arts. Her client list includes BBC Radio 3, Cadogan Hall, Mayor of London, British Arts Festival Association, Festival and Events International, The Old Market and Brighton Festival of World Sacred Music. She was PR consultant for the ABO from 2004 - 2009. LSO St. Luke’s, London.

Tuesday 21 July - Finance for non-Finance Managers, Course leader Maureen McCulloch, a chartered accountant with extensive experience in charities and the arts who has been freelance trainer for twenty-one years. LSO St. Luke's, London.
 

Limited spaces are available to attend these excellent courses. To find out more information or to book a place please visit the Brass Tacks page of the ABO website.

Sunday 6 – Friday 11 September 2009 - Effective Management (Carberry Tower, Edinburgh). Specifically designed for those working in the arts, the TMA’s Effective Management course was established in 1993 to meet the needs of new and not-so-new managers. Over 250 people have now attended the course from all areas of management – backstage, front of house, marketing and general office – benefiting from expert guidance in a programme that is accessible, friendly and a lot of fun.

ABO members are welcome to book at TMA rates.  For further details click here.

On 31 March changes to the resident labour market test announced by the Home Secretary came into effect. From that date, all employers who wish to sponsor a skilled migrant under Tier 2 (General) must first have advertised the position in Jobcentre Plus and used one other method of advertising permitted by the relevant code of practice. Exemptions will only apply to a small number of jobs including those on the shortage occupation list. If they don’t do this, they won’t be able to sponsor migrant workers via our new points based immigration system. Further details can be found on the UK Border Agency website by clicking here.

We are delighted to report that the Migration Advisory Committee has recommended that the Home Office include Orchestral Musicians on the list of Shortage Occupations following evidence submitted by ABO. This would mean a more streamlined ability to employ players from outside the EEA as orchestral musicians. Please call Keith for further details.

Along with our website you can also follow ABO on Twitter here and on Facebook here.

The European Parliament voted on 23 April in favour of a compromise proposal to extend the term of protection for performers from 50 years to 70 years. Under current EU laws, recorded musical performances are protected for a maximum of 50 years. This means that over a period of 50 years, performers receive renumeration for each time their work is played on the air. After 50 years, artists lose control over the use of their works and no longer receive this income. Composers already enjoy copyright protection for 70 years after their death. The European Parliament voted on 23 April in favour of a compromise proposal to extend the term of protection for performers from 50 years to 70 years. The original proposal from the European Commission was to extend to 95 years.

For more information click here.

Nominations now open!

For over 30 years the Arts & Business Awards have been celebrating and showcasing the best in cultural partnerships and sponsorships across the UK.

The Arts & Business Awards give profile to excellent collaborations between businesses and cultural organisations that achieve marketing, branding, PR, corporate social responsibility or professional development objectives.

To take the first step towards joining some of the most innovative organisations in the UK, simply pick your categories and enter.

Go to our Awards section to find out how to enter and details on last years winners. Entries close on Friday 29 May - be sure you don't miss out on the UK's most celebrated business and cultural awards.

The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama is delighted to announce a major new conducting fellowship to the value of £10,000 tenable for one year from September 2009.

The conducting fellow will play a major role in a wide variety of RSAMD performance activities, ranging from Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, to Contemporary Music Ensembles and Opera, in both rehearsal and performance, and will work closely with the RSAMD’s specialist tutors, conducting consultants and visiting conductors.

The RSAMD has extensive professional links, and the fellow will benefit from unique and varied opportunities offered in collaboration with organisations such as Scottish Opera, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Live auditions will be held on June 9th 2009, and further details are posted on the RSAMD website by clicking here.

Closing date for applications: May 15th.

Sustain, a £40 million, open application fund will provide extra support for organisations under pressure as a result of the recession. This is not a fund for failing organisations, but a way that Arts Council England can sustain artistic excellence in the context of the economic downturn.

Sustain will be funded from Lottery income by reducing Lottery cash balances to £30m a year and is a fixed-term two year programme (09/10 and 10/11) designed to address short term needs (such as cash flow) and long-term sustainability. They will be one-off awards to cover two years (2009-2011).

In addition there will be additional support for individual artists and smaller arts organisations through Grants for the arts. ACE is increasing its Grants for the arts budget from £52 to £54 million in 2009/10 and to £56 million in 2010/11. This increase has also been funded by reducing its lottery cash balance.

ACE will also provide support through the Town Centres Initiative, setting aside £500,000 of our lottery income as a fund to which artists can apply for grants to help them carry out artistic activities in empty shops made available to them through the scheme. It hopes these smaller grants (£1,000 to £10,000) will help individual artists do even more to help reinvigorate town centres.

Click here for more details about these measures and ACE’s wider actions to support the arts during the recession.

Click Here to Register Now!

The Rhythm of London project are looking to produce a comprehensive handbook and website that includes details on the work our Partner Organisations do and facilitate in terms of music education activities, opportunities or services in addition to any activities planned for Saturday 11 July that could be included in the public day of Rhythm of London.

They would be delighted to hear from Partners about anything they might be planning coinciding with the campaign's aim of promoting music education activities and opportunities for young people across London. In order to be a part of this and for further information click here.
 

Artists of all kinds from across the UK are being challenged to use the nation as a blank canvas for twelve inspirational commissions that will showcase our creativity to the world, as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Artists taking the lead is the most ambitious and wide ranging art prize in the UK and is being developed by Arts Council England, in partnership with London 2012 and the arts councils of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

12 commissions of up to £500,000 will be awarded to create 12 new works of art across the country; one in each of the nine English regions, and in the nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The submitted ideas will be judged by panels in each of the nations and regions, made up of artists, the Creative Programmers (representatives of London 2012 outside the capital who help to shape the UK-wide cultural Olympiad), and an Arts Council representative.

Arts Council England expects to announce the shortlisted artists in July 2009, and the final twelve commissions in October 2009. The successful commissions will be developed across 2010 and 2011, and all twelve will take part in a final unifying celebration before the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Please click here for more information and to submit ideas for commissions online by Friday 29 May 2009.

Unfortunately the most recent Healthy Orchestra deadline passed at the end of April with no applications. 

We very much hope this is a temporary blip and will welcome new applications up to the next deadline on FRIDAY 24 JULY.  If you require further information, please contact Keith.