Ulster Orchestra, City of Belfast School of Music, St Malachy's College. Member of the Musicians' Union Scotland and NI Committee. All opinions are my own.
I’m off for a few quiet days over Easter so signing off early after a week including a rally for the arts, the biggest ever delegation of MPs to Belfast & working to get much needed support to help NI Football League & Accidental Theatre do what they each do best!
Northern Ireland is poorly served by public funding for the arts
Did you know that @ArtsCouncilNI gets just £5.07 per capita?
That's compared to £10.51 in Wales and £21.58 in the Republic of Ireland
Members at English National Opera have learned that the company plans to axe 19 posts & employ the remaining musicians on part time contracts
The union plans to reject the proposals & fight to keep our members at @E_N_O in full time jobs, on full time pay https://t.co/v1HhKyZtpi
Solidarity with @WeAreTheMU in their fight to #KeepNorthernBalletLive
Arts Council England & Northern Ballet must find a funding solution to protect union jobs & enable everyone to have access to live ballet that's genuinely live.
Musicians in the @NorthernBallet Sinfonia are campaigning to protect their touring work
Watch MU General Secretary @NaomiPohl's speech on the main stage at Labour Conference and sign the petition to show your support
🔗 https://t.co/gubKVMhDXQ
#Lab23#KeepNorthernBalletLive
Show your support for musicians in the Royal Opera House Orchestra!
🟡 They took a 10% pay cut to help the company during the Covid-19 pandemic when the #RoyalOperaHouse was closed
🟡 Now audiences are back, the orchestra should have their pay restored
https://t.co/ruQvoW2xhd
We appreciate the financial situation but world-class ballet involves world-class musicians performing live. We need to work together to ensure you can keep doing what you do best, which includes our members’ performing in your ballets. Audiences deserve no less.
For something impressive, don't miss tonight's In Concert on @BBCRadio3. A pleasure to record @albancello. His playing of #Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante was mesmerising!
The @UlsterOrchestra’s season opener introduced by @johnnytoal at 7.30pm 👏👏
https://t.co/Rh1BlWRrvt
Thanks to cross-party MPs at our @CounMusicMakers dinner tonight, discussing where we are with music streaming. I explained why @WeAreTheMU members & all creators need a fair deal. Fairness on this will stand us in good stead for other big tech challenges like AI #FixStreaming
‼️ In too many places in Northern Ireland, there’s a real poverty of hope
💡But we can change that, for example through music
🎼That’s why today I met the Arts Council to discuss the Crescendo Project from Ulster Orchestra…
Once Upon A Time in Northern Ireland is a stunning documentary. If there's a better film about the Troubles, I haven't seen it. Painstaking archive research, finding outstanding interviewees, brilliant questions, and empathy without glib moral relativism.
https://t.co/UMDH4hTuwa
A first class, world class orchestra - here in Northern Ireland. Congratulations to the @UlsterOrchestra on a fabulous 22/23 season. Do watch the short video.
Please sign and retweet this and if you live in Lewisham please write to your MP @vickyfoxcroft about it. This is absolute madness… especially considering the amount of musicians who live in this borough. This is our livelihood
Thank you too all who attended our rally today @BlackBoxBelfast, if you haven't already please sign our petition
https://t.co/4YcHyZ7g3p the cuts to arts funding in Northern Ireland – act now and sign our petition: Resist the cuts to arts funding in Northern Ireland
Brilliant speech from the MU Acting Organiser of the Scotland and Northern Ireland Region @SamDunkleyMusic at the Equity Rally against the cuts to arts funding in Northern Ireland.
If implemented, these cuts could be devastating!