Today we are delighted to announce that Jerwood Arts, Come Play With Me, Orchestras Live, CoMA and Liverpool Philharmonic have joined as the latest partners in signing up to our Fair Access Principles.
Developed through consultation with a broad range of composers and organisations, Sound and Music’s Fair Access Principles are designed to act as a code of best practice for running successful, open and inclusive artist development programmes, competitions and awards for composers.
In signing up, these organisations are committing to enact the Fair Access Principles across their work over the next two years. We recognise that organisations will need time to think about and implement changes within their programmes.
We’re actively looking for more partners to join us in committing to these principles. Find out more about how to get involved by emailing our Co-Heads of Artist Development:
- Will Dutta at: will.dutta@soundandmusic.org
- Hannah Bujic at: hannah.bujic@soundandmusic.org
Lilli Geissendorfer, Director of Jerwood Arts, said, “Jerwood Arts is delighted to endorse Sound and Music’s Fair Access Principles and work with partners across the music sector to improve the inclusivity of our offer to composers and music creators. We’ve been working to make our funding opportunities more accessible to early-career freelancers over the past few years and have seen the impact it has on who applies and who gets funded.
We’re looking forward to continuing this work and ensuring that we are part of the change artists want to see: a more inclusive, transparent and kind sector.“
Antonia Lines, Diversity Project Manager at Come Play With Me, said, “As a label, we pride ourselves on supporting & developing new talent. Since 2015, Come Play With Me has grown from supporting musicians with physical and digital releases to providing workshops, mentoring, a bi-monthly magazine and live events. We support a wide range of individuals from marginalised communities to access different parts of the music industry through our programming.
By implementing the Fair Access Principles across our processes, we show our commitment to the ongoing evaluation and improvement of participant selection, recruitment and event participation across label activities.“
Tamara Kohler, Festival Director at CoMA, said, “For 28 years, CoMA has been committed to encouraging musicians of all backgrounds and abilities to take an active part in contemporary music. We are continually reassessing our practice to ensure that contemporary music truly is for all, and believe wholeheartedly in the commitments outlined by the Fair Access Principles.
All arts organisations must challenge standard practice so that the UK’s music scene is genuinely reflective of this country’s wonderfully diverse and culturally rich society.”
Sarah Derbyshire, Chief Executive of Orchestras Live, said, “Orchestras Live wants to include everyone in our work, listening to perspectives drawn from people’s diverse experiences to enrich the art we produce and make a positive contribution to culture, wellbeing and society. We are committed to equity of access and opportunity across our delivery programme and work proactively with partners to embed inclusive practice and achieve measurable progress in diversifying the orchestral workforce, audience and participant base.
We hold a unique position in the orchestral sector and our projects and programmes have the potential to influence practice across a wide range of partners. We know that we are on a journey to develop our own practice: signing up to Sound and Music’s Fair Access Principles will support our inclusive workforce development programme as well as help us drive positive change with partners across the sector. “
Michael Eakin, Chief Executive of Liverpool Philharmonic, said, “Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s mission is to enhance and transform lives through music, but we can only do that if we are truly inclusive in the work we produce, and the artists we develop, support and commission.
Adopting the Fair Access Principles is an important commitment within our current Diversity and Inclusion plan, our annual Rushworth Composition Prize supporting emerging composers and any other future open call initiatives we undertake.”
Meet all of our Fair Access Principles partners
Sound and Music’s Fair Access Principles are designed to act as a code of best practice for running successful, open and inclusive artist development programmes, competitions and awards for composers. (The definition of “composer” varies between organisations; at Sound and Music we mean “anyone creating their own music, in any style or genre”).
Sound and Music has developed the Fair Access Principles through consultation with a broad range of composers and organisations, as well as from our experience of running open call programmes.
Composer and founder of Manasamitra, Supriya Nagarajan, said, “The Fair Access Principles that Sound and Music have put forward are long due… I hope more and more organisations look at it and take it up, because that will boost the music sector like nothing else.”
Read our Fair Access Principles
Learn more about our Fair Access Principles and partners
Contact us about getting involved