Association of British Orchestras

The Association of British Orchestras (ABO) exists to support, promote and advance the interests and activities of professional orchestras in the United Kingdom. The organisation was founded in 1947 as the Orchestral Employers' Association, primarily to negotiate with the Musicians' Union (UK) and other bodies on behalf of its membership, which consisted almost entirely at that time of those orchestras receiving annual funding from the newly established Arts Council of Great Britain. The past decade has seen a substantial development in the organisation in terms of its size (an increase from 35 organisations in 1989 to over 180 today) and its role has expanded to include a diverse range of activities designed to support the development of the UK's orchestral life.

The ABO’s mission is to enable and support a vibrant, innovative, collaborative and sustainable orchestral sector. It exists to support and champion professional orchestras in the UK in their ambition to perform music to the highest artistic standards for the widest possible audience.

The key objectives of the Association cover three areas of activity:

• Connecting • Championing • Developing

The Association of British Orchestras was founded in 1947 as the Orchestral Employers' Association, primarily to negotiate with the Musicians' Union (UK) and other bodies on behalf of its membership, which consisted almost entirely at that time of those orchestras receiving annual funding from the newly established Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1982 the Association took on limited company status, becoming the Association of British Orchestras. It continues to negotiate the ABO/MU Freelance Orchestral Agreement with the MU and represent its membership in discussions and negotiations with a number of other national organisations.

The Association of British Orchestras has developed a role as co-ordinator of various national projects, including two major sponsorship programmes involving the participation of a large number of member orchestras. A series of nationally co-ordinated education projects over the past years resulted in the Orchestras in Education programme, which existed to promote the education work of member orchestras and to develop the relationship between schools, teachers, and orchestral players.

The ABO has also mounted a number of research initiatives, with a series of industry reports being produced, such as a comprehensive statistical survey of the UK's orchestral profession, 'Knowing the Score', and a report on noise damage to musicians, 'A Sound Ear'.

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