What Is a Player Conference?

April 2, 2018

by John Michael Smith, President Regional Orchestra Players Association

There are five player conferences within the AFM: the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) founded 1962; the Recording Musicians Association (RMA) founded 1969; the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) founded 1975; the Regional Orchestra Players Association (ROPA) founded 1984; and the Theater Musicians Association (TMA) founded 1991.

The five player conferences function as a resource for information and advocate in their respective areas of specialization within the AFM. ICSOM, OCSM, and ROPA are symphonic in nature; they represent symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, opera orchestras, and ballet orchestras. RMA and TMA represent musicians in their areas of specialization, recording studios and theaters. Each player conference holds general meetings, executive board meetings, and other meetings. These communications are necessary to provide resources and information to their members.

For ROPA, the organization is made up of delegates from each of our 86 member orchestras. ROPA has two membership levels: full and associate. Each delegate is selected by their orchestra, with the support of the AFM local. As a delegate, they gather and provide valuable and current information and resources for both the orchestra and their local through communications with the other ROPA delegates, the ROPA Executive Board, and by attending the annual conference.

The ROPA Executive Board is elected from full member orchestras, and consists of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and eight members at-large. The ROPA Executive Board also includes a delegate at-large to the AFM Convention who is a nonvoting member of the board. ROPA has several adjunct positions: editor of its publication, The Leading Tone; social media coordinator for Facebook, Twitter, etc.; historian; webmaster; conductor evaluation coordinator; and conference coordinator. There are several standing committees, including Legislative, Electronic Media, and Annual Conference. The ROPA President, with approval of the executive board, appoints musicians to these adjunct positions.

It is important to realize that all of these positions in our player conferences are voluntary. There are small honoraria for the titled officers and other labor-intensive positions for most of the player conferences. Travel and meal expenses for board members and others working for the boards when attending meetings are covered. The AFM musicians who hold these positions are doing this because they feel strongly that this is work that needs to be done. By taking on these roles, they are supporting their orchestras, as well as fellow musicians, their local, their player conference, and their union. They want to play a vital role in making a difference.

It is also important to remember that the player conferences are partners with the AFM locals where their delegates and orchestras are members. I’ve always been impressed by the number of local officers and members of the local boards of directors who are also ROPA delegates and executive board members.

The player conferences frequently work with AFM international officers and staff. In negotiations for national agreements, representatives from the player conferences are vital members of AFM negotiating committees, and serve side by side with AFM President Ray Hair, Secretary-Treasurer Jay Blumenthal, International Executive Board (IEB) members, local officers, and staff. Representatives from both ICSOM and ROPA have participated in orchestra musician education programs with AFM Symphonic Services Division staff. Player conference representatives also participate in the AFM Convention. And in years when there is no AFM Convention, player conferences send representatives to a meeting of the Players Conference Council (PCC) and Local Conference Council (LCC) with the AFM IEB, for the purpose of exchanging information and ideas on issues of common importance to the AFM, its locals, and its members.

I am so appreciative of all the work my colleagues in our player conferences do for our orchestras, our musicians, our locals, and our AFM. Thanks to you all!

More Articles

AFM Fair Share for Musicians Road to Negotiations  

December 30, 2023

Contract negotiations for AFM’s Basic Theatrical Motion Picture and Basic Television Motion Picture Agreements with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) will begin January 22 in Los Angeles, California.  Planning for the upcoming negotiations began in 2021 with the steering committee and rank-and-file musicians collaborating with the AFM director of organizing to […]

---

FIM Presidium Visits AFM Office in New York

May 1, 2023

by Benoît Machuel, International Federation of Musicians General Secretary With the Presidium of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM)*, I had the privilege of being received by the AFM IEB on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at the AFM headquarters in New York. Initially scheduled for March 2020, this meeting was postponed to December 2021 due […]

---