ABO Conference Recap: Day One

This week the city of Glasgow welcomes members of the music industry from across the UK for the 2022 ABO Conference. After the pandemic forced the event online last year, the conference now returns in a hybrid format, with speeches, interviews and panels at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the RSNO centre.

After a brief but very warm welcome from Association of British Orchestras (ABO) vice-chair and Scottish Ensemble chief executive Jenny Jamison, delegates heard a speech from Scotland’s cabinet secretary for the constitution, external affairs and culture, Angus Robertson MSP, detailing his hopes for the recovery of the performing arts in Scotland.

In keeping with this year’s conference theme of ‘Rebound’ Robertson discussed the funding issued to the Scottish culture and events sector by his department during the pandemic (which will soon total over £300m) and set out his argument for a more integrated approach to the arts across government departments including justice, education and public health.

When discussing the issues facing the music industry during this recovery period, he emphasised the caution audiences currently feel when returning to live music events. He declared: ‘it is safe for people to return to concert halls and theatres’ but added that the change in messaging will be hard to impress upon a public who, until recently, have been told to stay at home.

In a Q&A with Gina Davidson, Scotland political editor at Global’s LBC, Robertson suggested that journalists have a part to play in restoring this confidence. He said: ‘Our newspapers and broadcasters should grab the opportunity with both hands to make the most of communicating that our cultural organisations and our venues are doing the best they can to make sure that everybody is safe.’

Robertson was followed by Paul Philbert MBE, RSNO timpanist and ABO board member, who announced the launch of the ABO’s Musician’s Advisory Council later this year. The council will aim to ensure that ‘the work of the association takes the views of musicians well into account’.

Classic FM managing editor Philip Noyce then took the stage to recap the station’s progress over the pandemic which included the creation of a new app, as well as ongoing plans for the organisation’s upcoming 30^th anniversary.

James Ainscough, chief executive of ABO Charity partner Help Musicians spoke to delegates about Help Musicians’ recent centenary, setting out the charity’s current priorities and how its work supporting musicians is needed more than ever for recovery post pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic Help Musicians has been able to keep all but one of its initiatives running, with plans to restart its Hearing Protection Clinics this year. This will be characteristic of the organisation’s intention going forward to place greater focus on preventative action protecting musicians’ health, both physical and mental, with the aim of preventing the crises for which the charity is so frequently called in.

Ainscough also detailed Help Musicians’ movement towards a new, simpler funding model, avoiding confusing fund names and getting rid of deadlines altogether. He also talked about the application clinics the charity is running for musicians, as well as the introduction of events designed to help creatives with the admin and business sides of their roles, as well as providing creative support.

This year’s conference keynote speech was delivered by author, hip-hop musician, and social commentator Darren McGarvey. Presenting an exploration of class and the arts, his opening point, ‘creativity begins always with permission’ tied in well with the 2022 conference’s emphasis on inclusivity and brought a valuable perspective to a conversation which could easily have become one-sided.

This speech was followed by a Q&A with Gillian Moore CBE, director of music at London’s Southbank Centre. McGarvey answered questions on the disparity of funding in hip-hop versus the traditional arts and made articulate points on how the ‘sharp elbows of the middle classes’ often equip them to ask for more resources.

For real and lasting change to be seen, he argued, the structural inequality in the music industry must be addressed, and efforts must be made to eliminate the need for working class people to modify their behaviour when crossing into arenas from which they have previously been barred

He ended with encouragement for conference delegates to embrace genres which they may habitually avoid or ignore, with the idea that ‘you’ll surprise yourself in the art that you’ll find in the things that you think are rubbish’.

You can find out more about the ABO Conference 2022 here.