I co-founded an orchestra 18 years ago. Since then, I’ve seen doors close for working-class musicians | Robert Ames
Robert Ames, co-founder and conductor of the London Contemporary Orchestra, has written about stepping down from the organisation after 18 years, using the moment to criticise the classical music industry for making it increasingly difficult for working-class musicians to sustain a career. He argues that routes into the profession that once existed through state schools, council-backed music services and youth orchestras have been eroded, even as the sector talks up "access" and diversity initiatives, and that talented musicians without financial backing are being priced out by the accumulated costs of training, instruments, travel and unpaid work.
Ames describes his own background, including sofa-surfing and occasionally sleeping rough while trying to establish himself in London's freelance music scene, and going years without meaningful pay after founding the orchestra. He notes that more than 70% of UK musicians are self-employed or freelance, and that under the current Musicians' Union/Association of British Orchestras agreement, the minimum fee for a section musician's rehearsal and concert day is £163.18 — a sum that often fails to reflect years of training and unpaid preparation. He concludes that diversity schemes cannot succeed while the industry ignores the basic economics of who can afford to remain in it.
- Orchestra co-founder Robert Ames steps down, criticises classical music's class barriers
- Says routes for working-class musicians have narrowed despite "access" rhetoric
- Highlights low pay, unpaid work and London living costs pricing out talent
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Robert Ames is a conductor who, 18 years ago, co-founded the London Contemporary Orchestra, a well-regarded classical music ensemble based in London. He has now stepped down from the organisation, and has written publicly about that departure to reflect on the wider state of the classical music profession in the UK.
His central concern is access: he argues that routes into a music career that once existed through state schools, council-funded music services and youth orchestras have shrunk over time, making it harder for people from working-class backgrounds to break into the industry. He points to the practical costs involved, such as instruments, training and travel, alongside long periods of unpaid or poorly paid work, as barriers that can exclude talented musicians who lack financial support.
This matters because most UK musicians are self-employed freelancers rather than salaried employees, meaning their income is often irregular and dependent on fees set through industry agreements. Ames uses his own experience of financial hardship early in his career to question whether the classical music sector's public commitments to diversity and access are matched by meaningful change in pay and opportunity.