Players' Conferences

Players' conferences were established to foster communication among players with mutual concerns and give them a forum within the AFM. Conferences are formally recognized by vote of the IEB. Formal conference status within the AFM provides the right to elect representatives from within each conference, to meet with the IEB, and to send three non-voting delegates from each conference to the Convention. These delegates do not serve on Convention committees or take part in the AFM election process, which is solely the right of delegates elected from locals. Conferences may submit resolutions to the AFM Convention and lobby for their interests. An IEB member designated by the International President attends all official meetings of conferences. At the time of writing, the Players' Conferences are:

  • International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), which has 44 member orchestras throughout the U.S., was formed to represent musicians in full-time orchestras that have budgets of approximately $5 million and higher. ICSOM was formally established in 1962. The Conference, along with ROPA and OCSM (see below), provides strong leadership and advocacy for improvements in service and protection for orchestral musicians.

  • Regional Orchestra Players' Association (ROPA) has 51 member orchestras in the United States . The budget size for each orchestra ranges up to $5 million. ROPA was founded in 1984, modeled after ICSOM to deal with the special concerns of musicians who work in smaller (often part-time) orchestras.
  • Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) represents 19 Canadian orchestras of various budget sizes. It was formed in 1981 to protect and promote the interests of musicians in Canadian symphonic, ballet and opera orchestras.
  • Recording Musicians' Association (RMA) was founded in 1969 and represents the interests of approximately 1,700 recording musicians working under Federation collective bargaining agreements. The RMA plays a large role in developing standards for recording contracts and participating in AFM negotiations for electronic media agreements.
  • Theater Musicians' Association (TMA) was granted conference status in 1997 to represent the interests of AFM members employed in theatrical musical productions.