The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has signed a collective agreement for its musicians, with the aim of building on the standards it is achieving and help make a career as a professional musician a more attractive prospect.
Apart from an increase in salaries and better working conditions, the collective agreement includes clauses which seek to encourage the MPO’s musicians to embark on initiatives outside the orchestra, particularly when it comes to representing Malta in individual projects.
The agreement was signed by MPO Executive Chairman Sigmund Mifsud and the musicians’ union. Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici was also present.
The Minister said that “this collective agreement will give the deserved identity to the profession of musicians in Malta. One of the principles that is key to the strengthening of our culture sector is to increase professionalisation in it - without any doubt this agreement will be of great aid for this achievement”. He announced that in December 2018 our orchestra will be debuting in the prestigious Carnegie Hall.
While the MPO will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, it has only been a full-size orchestra for 10 years. It currently employs some 60 full-time musicians - a number that has been slowly increasing over the years.
In recent years, the orchestra has been performing with greater frequency - it presently gives more than 60 performances a year and has been receiving greater visibility in Malta and overseas. The MPO has also considerably widened its repertoire in recent years, taking on increasingly challenging works in the process.
The new collective agreement seeks to reflect this changing reality and ensures the orchestra can continue to attract musicians of calibre.
The MPO also aims to help encourage promising young Maltese musicians to turn their passion into a full-time career; it has also recently launched a paid internship scheme with this in mind.