At Making Music, we have part furloughed the staff team from 18 January to 31 March, reducing staff capacity during that period by about one third.
After we took that decision and started telling people about it, I found out that many other organisations had been or are doing this – but they are not going public about it.
Why not, I wondered?
We sit down (virtually) for a quick-fire interview with member group Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), who worked with Making Music award-winning music arranger George Morton.
Progressive / Welcoming / Dedicated
Due to the impact of the pandemic, Making Music is part furloughing its team from 18 January to 31 March 2021, reducing capacity by around one third.
Making Music has taken the decision now while member groups are unable to meet, given the strict lockdowns or equivalent in all four nations of the UK.
Alison Martin, chair of Crieff Choral Group, recounts how a Victorian poem recently came to be arranged for the choir.
In 2020, Creative United published the first edition of the Take it away Guide to Buying Adaptive Musical Instruments distributed in partnership with Normans Musical Instruments and the Musicians Union.
Alex Peringer updates us on Westminster Music Library's relocation and restructuring over the past year.
In Ugie Voices’ first blog from Adopt a Music Creator 2020/21, member Sheila Biegala updates us on her group’s progress and their upcoming collaboration with Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra and Ben Lunn.
Ugie Voices’ collaboration on Making Music’s Adopt a Music Creator project is gathering momentum.
The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) (a US organisation) usually organises an international trade fair for music sector retailers, suppliers and manufacturers in California in January. This is a highly popular industry occasion, but of course cannot take place in its usual format in 2021.
Making Music's Covid impact survey of members revealed that 20% of our groups are paying their music director (MD) when they are not providing any services, and this is also a common topic on our regular Zoom member meetups.
We understand that this is a difficult issue, and why groups might do this. However, it is something that needs very careful consideration within the context of the best interests of your group.
Foss Foster provides a second update on Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra's Adopt a Music Creator 2020/21 journey.
Sunday 6 December marked Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra’s last rehearsal of the autumn term and of 2020: a very strange year, but one which has brought several surprising benefits for ASO as well.
For all our updates and opportunities
