Association of British Orchestras – Written Evidence (BSC0016)

1. Executive Summary

• British orchestras are a global success story, attracting talent to the UK, touring across the major continents and forging new markets in emerging economies. They have contributed to the UK Government’s ambitions for ‘soft power’ and cultural exchange. European countries remain one of their most important marketplaces and sources of talent.
• British orchestras have been adept at maximising the return on their public investment through earned income, contributed income, and international touring. Any negative impact to artistic quality that may result from imposing controls on EU migrants will damage their financial viability.
• British orchestras have benefited from freedom of movement and access to talent from across the EEA, with some orchestras now seeing more than 20% of their musicians coming from other EU countries. Were restrictions to be imposed by the British Government on EEA citizens, this would damage our members’ international reputation and financial sustainability.
• The ABO believes it would be in the best interests of British orchestras, and the wider classical music industry, to retain access as much as possible to the current benefits of freedom of movement across borders for EU and UK musicians.

2              Introduction

2.1      The Association of British Orchestras (ABO) is the representative body for professional orchestras in the UK. Its 65 full members range from the major symphony orchestras to chamber, opera and ballet orchestras. Other categories of membership include national and local youth orchestras, conservatoires, venues, festivals, broadcasters and funding agencies.

2.2      The ABO’s mission is to enable and support an innovative, collaborative and sustainable orchestral sector. It exists to provide advice, support, intelligence and information to the people who make British orchestras a global success.

2.3      The ABO has previously responded to MAC consultations relating to non-EEA musicians and is delighted to respond to this consultation. The ABO has consulted its members on the key issues raised by the consultation and this paper outlines their concerns.

3              Orchestral employment models

3.1      For a variety of historical reasons, the symphony orchestras in the regional cities, the BBC orchestras, and the orchestras of the major opera and ballet companies employ the core of their musicians on permanent contracts. Such orchestras are known in the business as ‘contract orchestras’. When additional musicians are required, such as for larger repertoire, they are engaged on a freelance basis as ‘extras and deputies’.

3.2      Unique to London are the four ‘self-governing’ symphony orchestras (London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra). These are collectives of freelance musicians who as ‘members’ own shares in the orchestra, employ the management to get them work, and determine their pay and conditions. When additional musicians are required, such as for larger repertoire or to cover for members of the orchestra who have chosen not to perform for a particular concert, they are engaged as ‘extras and deputies’.

3.3      Other orchestras in membership of the ABO, known as ‘chamber orchestras’, engage all their musicians on a freelance basis. As with the self-governing orchestras, they will have ‘members’ who will be asked to accept a majority of the work offered across the year.

3.4      Many orchestral musicians choose to pursue a self-employed career, while others will choose employment with a contract orchestra. All musicians employed or engaged by ABO member orchestras, whether permanently or as ‘extras and deputies’ are subject to collective agreements negotiated with the Musicians’ Union.

3.5      The ABO’s most recent statistical survey[1] showed that in 2016 there were 1163 musicians employed on permanent contracts, 1248 holding member status of freelance orchestras, and 10,000 musicians engaged as extras and deputies.

4.              Access to Global Talent

4.1              British orchestras, opera and ballet companies rely on guest artists such as conductors, soloists, singers and dancers to be able to travel in and out of the UK, on almost a daily basis and often for just one engagement. They may also be required at extremely short notice to replace artists who have had to cancel due to illness and injury. These artists need to know the particular role or repertoire for the concert or production, which means a UK artist is highly likely not to be suitable or available.

4.2              The Permitted Paid Engagement system currently applies for non-EEA artists. This works well for non-visa nationals, although the 30 day restriction causes some problems for opera, where the artist may be engaged for a longer period. For visa nationals there is a cost and additional bureaucracy, and there is a risk that young artists at the outset of their career may not be able to prove to the satisfaction of the UK Border Force their standing, reputation and earnings and that they are an “established professional”.

4.3              EEA guest artists have of course been able to come in and out of the UK under freedom of movement rules. ABO members would be concerned if a visa-national type of PPE system were to be extended to EEA citizens, creating additional restrictions and bureaucracy, and if similar obstacles were imposed on British artists travelling into the EU for engagements.

4.4              Freedom of movement for EEA citizens has meant that the workforce of British orchestras now comprises many nationalities. Some of our best known orchestras now have over 20% of their permanent musicians coming from other EU countries.

4.4               This need for the very best talent has been recognised by the UK Government through the inclusion of principal, sub-principal and numbered orchestral musicians on the Shortage Occupation List. This enables orchestras to recruit permanent musicians under the Tier 2 Points Based System from outside the EEA without recourse to the Resident Labour Market Test.

4.5              Tutti players (also known as ‘rank and file’) were formerly on the Shortage Occupation List but following objections from the Musicians’ Union are now subject to a Resident Labour Market Test. However, the ABO was able to secure from the Home Office an extension to the recruitment period from 6 months to 24 months, in recognition of the rigorous and lengthy audition and trialling process that all candidates for an orchestral position must go through.

4.6               Recruitment under the Points Based System for Migrant Workers is bureaucratic and costly, involving substantial visa fees and surcharges. Were the Points Based System to be extended to EEA citizens, as part of a drive to control migration, this would add to the administrative burden and cost of recruitment, at a time when ABO members face financial challenges.

4.7               A further issue is that the salary threshold for entering the UK with an initial job offer is £30,000, which is below the average starting salary for an orchestra, and the threshold for obtaining indefinite leave after five years is now £35,000. Following a sustained period of public spending cuts, orchestral salaries have flatlined, meaning that the pay of permanent orchestral musicians may well not meet that high threshold. This will make recruitment of non-UK musicians that much more difficult, as there is every possibility that musicians from EEA countries (and indeed from non-EEA countries) may need to leave the UK, and lose their employment, after 5 years. This will have the inevitable consequence that fewer non-UK musicians will wish to apply for work in the UK.

4.8              The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is of particular relevance to the Ulster Orchestra. One permanent member of the orchestra lives in the Republic, while many ‘extras and deputies’ cross the border to work with the orchestra on a freelance basis.

4.9              Some ‘members’ and ‘extras and deputies’, especially those working in the specialist period instrument orchestras, are EU nationals who live in their own country and travel into the UK for concerts and recordings sessions.

4.10              Appendix 1 shows a breakdown of the proportion of EU nationals across a range of British orchestras in 2016. Headline figures are that the average number of EU nationals is 8.3%. The proportion is higher in the freelance orchestras at 9.9% to contract orchestras at 6.6%, but this will be the result of a higher number of freelance orchestras being based in London.

4.11              Appendix 2 provides a national/regional breakdown. This shows that the proportion of EU nationals in British orchestras is higher in Scotland (10.1%), London (9.9%) and Northern Ireland (8.8%) than in the rest of England (5.4%) and Wales (4.7%).

4.12              The ABO does not have historical data on recruitment of EEA nationals. Anecdotally, there was an increase following the expansion of the EU in 2004, as there is a strong tradition of and investment in orchestral training and excellence in the former countries of the Eastern Bloc.

4.13              The ABO has not conducted an analysis of future trends or assessment of the impact of a possible reduction in the availability of EEA migrants. However, our members have made clear their concern at losing access to a skilled and qualified workforce from outside the UK, especially as competitor orchestras in other EEA countries will continue to benefit from freedom of movement.

5.              Orchestral Recruitment

5.1              Securing a position in an orchestra is highly competitive and it is the aim of every orchestra to ensure that the very best musician is appointed. All candidates, whether UK, EEA or non-EEA citizens, are required to go through the same recruitment process, which has been the norm in the British orchestral sector for many decades. This involves an open advertisement on the orchestra’s website and on international recruitment platforms such as Musical Chairs, after which candidates are selected for audition. Following auditions a shortlist of candidates are selected for a trialling process whereby candidates are engaged to perform in a number of concerts before a permanent position is offered. An individual musician’s sound, and their ability to blend with a specific section of the orchestra are all key to securing a position. This process can take up to 24 months, for all positions in the orchestra, from principal to tutti.

5.2              This is vital to ensuring that quality is maintained and British orchestras remain competitive in a global marketplace. This is all the more important at a time of reduced public investment, when ABO members are under ever greater pressure to secure engagements abroad.

5.3               We wish to flag up the concerns of the specialist HE institutions. The percentage of EEA students at the UK’s world-leading music conservatoires is significantly higher than the average across other Higher Education institutions. Music conservatoires are the major supplier of recruits into the orchestral workforce, and any risk to their financial sustainability and international reputation will have a negative impact on recruitment of talent into British orchestras.

5.4               The question has been asked of the ABO as to whether a benefit from leaving the EU would be the creation of more opportunities for home-grown talent. Yet the reason an increasing number of non-UK musicians have been recruited in recent years is that there is a shortage of home-grown candidates. The question has to be put back to the UK Government as to whether they can ensure that sufficient funding to enable opportunities for sustained access to instrumental tuition, regardless of economic or social circumstance, throughout primary and secondary education, allied to opportunities to perform in youth orchestras, will be made available, enabling talented British musicians to secure places at our world-renowned music conservatoires and then move on into professional employment.

5.5              While increased investment in music education would be most welcome, to enable recruitment of orchestral musicians from EEA and non-EEA countries to be replaced by home-grown talent, this cannot happen overnight. A lengthy transitional period will be necessary to enable British orchestras to continue to recruit the best in global talent across all positions in the orchestra including tutti musicians.

6. Conclusion

6.1      The ABO believes it essential for British orchestras, and the wider classical music industry, to retain as much as possible the benefits of freedom of movement, to avoid additional cost and bureaucracy and to enable British to compete in a global marketplace for talent.

Mark Pemberton, Director, Association of British Orchestras

27 October 2017

APPENDIX 1 – RECRUITMENT OF EU NATIONALS BY ORCHESTRA

APPENDIX 2 – RECRUITMENT OF EU NATIONALS BY NATION/REGION

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