After the excitements and pressures of Conference in February, March has been a quieter month for the ABO team as we have caught up on some much needed holiday. However, we have not abandoned ship entirely and have met with the following people and organisations on your behalf: All Party Parliamentary Classical Music Group; MU; Arts & Business; Red Ted Films; Work Based Learning project group; Music Education Council; Music for Youth; Ulysses Arts; Classic FM; National Music Council; Healthy Orchestra Charter adjudicators; SOLT/TMA; Music Nation Steering Group; PEARLE*; ACEVO; Arts Council England. We also attended the OAE season launch, Classic FM Live with the Orchestra of Opera North, Lucrezia Borgia at ENO, and the In Harmony Liverpool 2nd Year Concert and also met with the RLPO team in advance of Conference 2012.

Our Spring/Summer series of Specialist Manager Meetings will be starting this week, do check the relevant dates with your diary:

08 April: Digital Managers' Meeting, Wigmore Hall, London
14 April: Education Managers' Meeting, Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore St, London
10 May: Chamber Orchestras Meeting, Caversham Room, Cadogan Hall, London
11 May: Finance Managers' Meeting, CCLA, 7th Floor 80 Cheapside, London
24 May: Development & Sponsorship Managers' Meeting, Wigmore Hall, London
26 May: Concert & Orchestra Managers' Meeting, East Arena Foyer, Royal Albert Hall, London
23 June: Marketing Managers' Networking Meeting, Royal Over-Seas League, London

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

Courses for this summer are now in place:

Finance for non-Finance Managers - Tuesday 21 June, Course leader Maureen McCulloch is an accountant with extensive experience in charities and the arts. Until recently she was the Finance Director of the Reading Agency and has been a freelance trainer for many years. She is a Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University. Course time & venue: 10am - 5pm at LSO St Luke’s, London.

Introduction to Press & PR - Thursday 7 July, 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. The course will be held from 9.45am - 4.30pm at LSO St Luke's, London.

More detailed information on the content of these excellent courses can be found on the Brass Tacks section of the ABO website. Prices start at £90 for members to attend and there are discounts available for multiple bookings for the same course.

It is also intended to hold a Fundraising Brass Tacks course this summer so do keep an eye on our website for details.

The ABO launched 6 short films during the week of the ABO conference showcasing orchestras’ reach and excellence; looking at how they use public investment on the platform and in education and community settings, and attract private support. The films are available here . A ‘snapshot survey’ showed that in the conference week, British orchestras delivered hundreds of concerts, education and community projects in prisons, schools, hospitals and concert halls across the country.

Arts Council England has announced the new National Portfolio of 695 organisations that it will fund from April 2012. The new National Portfolio will replace the current portfolio of 849 regularly funded organisations, which will continue to receive funding for the next twelve months. A full list of National Portfolio Organisations and other supporting materials is available at www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/national-portfolio-funding.

All orchestras currently regularly funded by Arts Council England have been retained in the National Portfolio, with the addition of three chamber orchestras. This is a welcome show of confidence in the orchestral sector, and testimony to the time and investment the ABO has spent these past two years campaigning on behalf of its members.

However, the ABO itself is disappointed that the reduction in resources available to Arts Council England along with the pressure to prioritise front line services has resulted in its own funding being withdrawn from 2012.

A statement from the ABO can be found here.

From 6 April 2011 the temporary cap on Tier 2 migrants will become permanent. This cap operates on a monthly basis with Shortage Occupation List occupations having a higher priority than normal migrants. There has already been a notable tightening of the T1 route which will continue. However, we are currently working with the UK Border Agency on the Exceptional Talent route for Culture, Humanities and Science. 

The Migration Advisory Committee has advised us that it is conducting a full scale review of the current Shortage Occupation List and so we shall be liaising with orchestra managers in the next month to look at the current state of vacancies within the orchestral sector. 

For more information or advice, please contact Keith on keith@abo.org.uk.

The German magazine „das Orchester“ (delivered in 47 countries with some 20,000 copies, 11 times a year) offers a new orchestra service for free: If you are going to tour to Germany, Austria or Switzerland with your orchestra, you may send your tour data (name of the orchestra, tour/concert dates and times, programmes, conductors, soloists) to: ontour@dasorchester.de  , latest six weeks before end of the month and the beginning of the tour. As far as printing space is available, orchestra tour data will be published on the new „on tour“ page as of May 2011 in every issue.

The National Audit Office has published a report critical of the financial management at the DCMS. The report notes, amongst many other things, that "insufficient account was given of the relative impacts on frontline delivery or the longer term impact that these reductions will have.”

Creative Scotland has announced its new plan, Investing in our Creative Future. The plan sets out the organisation’s ambition to see Scotland as ‘one of the world’s most creative nations by 2020’.

Trinity Laban
Mind, Body, Music
Enhanced health for performance

Tuesday 31st May & Wednesday 1st June 2011

10am-4pm (9.30am registration on both days)

Trinity Laban, Creekside, Deptford, SE8 3DZ

Cost: 2 days £140, 1 day £80

Are you a musician interested in enhancing physical and psychological aspects of your performance?

Mind, Body, Music is an opportunity for musicians, at any stage of their career, to invest in their well-being and improve performance practice.

A two-day programme features both theory and practical workshops including hands-on assessment techniques, Alexander Technique, Body Maintenance and Awareness, Nutrition, Yoga/Breathwork, Visualisation and psychological aspects of performance.

The event is directed by professional performer and musician’s health consultant Matthew Jones, Gemma Feeley from Trinity Laban’s respected Music and Dance Science team, with sessions led by Dr Terry Clark and jazz musician Martin Speake.

www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/mindbodymusic

For more information please call Katie Windsor on 0208 305 3883 or email ed.comm@trinitylaban.ac.uk

The Cultural Leadership Programme has developed Leadership Works to host a diverse range of leadership content - evaluative essays, video case studies and leadership journeys - which mark the key outcomes from the Programme since its launch in 2006.
 

This online approach has been developed to capture and reflect the dynamism of the programme, which has spanned the cultural and creative sectors, emerging, mid-career and senior leaders, as well as Board development and the wider issues of governance.

The International Arts Professionals Summer School is an intense week of inspirational learning for creative practitioners, arts managers and cultural project managers interested in engaging with the current debates and research in the management of visual and performing arts organisations.

The Summer School is organised by the University of Kent, School of Arts in partnership with ENCATC (European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centers) and will be hosted in the University of Kent in Brussels. It will take place between the 18th and 22nd of July 2011.

For further information on the speakers and programme and to register to attend the International Arts Professionals Summer School 2011 visit www.next-arts-professionals.org.uk

‘Leading the way to a thriving music hub'

The first ever Management and Innovation Conference is set to be held on 17 May 2011 in the Royal Opera House. The conference will bring together prominent leaders in the field of music education management for a comprehensive overview of this rapidly evolving area.

The aim is to present music educators with innovative and modern business practices and tackle some of the recommendations laid down in the Henley Review, with a focus on the use of modern technology and hubs. The conference will come at just the right time after music education receives both a final funding announcement for the 2011/2012 year and the Henley Review which has marked a new era for the sector. However, past 2012 the future is still uncertain for music education and therefore it necessary to put solid provisions in place now.

Speakers will include Simon Dutton, Managing Director of Paritor, Ian Clethero, Managing Director of Zone New Media, Ben Ballard, Freelance Organisational Development and Fundraising Consultant (Ex Director of Plymouth Music Zone), Robin Osterley, CEO of Making Music and National Music Council, Neil Farnworth, Principal Consultant of Enrich Training and Consultancy and Alexia Quinn of Music as Therapy International.

For more information please visit www.paritor.com or to book a place either email conference@paritor.co.uk  or call us on 01395 445092.

The art of branding – developing and managing your brand
London, 7 April, 10.00am to 5.00pm

Led by Chris Denton, a highly experienced arts marketer and consultant, this day workshop will explore successful branding and positioning strategies for arts organisations. Chris will share case studies from arts organisations across the world highlighting how other organisations are managing and developing their brands and he will introduce you to a tried-and-tested process for revitalising an organisation’s brand.

You will learn how to run branding workshops with your colleagues, audiences and other stakeholders and how to develop a successful branding approach for your own organisation.

Best of friends – develop an effective membership / friends scheme for your organisation
Leeds, 12 April, 1.30pm to 5.30pm
London, 14 April, 1.30pm to 5.30pm

Led by Liz Hill, Consultant Editor and Director at ArtsProfessional, this half-day workshop will explore the potential of membership and friends schemes for arts organisations.

Whether you are thinking about establishing an effective membership and friends scheme for your organisation or would like to improve your existing scheme, Liz will show you the key building blocks of a successful scheme and the strategic options open to you. If you have not yet thought about the potential of a membership scheme for your organisation, then this workshop will help you gain the knowledge, insight and ideas required to get started.

Liz Hill is also the author of The Complete Membership Handbook – a guide to managing friends, members and supporter schemes. You can read an extract from her book here and join Liz at the workshop to find out how to apply this knowledge to your own organisation.

For more information and to book, visit the AMA website or e-mail anne@a-m-a.co.uk

The TMA's inspirational course for those in the early stages of their arts marketing careers

18th -23rd September

Druidstone Hotel, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Druidstone is the leading residential arts marketing course in the UK. Established for over 25 years the course has produced a generation of professionals who have gone on to be the Marketing Managers and Marketing Directors of today. Ambitious content, dynamic sessions, supportive fellow participants and motivating tutors ensure an excellent learning experience. Add in the unique Druidstone Hotel with its panoramic views and private beach and you have an exceptional combination of factors, a very special atmosphere and environment that will stimulate, challenge and inspire.

This intensive course, aimed at people with between six months and two years experience in arts marketing, covers a great deal of content at a fast pace, providing total immersion in all aspects of arts marketing and a practical framework for using the knowledge when returning to the workplace.

Sessions include:

• Marketing planning Campaign planning Understanding audiences
• The Marketing Mix Press & PR Copywriting
• Direct marketing Media buying Advertising
• Design and print Social media Digital marketing

The cost for attending Druidstone is just £1,100 plus VAT for TMA/SOLT members or £1,300 plus VAT for non-members (held at 2010 rates). This includes all teaching sessions, an extensive resource pack, accommodation, meals and snacks. It also includes coach transfers from Haverfordwest railway station to Druidstone Hotel. This year the TMA is pleased to be able to offer two bursary places at Druidstone thanks to the generous support of Travelers Insurance. Each bursary will cover 50% of the cost of the course fee. The bursaries are being offered to individuals from organisations that have never sent staff to Druidstone before, with particular priority for small or medium-sized organisations.

How to apply

Places are strictly limited and there is a written application process. For an application pack and further information, please see the TMA website or email Gemma Nelson at: gemman@solttma.co.uk
The deadline for all applications is 1pm on Fri 13 May 2011.

ABO members qualify for TMA member rate. Please make sure you specify you are an ABO member on the booking.

John Storgårds, Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, with effect from January 2012.

Patrick Bailey has been appointed Education & Community Director at the London Philharmonic Orchestra along with Caz Vale as Community Officer following Isobel Timms's move to Britten Sinfonia to cover Maternity Leave as Creative Learning Director.