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.
January 1, 2019
IM -The New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will extend their partnership—known as the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Partnership—for four years, through the summer of 2022. The New York Philharmonic will tour to China annually and the orchestra’s musicians, members of Local 802 (New York City) will teach at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) four times per season. In addition, SOA students may be selected by audition to travel to New York City to participate in the New York Philharmonic’s Zarin Mehta Fellowship Program, a weeklong immersion into the lives of orchestra musicians.
The Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Partnership, established in 2014, is a two-year post-graduate program designed to address the need for advanced orchestral training in China. Highlights have included New York Philharmonic performances at Shanghai’s MISA festival; master classes, private lessons and chamber music coaching with New York Philharmonic musicians; side-by-side rehearsals and performances; Very Young Composers workshops and performances; Young People’s Concerts; and a free outdoor concert by the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet.