Now is the right time to become an American Federation of Musicians member. From ragtime to rap, from the early phonograph to today's digital recordings, the AFM has been there for its members. And now there are more benefits available to AFM members than ever before, including a multi-million dollar pension fund, excellent contract protection, instrument and travelers insurance, work referral programs and access to licensed booking agents to keep you working.
As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.
The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.
Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.
October 8, 2018
IM -Tania León, member of Local 802 (New York, NY), was recently elected to the board of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the Visual Arts and Performing Arts – Criticism and Practice category. She was inducted just last week on October 5th in Cambridge, MA.
León came to the United States from Cuba in 1967, and has been making a lasting impact on musicians and the realm of Latin American music ever since. The way in which she combines elements of gospel, jazz, African, and Cuban elements gives her a style all her own.
In 1969, León became the first musical director of Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theatre of Harlem, where she established the music department, music school, and orchestra. Nine years later she launched the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Concert Series, and in 1994 León co-founded the American Composers Orchestra Sonidos de las Americas Festivals as the Latin American Music Advisor. Hoping to encourage composers of all ethnicities, in 2010 she founded the nonprofit Composers Now, an organization dedicated to empower all composers of all ethnic backgrounds.
Currently, León is on the executive board for In The States and the Fromm Music Foundation in Harvard. Some of her most recent accomplishments include the Mad Women Festival Award in Music, which she received in Madrid, Spain in 2017 and the 2018 USA Artist Fellowship.
To read all about Tania León and her life as a composer, conductor, and educator, please check out her cover story from February, 2018 here: https://internationalmusician.org/tania-leon/ or visit her website: http://www.tanialeon.com/.