Invitation to join the Royal Society of Musicians Social Network
Musicians keeping in touch
Join the RSM Social Network and catch up with other musicians at informal monthly Zoom get-togethers and/or with regular phone calls.
Members of The Royal Society of Musicians have set up a social network, open to all professional musicians, whether working or retired, enabling them to keep in touch by telephone and Zoom throughout the current situation and beyond.
“We’re all missing the world of work and our colleagues at the moment and there’s nothing like a catch-up with fellow musicians. Join us at our monthly Zoom get-togethers where we gather and then move to smaller breakout groups for a chat. Alternatively – or in addition – if you’d like to speak on the phone, one of our Members would be glad to get in touch. Just let us know by joining the RSM Social Network.
RSM Member Alistair Scahill
The Network is connecting professional musicians from right across the musical community and all ages and stages. Some of us just miss chatting to colleagues in the tea queue; some retired musicians would normally be having regular visits from family and friends but are currently self-isolating; some are keen to discuss new ways of working; some like to reminisce about erstwhile colleagues.”
The Royal Society of Musicians has been doing all it can to support the profession during this crisis. In addition to setting up the Support Network, we have contributed £500,000 to the Help Musicians Coronavirus Fund. We also continue to distribute grants to those affected by illness or accident, as well as welcoming new Members every month. For more information please contact us.
Further help and advice from across the profession is available at: www.coronamusicians.info/
RSM Coronavirus Support Network
Many of those within the profession are not only suffering financially but are also feeling cut off from colleagues and friends. Consequently RSM Members have volunteered to set up a telephone support network to help their fellow professional musicians through these very difficult times.
So, if you are feeling a bit isolated or anxious or you would just appreciate a chat with another musician, perhaps once a week or so, we warmly invite you to join the RSM Support Network. We will then be able to ‘match’ you with an RSM Member (or Members) who will call you. (You can, of course, opt out at any point.)
The Royal Society of Musicians has been doing all it can to support the profession during this crisis. In addition to setting up the Support Network, we have contributed £500,000 to the Help Musicians Coronavirus Fund.
We also continue to distribute grants to those affected by illness or accident, as well as welcoming new Members every month. For more information please contact us.
Major contribution provides emergency aid via the Help Musicians Coronavirus Financial Hardship Fund
Friday March 27 – The Royal Society of Musicians (RSM), Britain’s oldest music charity, has today announced a £500,000 contribution to musicians suffering financial hardship, to be distributed through the Help Musicians Coronavirus Financial Hardship Fund, the vital emergency relief fund from UK charity Help Musicians.
Recognising the strength in collaboration and the unprecedented immediate need in the music community, RSM has taken this proactive step to mobilise funds in order to support even more musicians facing immediate financial crisis in the current climate.
The £5m Help Musicians Coronavirus Financial Hardship Fund was launched on Wednesday March 25 as a direct response to the challenging and uncertain landscape for musicians. The Fund offers a one-off payment of £500 per applicant and is to be used to alleviate some of the immediate pressure on musicians to meet their household expenses.
As a direct result of RSM’s action, an additional 1,000 will receive financial hardship support.
The Fund is available to UK professional working musicians and is applied for via an online form. Read the full eligibility criteria and application process on the Help Musicians website here.
Charlotte Penton-Smith, Chief Executive, The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Help Musicians to support those whose lives have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Being Britain’s oldest music charity it is of utmost importance that we do all we can to help the profession at what is, such a challenging and uncertain time.”
James Ainscough, Help Musicians CEO, said: “It is only through collaboration that we can begin to make progress in meeting the needs of our music community right now. We are incredibly grateful to our longstanding friends at The Royal Society of Musicians for recognising the value of the Help Musicians Coronavirus Financial Hardship Fund and further bolstering its ability to reach more musicians. The impact of Coronavirus on musicians lives and careers is unprecedented, and now more than ever we need as much support as possible to provide meaningful help for those in need.”
About the Help Musicians Coronavirus Financial Hardship Fund:
Applications for this fund are submitted through an online form and offers a one-off payment of £500 per applicant. We regret that, because of the demand we anticipate, we cannot at this stage commit to making more than one payment to any individual from this temporary financial hardship fund as a result of the coronavirus. We encourage musicians only to apply if they are indeed suffering significant financial hardship to enable us to provide help quickly to those who need it the most. As the Help Musicians team continue to deal with an increased number of enquiries for support and advice please can we ask you not to ring the team in relation to your application to this fund.
Further help and advice is from across the profession is available at: http://www.coronamusicians.info/
The 25th Annual Jacqueline du Pré Charity Concert
The 25th Annual Jacqueline du Pre Charity Concert took place at 7.30 p.m. on Monday 24 February 2020 at Wigmore Hall.
For this concert, Joanna MacGregor curated a programme with Aldeburgh connections; music by Bridge, Britten and Shostakovich was included together with a new commission from former Britten–Pears Young Artist, Freya Waley-Cohen.
Welcome to Ginny Leigh
Following Phoebe Fullbrook’s departure in July, we are thrilled to welcome the appointment of Ginny Leigh to the role of Membership Secretary at the Society.
Ginny trained as a flautist with Miranda Zwalf, Peter O’Connor and then with Amy Yule at Durham University, graduating in 2019 with a BA Hons in Music. Whilst at university, Ginny’s primary academic focus was musicology; her extended musicological research has centred predominantly around music philosophy as well as gender, sexuality and dramaturgy in 20th century opera. She is an also avid composer and has studied trumpet with Paul Mayes.
Ginny has also had experience freelancing as a performer for a range of events, has worked as a flute teacher, and volunteered at local churches in Hertfordshire as a musical engagement assistant to provide outreach opportunities for children.
Ginny is delighted to be joining the Society’s team and is looking forward to meeting our Members at various meetings and events.
