Message from John Smith, FIM President

The inaugural FIM International Orchestras Conference (IOC) held in Berlin in 2008 only seems a short time ago. Since then, two other conferences have been held in Amsterdam and in Oslo. All of these have been extremely successful events, which have put the musician at the centre of discussions on the development, and future place, of the orchestra within society. They have been liberating events inasmuch as it is the musicians themselves who make the major contributions to the conference and formulate the direction that FIM and its affiliates will take over the next three years.

I know that the fourth conference in the beautiful city of Montreal will build on the success of the previous ones and have a lasting influence on the attitudes and future strategies adopted by orchestral musicians and their representative unions. I also believe that the increased participation of orchestra managers and the special involvement of Orchestres Canada are an opportunity to collectively express the need for strong and sustainable public support to orchestras worldwide.

The third IOC concluded by agreeing the ‘Oslo Call’, which reminded national, regional and local governments of their responsibility to provide orchestras with the means that are necessary to continue to contribute to and enhance artistic, social and economic life. We know that in the three years since the Oslo conference progress has been mixed, but I am confident that the representatives of orchestras from around the world will depart Montreal feeling inspired and invigorated and ready for the struggles that the orchestral sector will inevitably face in coming years.

I take this opportunity to thank the organisers and members of the GMMQ for hosting this conference and send fraternal best wishes to all orchestra musicians throughout the world.