Musicians return to roots
WORKERS, JUL 2013 ISSUE
Orchestral rehearsals for the BBC summer promenade concerts at the Albert Hall, London.
Photo: Workers
The Musicians' Union will be celebrating its 120th anniversary at its biennial conference in Manchester this month. Significantly, Manchester is where the union was founded in 1893. More branches were then created, in Glasgow and Liverpool, and by the following year it had established its Britain-wide character with 17 branches and 2000 members throughout the country.
A vigorous strike campaign in 1980 reversed the cutting of five orchestras and today the union maintains membership of over 30,000. The main growth is in the 35 to 50 age group, but the union is particularly pleased by steady increases in those joining aged between 21 and 35.
A very wide range of skills are represented, from many styles of popular music including jazz, folk and dance music to soloists, orchestral musicians and music writers. ■