The classical music profession: demographic background of conservatoire staff and members of orchestras in Germany and the UK

Contains information on the gender of conservatoire staff and orchestral players and, where available, on their ethnic background. The data is based on publicly available information, which was retrieved from the websites of conservatoires and orchestras. Information on conservatoire staff was collected for the UK and Germany whereas information on orchestral players was only collected for the UK. This is because the German Association of Orchestras (DOV) publishes data on the proportion of male and female players, whereas the relevant industry body in the UK, the Association of British Orchestras (ABO) does not collect information on the demographic background of their players.

Work in the cultural industries is frequently described as work that you can’t help doing. However, research has shown that such work is often precarious and that the cultural sector is marked by inequalities. This project aims to add to our understanding of cultural work by conducting research on the classical music profession in Berlin and London. In doing so, the study addresses gaps in existing research that relate to the working lives of classical musicians, inequalities in the classical music profession, and the ways in which cultural work is affected by gender and its urban context. The study generated new knowledge in three key areas. First, it contributed to our understanding of inequalities in the classical music profession. Given the dearth of data on the demographic background of classical musicians, the study collected quantitative data on the backgrounds of orchestral players and conservatoire teachers. It complemented these quantitative findings with in-depth study of existing qualitative data on the ways in which musicians make sense of on-going inequalities and how particular industry practices, such as the emphasis placed on self-promotion, disadvantage women. Second, the research explored how female, classical musicians respond to the ethos of entrepreneurialism. The study identified ten different ways in which the research participants took on an entrepreneurial outlook by, for example, talking about themselves as a ‘commodity’ that has to be marketed. Third, the study traced the ups and downs of the classical music profession by exploring how musicians cope with insecure work conditions in order to pursue work they feel passionate about. The contrast between Berlin and London was particularly striking in this context: research participants based in Berlin felt that their lives as artists were tenable, whereas musicians in London often shared stories of hardship and anxiety. Covers 1 May 2014 - 1 November 2014.

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