Panel 8

9. JORNADA LABORAL

Nicolas Papageorgiou (Chipre)

Born in Cyprus in 1973, Nicolas Papageorgiou studied timpani and percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and the Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam. He has been the principal timpanist of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra since 1999. A founding member of the Musicians’ Guild of the CSO, he has been the Guild’s president since 2005.

Bill Kerr (Reino Unido)

Bill Kerr started his professional career in 1976 aged 21 as a member of the first violin section of the Hallé Orchestra, Manchester, UK. During the next 14 years spent working as an orchestral musician, he gained an essential insight into the workings of orchestras and the way orchestral members feel and think.

In 1990 he left the orchestra and started working for the BMU first as a full-time regional Official and then from 2003 as the BMU National Organiser Orchestras. In this post he is currently responsible for negotiating the terms of all UK orchestra collective agreements, both employed and freelance. From the first-hand experience of talking with members in orchestras where morale was low, Bill has encouraged the election of strong union representatives to build confidence in their own abilities and take responsibility for shaping the collective voice of the musicians in order to eradicate the ‘victim culture’ that often afflicts orchestras.

Simon Collins (Australia) (Photo credit: James Penlidis)

Born February 1960 in Adelaide and brought up in a prominent musical family in Adelaide. Until leaving school, taught violin and viola by his father. He then attended the Elder conservatorium and was taught viola by Richard Hornung.

Simon started playing viola professionally shortly after leaving school, with the Adelaide Symphony, the Adelaide Chamber orchestra and also for the State Opera in South Australia. He was appointed to the Viola section of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 1980 at the age of 20, a position which he still holds.

During his time in the MSO Simon has served as the elected president of the MSO Player’s Committee for numerous terms. He was involved in the establishment of the Symphony Orchestra Musicians Association in 1995 and was its first National President. Simon has also been the Federal President of the Musician’s Section of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance and a member of its Management committee since 1996.

Peter Siakala (Austria) (Photo credit: Bubu Dujmic)

Prof. Peter Siakala, Cellist bei den Wiener Symphonikern, 2001 – 2009 Betriebsratsobmann und Orchestervorstand, Fachgruppenvorsitzender der Fachgruppe Orchester der GdG-KMSFB, Sektion Musik.