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.
April 1, 2025
Stuart Ross Carlson, a violinist and violist of Local 625 (Ann Arbor, MI), is a wunderkind of sorts. At 28, he’s already established a name for himself in the world of classical music. He’s a member of Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and a regular performer and soloist with the Michigan Philharmonic.
Ensembles across the US, the United Kingdom, and Japan have performed his compositions and arrangements. Carlson’s recent commissions include original songs for KTWU PBS in Topeka, Kansas, which were featured in the four-part television series Portrait of a Landscape: Seasons, which aired nationally in 2024.
Carlson, who was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old, says he has a vague recollection of hearing a Mozart piece as a mere infant. In fact, he spent 100 days in the hospital incubator with recorded music playing—including Mozart, Beethoven, and The Beatles. The memory proved to be prescient insight into a musical journey that would take him to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he studied violin, viola, and composition, earning four degrees.
Accolades followed. He has won several music competitions, including the 2016 VSA International Young Soloists Competition at the Kennedy Center and the 2017 University of Michigan School of Music Concerto Competition.
Carlson has always had a passion for all things music. He says it’s easy to connect with others through music, and he hopes to serve as a role model and inspiration to young people with autism all over the world.
“As a violinist, violist, arranger, and composer, my main goal is to make beautiful music wherever this wonderful musical journey of life takes me,” says Carlson.
His breadth of talent extends to performing, composing, and arranging music for various multimedia platforms. In his spare time, he is a licensed ham radio operator (W8SRC), hosts a weekly internet radio show for Z103.com, and helps maintain content on his www.stuartcarlson.com website.
An active member of his community who champions autism awareness, Carlson supports the Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor and is an advocate for neurodiversity and inclusion in education and the arts. One of his most memorable performances came in 2013 when he served as an Arts Advocacy Day representative at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.