Musicians from Northern Ballet Sinfonia were joined by supporters outside Newcastle’s Theatre Royal on Friday 10 November. Image credit: James Smith, TUC Northern.
Musicians from Northern Ballet Sinfonia were joined by TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak and supporters from across the TUC Northern region outside Newcastle’s Theatre Royal on Friday 10 November.
They’re campaigning to protect musicians’ jobs and keep Northern Ballet music live.
Speaking at the rally, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Let’s make sure the Government can’t ignore your case for live music. Let’s take that case directly to the Arts Council. Let’s keep music live, and let’s keep musicians in our theatres.”
Add your voice to the call
Ask your MP to put pressure on Arts Council England to come to the table and agree a realistic funding solution that protects jobs and keeps Northern Ballet live:
After you’ve written to your MP, share it on social media using the hashtag #KeepNorthernBalletLive.
Over 9,000 people have already signed the petition.
What’s happening at Northern Ballet?
Musicians in the Northern Ballet Sinfonia are campaigning to protect their touring work.
It comes after Northern Ballet announced that they were being forced to consider getting rid of their live orchestra for some touring productions and replacing the musicians with recorded music due to a real terms funding cut.
Unlike other Northern Ballet workers, the musicians are on freelance contracts and only get paid for the work they do. Some are already relying on foodbanks to survive.
It is essential that Arts Council England and Northern Ballet agree a realistic funding solution that protects union jobs and enables everyone to have access to live ballet that is genuinely live.
An outpouring of solidarity for musicians
Support for musicians at Northern Ballet has been coming in from across the UK and futher afield. Here are some of the highlights.