Honoring Alfonso Pollard: A Lifetime Dedicated to Promoting Musician Issues on Capitol Hill

September 1, 2024

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As a lobbyist, Alfonso Pollard had a keen understanding of musicians’ issues because he started out as one. He obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School and a master’s degree in performance from Catholic University of America. He served as principal timpanist for Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Opera Orchestra, and Filene Center Orchestra.

His work in government service began in 1974, when he was inducted into the US Air Force Band and Symphony Orchestra at Bolling Air Force Base. It was through that experience that he discovered his potential to bring musicians’ issues to the forefront with the highest levels of government. Now, after nearly three decades of service, AFM Diversity, Legislative and Political Director Alfonso Pollard has decided to retire.

“Few people realize how much of what happens in our daily lives and careers is controlled by Congress,” says Pollard, who also represented Communication Workers of America during his long career. “Our jobs as musicians are no different, it controls our labor laws, copyright protection, intellectual property rights; that’s why it’s so important for unions to be connected to their members of Congress.”

Pollard’s extensive government training included a fellowship with the Washington, DC, Commission on the Arts and Humanities. He graduated from the Congressional Black Caucus Political Boot Camp, led by Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS), along with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

On Capitol Hill, Pollard worked closely with the Arts, Black, Creative Rights, and Asian American Pacific Islander Congressional caucuses. In addition, he had regular interactions with the Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board, House Judiciary Committee, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Voice of America, US Information Agency, along with many other federal government and music-centric organizations.

“Relationship building is key to success,” says Pollard. “As a lobbyist, you have to build strong partnerships and coalitions with those who have the same priorities, and you have to build relationships with members of Congress.”

Pollard says he’s always found it easy to connect with members of Congress through music. “Many of them are musicians themselves,” he says. “Sometimes they would put a band together and ask me to play.” He fondly recalls building friendships with former Representatives Collin Peterson (D-MN), Neil Abercombie (D-HI), and Dave Obey (D-WI) through music. “When you interact at that level, explaining the importance of the National Endowment for the Arts [NEA] and copyright protection is easy.”

Pollard maintained these relationships through four Democratic and three Republican presidential administrations, each marked by significant lobbying efforts on behalf of musicians and other workers. Among his achievements, he helped oversee the restructure of the NEA after conservatives threatened to shut it down. Pollard lobbied Congress to pass the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which established new corporate accounting principles and penalties for fraudulent activities. He worked with the AFM and an international music coalition to establish federal rules for air travel with musical instruments and modernized international treaty language related to the Endangered Species Act to make it easier for musicians to travel with their instruments. He worked with the musicFIRST Coalition to successfully get the Music Modernization Act signed into law.

More recent and perennial efforts include lobbying for stronger copyright and intellectual property protections, increased funding for the NEA, and the rescue of multiemployer pension plans. Continuing priorities include laws to protect musicians from exploitation in the use of artificial intelligence and to provide a performance right for musicians when their recordings are played on AM/FM radio.

In contrast to the current political polarization in the news, Pollard says he’s never had difficulty talking to both sides of the aisle when it comes to musician issues. He says a good example is the current American Music Fairness Act. “The bill was introduced with both Democratic and Republican co-sponsors,” says Pollard.

A frequent contributor to the International Musician from 1996 onward, Pollard penned more than 225 articles about legislative-political issues relevant to musicians as well as about diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Federation and overall music business.

A lifetime member of the AFM, Pollard has been honored for his dedication to improving the lives of working musicians. He was recognized by the District of Columbia City Council with the “Maestro Alfonso M. Pollard Recognition Resolution of 1991,” received the Speaker’s Challenge Coin from Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and a 2023 AFM Lifetime Service Award. 

When asked what he will miss most about his work as a lobbyist in Washington, DC, Pollard says, “I will miss representing the musicians of the AFM and connecting them to the most powerful people in the world. It is exhausting work, but with every single victory we had, the musicians of the Federation stepped up to help.”

Clockwise from upper left, AFM Diversity, Legislative and Political Director Alfonso Pollard with President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and First Lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden.

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