The Big Issue - UK (2020-03-02)

02-08 MARCH 2020 BIGISSUE.COM | 37

CULTURE |

MUSIC

T

heUK’sorchestrasareaglobal

success.Butthatsuccesscomes

ata price.It’sanexpensive

andriskybusinessputtingon

classicalconcerts,involvingthemovement

ofupwardsof 100 peopleplussupport

staff. And after a decadeof cuts in public

funding,whichhasledtoourorchestras

chasingmoreworkabroad,particularlyin

Europe,Brexitposesthebiggestriskofall.

First off, we need accessto the best

inglobaltalent.Musicianscrossborders

everyday,eitherassoloistsorlookingfor

permanentworkinanorchestra.Freedom

ofmovementhasmadethiseasy,butwith

theUKplanningtoimposeimmigration

controls,andEUcountriesdoingthe

sametous,it’sallgoingtogeta lotmore

difficultafter the end of December.

Ourmemberswillfromthenonneed

to navigatedifferentwork permitand

socialsecuritysystemsineachofthe

EU27nations,allofwhichwilladdcosts

andbureaucracy.AndforEUmusicians

wantingtoliveandworkintheUK,this

willalsogeta lotharder,nowweknow

thatfromJanuary1 2021theywillbe

treatedno differentlyto migrantsfrom

outsidetheEUandwillbesubjecttothe

UK’svisarules.

Orchestrasalso need to shift the

musicalinstrumentsacrosstheborder,

and once we have left the CustomsUnion

wecanexpectcustomschecks,which

willaddcostsanddelays.Weareusedto

havingtogetcarnetsfortourstotheUSA

or China,whichguaranteesthat the goods

shippedoutwillbethesameasthose

broughtbackin,soknowjusthowmuch

extraworkwillbeinvolvedoncewehaveto

rampupthenumberofcarnetsneededfor

Europeantours.

Andgettingthemusicalinstruments

andthemusicianstothevenueistime-

critical.Iftheconcertisbilledtostartat

7.30pm,andthemusiciansorinstruments

haven’tarrived,itwillbeinbreachof

contract.It’sthisandmanyother

Brexit-relatedissueswhicharecausing

ourhard-pressedorchestramanagers

sleeplessnights.

ButtouringraisesissuesbeyondBrexit.

Climatechangewas a key topic at the

recentAssociationofBritishOrchestras

conference,whichunderitsthemeof

2020 Visionlookedatthelandscapefor

orchestrasoverthenextdecade.Weknow

thatculturalexchangeisa socialgood,

andourgreatmusicfestivals,suchasthe

BBC Proms,need to presenta full rangeof

UKandforeignorchestras.Butquestions

havetobeaskedaboutthesustainability

ofmovingorchestrasthousandsofmiles,

withallthecarbonemissionsthatentails.

Wemayjusthavetostartbeingmore

localandlessglobal.

Andthereareotherissuesthatour

conferenceneededto explore.Public

fundingisincreasinglybeinglinkedto

‘relevance’,andkeytobeingrelevantis

beingdiverseandinclusive.Weknow

thatorchestrashavea diversityproblem,

but findinga solutionis challenging.

Ourmembersaredependentona

talentpipeline,andittakeyearsand

dedicationtolearnaninstrumenttothe

highstandardneededtogetworkinan

orchestra.Andsomethingishappening

tothatpipelinewhichmeansthatthe

supplyofmusiciansisnotasdiverse

as we all want.Clearlywe need the

governmenttobecommittedto

universalaccesstomusiceducation,

backedupbysubstantialpublic

investment,butthereareinterventions

ourmemberscanalsodothatcould

make a difference.We need to inspire

thecurrentgenerationofyoung

musicians,regardlessoftheireconomic

orsocialbackgroundtoseehow

rewardinga careerinanorchestra

canbe.

Butit’snotallbadnews.Wewere

delightedtolaunchattheconference

ourlatestsectorstatistics,whichshow

continuedgrowthinconcerts,reaching

audiencesofoverfourmillion,and

engagementwith700,000childrenand

youngpeopleeveryyear.Alliedtothe

highest-evercombinedlistenerfigures

for BBC Radio3,ClassicFM and Scala

Radio,this all goes to show that the tired

prejudicethatclassicalmusiciselitist

anddyingisfarfromthetruth.Infact

it’sthrivingandreachingmorepeople

thanever.

Let’sjusthopethatBrexitandthe

otherchallengesourmembersface

doesn’tbringthisBritishsuccessstory

toa grindinghalt.

MarkPembertonisdirectorofthe

AssociationofBritishOrchestras,

theUK’srepresentativebodyfor

professionalorchestrasand

youthensembles.@aborchestras

Withcarbonemissionstoconsidertoo,touringinlarge

groupswillbefarmorecomplex,saysMarkPemberton

Why Brexit is bad for

Britain’s orchestras

United stand

Demonstrators stage a ‘Thank

EU for the Music’ concert outside

the Royal Albert Hall before the

Last Night of the Proms last year

Photo:

WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images