The BSO leads hundreds of events each year, from award-winning work in health and care settings to partnerships with schools and music education hubs: the BSO Young Associates will have the chance to experience the full range of this outreach work, helping those both young and old in a variety of projects.
Bea Hankey, Head of BSO Participate said: “Whether you’re an instrumentalist, producer, or singer-songwriter we want to hear from you! We’re looking for people who are natural communicators, with an unshakable passion for the empowering impact of music and a desire to create positive change at the heart of our communities. In exchange, you’ll receive mentoring from leading practitioners and experiences to help catapult the start of a rewarding arts career.”
Performing throughout the South West, from Bournemouth to Bristol, Exeter, Poole and Portsmouth, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is calling out to young people who are currently underrepresented in the UK’s arts workforce to apply.
At the last count, it was reported that people who identify as disabled, or who are from Black, Asian or Ethnically Diverse backgrounds, accounted for just 7% and 13% of those working in the UK’s creative industries respectively [1] — alongside this, despite representing just under one-third of the UK’s national workforce, those from working class backgrounds accounted for just 16% of those working in the creative sector [2].
The BSO has created the BSO Young Associates programme as a direct response, raising funds through the Big Give Christmas Challenge to help support aspiring musicians who might not otherwise have the opportunity to undertake an internship or placement to launch a career in the arts.
Find out what it means to be a community music leader
The BSO is known globally for championing the role of culture in people’s lives. It received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Impact Award in 2019 for its work in improving opportunities for disabled musicians, and BSO Resound — the world’s first professional disabled-led ensemble at the core of a major orchestra —continues to receive international attention for igniting change.
BSO Young Associates is open to applicants until Thursday 3 March. The programme is due to begin in late-spring 2022.