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Jonny is Encore's Head of Artist Relations. He's responsible for supporting and helping musicians on the platform and writes most of the musician-facing articles on the blog. He can usually be found singing in choirs, drumming in bands, or nodding meaningfully to particularly good chords in London's jazz bars.
Encore’s latest guest blog is from Nicole Wilson, formerly a violinist with the London Symphony Orchestra and the founder of Musical Orbit, a revolutionary online music lesson platform. I still remember the terrifying moment when I graduated from the Royal Academy of Music. After four years of…
Encore’s latest guide to navigating the non-musical aspects of the industry covers Public Liability Insurance (PLI). Insurance is one of those things that most musicians are aware of but don’t quite understand how it works or where to get it. It can seem very easy to ignore – you’re busy…
You’re trying to get from Sheffield to Luton Airport but the train ticket is £90, which is a large chunk of your fee. But there’s nothing else you can do – you need to make this flight. But what if someone could tell you how to halve the price? Read on for Paula’s top UK […]
Here at Encore, we love to hear about exciting ventures to bring music to new audiences. Today, we catch up with Philharmonia and Ruysdael Quartet violist Gijs Kramers, co-founder of the Street Orchestra of London (SOL), a pop-up orchestra founded in 2016. SOL is based on your experience with…
It’s every musician’s worst nightmare. One slip on wet leaves and suddenly your elbow is broken and you can’t work for six weeks. While a lucky few will be employed by an organisation with sick pay, most musicians are self-employed and simply don’t get paid if they can’t work. But there is help…
It’s very hard to carve a career as a musician, never more so in today’s fast-paced, highly competitive and image-driven world. The changes in the industry are unparalleled in history and therefore so are our roles as musicians. Today it’s not enough to aspire to be a virtuoso – it’s almost…
Hello! My name is Christine Beamer and I’m a violist, and also the Director of the Running Start program at Michigan State University’s (MSU) College of Music. In my daily life, I talk to bachelors, masters, and doctoral students about their career plans. When I left undergrad at the University…
Encore talks to Houston Symphony Orchestra violist Jarita Ng about the viola, cultural transitioning, and how she got her orchestra job. How old were you started playing viola? My parents started teaching me violin when I was five. When I was seventeen, I volunteered to play viola in a chamber…
Encore talks to La Serenissima principal violist Elitsa Boganova about her recent win with the Consone Quartet at the Royal Overseas League Competition (ROSL). Can you describe the preparation process for the ROSL Competition? I have been playing with the quartet since December but ROSL is the only…
The Philharmonia Yoga Group on tour in Copacabana Beach, Brazil in 2014. The Philharmonia Orchestra Yoga Group began on my 31st birthday, July 27th, 2014. Every summer the orchestra spends a week performing at the Three Choirs Festival, in either Hereford, Gloucester or Worcester. That year we were…
Travelling with your instrument can be quite tricky, so we’ve compiled some insider tips to make it easier and save you some money. Write in to help@encoremusicians.com if you have any further information as we will keep this blog updated. Best way to fly? In my opinion, it’s easyJet.…
The Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) is the UK’s Professional Body for Musicians and the Musicians’ Union (MU) is the UK’s union for musicians. This blog post lays out a few of the differences between the two. Encore does not advise membership in one organisation over the other. The ISM and…
