While many of our members have been taking well-earned summer breaks the ABO has been staunchly holding the orchestral fort. In August, on your behalf, we met with:

Freud Communications; Richard Hallam, DCSF; Ruth Mackenzie, DCMS; Orchestras Live; LOCOG; Jayne Sutton and Dr. Stephen Dance; Michelle Abbey; Tom Hutchinson, RPS; Susannah Simons, BBC; NYO; ISM; La Playa Insurance; Robert West, National Skills Centre. We officially launched the Live the Experience report, mapping current provision of schools concerts in England; and the MU working party also met.

In addition to this we attended proms by BBCSO, BBCSSO, BBC Phil, BSO, Philharmonia, NYO and the OAE, performances at Glyndebourne and the RPO Summer School.

The following meetings have been set for this autumn:

1 October: Education Managers' Meeting, Wigmore Hall, London
6 October: Development & Sponsorship Managers' Meeting, Royal Over-Seas League, London, including a workshop by Ken Hoffman, the internationally known fundraising consultant, who specializes in raising funds from American sources for non-US charities.
8 October: Digital Managers' Meeting, LSO Bonhill Street, London
14 October: Chamber Orchestra Managers' Meeting, Cadogan Hall, London
20 October: Finance Managers' Meeting, SOLT / TMA, London
11 November: Concert & Orchestra Managers' Meeting, Wigmore Hall, London
24 November: ABO Annual General Meeting & CEOs Forum, 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.

Introduction to Press & PR - Tuesday 15 September, Course leader Kate Whyman, a freelance PR consultant specializing in music and the arts. Her client list includes BBC Radio 3, Cadogan Hall, London Mozart Players, 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. Course venue: Royal Over-Seas League, London.

Finance for non-Finance Managers - Tuesday 8 December, Course leader Maureen McCulloch, a chartered accountant with extensive experience in charities and the arts who has been freelance trainer for twenty-one years. Course venue: LSO St. Luke's, London.

If you and / or your colleagues would like to find out more detailed information or to book a place please click here to visit the Brass Tacks page of the ABO website.

Following suggestions from our members, we will be running two new Brass Tacks courses this autumn - one on Evaluation and the other on Health & Safety. As with all the ABO Brass Tacks courses places are limited so early booking is advised.

Evaluation - Friday 6 November, Course leader Annabel Jackson, is a professional evaluator specialising in the arts, who has worked for all the main arts funders and for a number of orchestras and other arts organisations. Annabel has been contracted by the ABO as an Evaluation Consultant and spoke at the ABO's Summer Education Managers' Meeting. Course venue: Barbican Centre, London.

Music And Me - dispelling the jargon behind health and safety on the platform - Tuesday 17 November, Course leader Jayne Sutton, a freelance Health and Safety consultant who spoke at the October 2008 ABO Concert & Orchestra Managers' Meeting. Course venue: Wigmore Hall, London.

For detailed information on the content of these valuable training opportunities please visit the Brass Tacks section of the ABO website.

A date has also been set for the ABO's annual 'Where Do I Start?' event. This one day insight into working in orchestral management is aimed at students and recent graduates - so please pass on the word to any young people you might know who are interested in our sector. The event will be held in the Barbican Centre, London on Friday 13 November and futher details can be found on the ABO website.
 

‘Shaping the Future of Contemporary Music’
Glasgow, 29th October – 1st November 2009

A reminder that ARTMUSFAIR/2009 is open to representatives from the entire contemporary classical music scene and aims to attract some 500 composers, music publishers, record labels, musicians, promoters, managers and agents from across the European Community. Key objectives will be the building of new and closer partnerships, the exchange of new music ideas, and the sharing of the latest best-practice examples of innovation in the contemporary music world.

The four day event has been planned to coincide with celebrations of Scottish composer and Master of the Queen’s Music Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ 75th birthday. The programme will feature concerts by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra as well as a number of performances of the very latest contemporary music by smaller Scottish, UK and European ensembles and by students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. The programme will also include a number of project presentations and workshops on specific subjects, a late night concert lounge and various other live performances.

A major thrust of the conference programme is expected to be a series of high level seminars on public service broadcasting, the commissioning of music by orchestras and ensembles, arts funding and copyright. The aim is to stimulate an intensive and path-leading debate as a first step towards producing a "European Composers' Manifesto" for the future of contemporary music. There will also be a special ABO session, which will revisit our New Music Seminar held in 2004 and look at new music commissioning by British orchestras five years on. The session will be chaired by Susannah Simons and panelists include Sally Groves, Andrew Cornall, Andrew Burke, Gavin Reid, Vanessa Reed and Anna Meredith.

For further information click here.
 

We were pleased to receive two applications for Bronze awards by the most recent deadline and also one for a Silver Award. Watch this space for updates! The new deadline for all applications is Friday 23rd October. Please do let Keith know if you intend to submit applications. As always he is more than happy to talk through draft applications and answer any queries you may have.

We are also delighted to announce our 16th Bronze winner. Congratulations to the Royal Academy of Music!

Ofcom has published a consultation on how it intends to move PMSE users from channel 69 to channel 38, including more detail on compensation, timescales and band planning. This consultation has a short timescale (11th September) and is the users' final opportunity to influence Ofcom on this vital issue. The document is available here.

As you’re no doubt aware, the music industry and ways people use music have changed dramatically over the last ten years. UK Music wants to create a long term vision for the music sector and is asking for input from all those working within, or affected by, the industry to share their thoughts. The output will be a strategic report, due to be published in late October, which will focus attention on the future shape, needs, direction and ambitions of the music industry. Please send your responses to feedback@ukmusic.org by the 15th September 2009. http://www.ukmusic.org/consultation

The Michael Tippett Foundation will consider applications this autumn for creative group music making projects, in schools or community settings. Orchestra creative education projects could be eligible and we have helped several in the past. Grants are between £500 and £4,000. The deadline is 30 September 2009 and all info and guidelines are on www.tippettfoundation.org.uk

The Daniel Pearl Foundation take great pleasure in inviting orchestras to participate in the 8th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days, a global network of events to promote peace and understanding through the language of music. This year's World Music Days will be held October 1 - 31, 2009.

For the past seven years, thousands of professional and amateur musicians have joined this expanding network of concerts to honor the legacy of journalist/ musician Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal South Asia Bureau Chief, who was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan shortly after 9/11. These concerts commemorate Pearl's life and work by using the universal language of music to spread a message of hope, unity and "Harmony for Humanity."

World Music Days, which coincides with Daniel's October 10 birthday, is an awareness-raising initiative, not a fund-raising program. There is no fee to participate. A simple registration of your event(s) at www.danielpearlmusicdays.org  will confirm your participation and promote your event(s) worldwide.

There is a campaign afoot to re-instate the orchestra at the Eurovision Song Contest. For the time being, this initiative is confined to Facebook. However, it is hoped that it will grow further in time. The facebook page of the initiative is http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=94867019352

Arts Council England has announced the shortlist for Artists Taking The Lead. Twelve commissions will be created by artists across the UK, as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, one in each of the nine English regions, and in the nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. See here for further details.

Arts Council England has made a second round of awards from its £40 million Sustain fund for organisations under pressure as a result of the recession. Successful applicants include ABO members the Philharmonia Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra. Further details of the awards made and declined are published on the Arts Council England website here.

The ESA European Sponsorship Awards are the only pan-European sponsorship awards celebrating excellence across all sectors - sport, culture, entertainment, media and corporate social responsibility. Winners of the 2009 Awards will be announced on 25th November at a ceremony in London and ESA is seeking entries across five different categories.

 
ESA Business to Business – for sponsorship projects directed at a sponsor’s business partners, clients and distributors
ESA Business to Community – for sponsorship projects focused on corporate social responsibility, educational or environmental objectives
ESA Business to Consumer – for sponsorship projects intended to reach existing and potential consumers
ESA Business to Employee – for sponsorship projects focused on members of staff
ESA International Sponsorship – for sponsorship projects which reach a minimum of three different countries, and which reflect activity based within at least one European market

Applicants should select the most appropriate category for their entry, based upon the objectives and target audience of the particular sponsorship project. A single project can be entered into a maximum of two categories plus the International category, if applicable. The closing date for applications is 25 September and detailed information including assessment guidlines can be found on the ESA website - click here. Joanne Sloane is happy to answer any queries and can be contacted on: awards@sponsorship.org or 020-8390-3311.

Tuesday 15 September 2009, 10am – 1pm
SOAS, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG
Cost: £85 Subscribers | £115 Non-subscribers +VAT - includes lunch and one-to-one follow-up consultation session

Audiences London are holding a one day session on how to understand when to undertake research of your audiences and how best to go about it. The session includes a one-to-one follow up session with Audiences London’s Research Manager to discuss your particular plans in detail.
 

This event is suitable for people who haven’t been responsible for leading on audience research, but also a good refresher and reference guide for those that have done it before.Full details can be found on the Audiences London website.To book visit www.audienceslondon.org/bookonline / email: bookings@audienceslondon.org or phone: 0 7367 0816
 

Chris Allen has joined the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic as Head of Fundraising. Chris succeeds Claire Hughes, who has worked with the Phil in the role of Head of Fundraising for over five years. Claire leaves the Phil to resume her work as a fundraising consultant, working with a range of clients in the public and private sectors.

Mark E. Lewis, Marketing Officer, BBC Concert Orchestra is moving job to take up the position of Marketing Manager at the London Sinfonietta.

Bernadette O'Sullivan joins the LSO Development Team as Development Director this month. Bernadette was previously Director of Development at the Roundhouse, prior to which she worked at the National Trust and the Tate.

Will Harriss, Development Manager at London Sinfonietta will be replacing John Bickley as Development Director at the Britten Sinfonia as John has taken up the position of acting General Manager of The Sixteen during Marie-Sophie Willis’s maternity leave.