Robert Ames, co-founder and conductor of the London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO), is stepping down today after 18 years. He has expressed growing concern over the increasing difficulty for individuals without financial resources to establish a career in the classical music sector.
Ames notes that a pathway for working-class musicians, which once included state school instrument access, affordable council-backed music lessons, and youth orchestras, has been dismantled. He states that working-class musicians now face numerous unavoidable costs, including lessons, instruments, train fares, courses, and high rents, particularly in London.
According to Ames, over 70% of musicians in the UK are self-employed or freelance. The current minimum fee for a section musician for a rehearsal and concert day of up to six hours is £163.18, as per the Musicians’ Union/Association of British Orchestras category 1 agreement. However, this fee does not account for years of training, expensive instruments, or unpaid preparation time.