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.

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Tag Archives: afm 161-710

Orchestra News

Kennedy Center Launches Anti-Racism Commissioning Project

July 28, 2020 IM

The Kennedy Center—with its resident companies, the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and Washington National Opera (WNO)—will commission works by composers of color, responding to racial crimes and injustices across the US.

The initiative is called the Cartography Project—named for its intention to be a musical map, tracing events that have caused outrage and activism. The goal is to promote healing and understanding, and the commissioning organizations hope that fellow arts organizations will be inspired to take up similar projects.

Some of the shorter orchestral commissions may be debuted by NSO virtually as soon as this fall. NSO and WNO musicians are members of Local 161-710 (Washington, D.C.).

Remembering Arts Leader Representative Louise Slaughter

April 23, 2018 IM

Eastman School of Music Alumni String quartet comprised of members of AFM Local 161-710, under the leadership of AFM 161-710 President Edgardo Malaga and Secretary-Treasurer Marta Bradley, performed the prelude and postlude at the US Capitol Sanctuary Hall April 18 for a Congressional Memorial Ceremony for the late Honorable Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Representative Slaughter was co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, a tireless friend of the arts, and a longtime personal friend of the AFM. It was her tenacity, with the help of the Arts Caucus, that kept federal funding alive for the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, public school music programs, as well as full funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She was responsible for making the arts available to every American through her work with the 161-member Arts Caucus. She also served as a ranking member of the House Rules Committee.