The Early Booking Deadline is now approaching very fast indeed - in fact it is this Friday, 8th January! To make sure you benefit from the best prices and the best discounts for multiple delegates follow the links and book online now!

And why should you book? Quite simply we have got a fabulous line-up of speakers who will be debating the very hottest of subjects, all focusing on the theme of Identity. How do we perceive our industry and how do others view us? Recently confirmed speakers include Richard Reeves of DEMOS who will give the keynote speech, Gordon Smith, CEO, Scottish Football Association; Roger Wright, Controller, BBC Radio 3; Jesse Rosen, President & CEO, League of American Orchestras; Edward Seckerson, The Independent and Andrew Clark, FT; Gretchen Amussen, Conservatoire de Paris; Johannes Neubert, Grafenegg Festival; Tony Hall, Chair, Cultural Olympiad; Paul Moseley, DECCA and Ralph Couzens, Chandos; and many many more. 

There is a sumptious Conference dinner, our very own conference ceilidh with top band Kilter, a reception held in the City Chambers, and the prospect of a superb concert given by our hosts, RSNO. And toolbox sessions for ALL levels and areas of orchestral management. So the question is not why should I book? It is "Why haven't I booked already!!!??"

And don't forget - once you have booked for Conference, remember to book your accommodation as, like last year, this is being dealt with separately and is facilitated directly by Glasgow Convention Bureau.

See you in Glasgow where Simon Woods and the RSNO team have guaranteed us that the sun will be shining!

December saw our final Brass Tacks courses for the year, the inaugural meeting of ABO Welsh members, a meeting of the Opera and Ballet managers and Mark spent a delightful, if chilly weekend in Stockholm at the PEARLE* Conference. In between mince pies we also found time to meet with the following people on your behalf: Darren Henley and Sara Holt, Classic FM; DHA Communications; Roger Wright, BBCR3; SOUNDS2012 Steering Group; London Southbank University; Michelle Wright, Cause4. Fiona attended the BASCA Composer Awards and Youth Music Early Years seminar, Keith the Classic FM Carol Concert and Royal Albert Hall Marathon Centenary, Mark the MPA lunch, OAE/London Sinfonietta Christmas party and Sandi Toksvig's Christmas Cracker, and Orla the IAMA christmas drinks.

It has been a good crop of honours for people associated with classical music and orchestras.

Conductors James Loughran and Kenneth Montgomery were awarded a CBE and OBE respectively. Opera singer Sarah Connolly and pianist Peter Donohoe were awarded CBEs, as were cultural strategist Graham Devlin and artistic director of the Barbican Centre, Graham Sheffield. OBEs went to composers Craig Armstrong and Rachel Portman, former Music Manifesto Champion Marc Jaffrey and director of BBC Wales, Menna Richards. The LSO’s Principal Trumpet for 30 years, Maurice Murphy was awarded an MBE.

Renowned patron of the arts and baritone Ralph Kohn was awarded a knighthood for services to science, music and charity.

The new PACT / MU Agreement is now available to download from the Information – MU Agreements section of the ABO website. Significant amendments are:
 

* The removal of the Combined Use Scale 5 (£53 per hour, clause 26), except for low budget domestic UK films (with a budget of £20 million or less). The other scales remain the same.

* Provisions have been added for multi-part light entertainment programmes (the same format as Strictly Come Dancing and The X-Factor, for example). These include an 8-hour programme session fee of £625 for live/as-live productions and a discontinuous pre-recording 4 hour session fee of £500. These fees acquire all rights worldwide excluding theatrical and commercial audio rights, and also allow for spin-offs and retrospective clips across the series.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced the confirmation of funding for 624 jobs in the culture and sports sector, in areas as diverse as theatres and music venues, digital archiving, media production and the furthering the Olympic sporting legacy. Money has been provided by the Future Jobs Fund, an initiative conceived by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which aims to create 120,000 jobs for young people aged 18- 24 who have been unemployed for six months. The £1 billion funding pot offers employers up to £6,500 for each job created. Prospective employers must bid for the funding, demonstrating that the extra jobs created will last at least six months and will provide rapid benefit to the local community.

The new jobs were announced by Culture Secretary, Ben Bradshaw, who said that “this £5 million announcement will ensure that help goes where it is really needed, to young people who might otherwise be in danger of falling into long term unemployment. By getting people into skilled work we are investing in future generations.” Funding has been confirmed for:

• 200 jobs nationwide, led by Creative and Cultural Skills, in cultural organisations and community venues including theatres and live music venues, with roles ranging from community arts practitioner to event management, technical operations, marketing and communications
• 142 jobs with English Heritage
• 31 jobs in the London Borough of Newham, working at the Stratford Circus performing arts venue, including media production assistants, community learning assistants and youth mentors
• 51 jobs working at the National Association of Clubs for Young People, an organisation with a track record of helping young people through participation in sports, creative arts, training and volunteering
• 200 jobs across the West Midlands, co-ordinated by the Skills Partnership and making a major contribution towards the region’s Olympics legacy
DCMS has committed to contributing 10,000 jobs within the Future Jobs Fund, 5,000 in sport and 5,000 in culture. Minister for Employment Jim Knight said "it’s great that we have been able to encourage high quality bids from arts and sports organisations and give young people the opportunity to get real jobs and valuable experience in the creative industry - one of the main growth industries of the future.”

8-11 June 2010

LIVE! Singapore 2010 is a new international event for the Performing Arts and Entertainment industry incorporating a ground-breaking conference, an international trade fair, and acclaimed live performances. Be part of this unique platform for the global performing arts professionals and organizations and get to exchange knowledge, do business and network with those in the industry.

For further information see www.live-singapore.com.sg  

Wednesday 10 February | 17:00 | Room 208 Guildhall School

We are delighted to invite you to attend this upcoming Guildhall ResearchWorks presentation by Professor Stephen McAdams, Canada Research Chair in Music Perception and Cognition Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) Schulich School of Music of McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

The session will focus on how listening evolves over time during a live performance and how the methods of cognitive psychology and psychophysiology can be used to help understand why the musical experience is so rich and so individual. It will be of particular interest to researchers, performers, teachers and arts managers, and anyone concerned with understanding audiences and how performers communicate with them.

Evidence from a variety of sources will be reported, including in-concert monitoring of real time response from large numbers of audience members using both portable IT devices and arrays of biosensors. Please see attached further details of the session.

If you would like to attend please rsvp on research@gsmd.ac.uk  by 4 February 2010. Please note that due to the limited number of places, these will be offered on a first come first served basis.

Arts Council England has made the sixth round of awards from its £40 million Sustain fund for organisations under pressure as a result of the recession. There are no ABO members included in the latest round. Further details of the awards made and declined are published on the Arts Council England website here.

Nick Jackman has moved from English National Opera to take up the position of Charitable Giving Manager at the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Vicky Shilling has joined the Philharmonia Orchestra Concerts Department as Manager of Regional Concerts & Projects.