# Independent Society of Musicians

The Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) is the UK and Ireland's professional body for musicians representing over 11,000 individuals across all areas of the music industry. The ISM is also a subject association for music education and is an independent non profit-making organisation.

## History

The ISM was founded in 1882 to promote the importance of music and protect the rights of those working within music. It is an independent, not-for-profit membership organisation which has almost 11,000 individual members and over 180 corporate members. It protects and supports its members by providing them with expert advice, insurance and specialist services as well as access to a community of like-minded professionals and the status that comes with being a member of a professional body. Originally called the Incorporated Society of Musicians, it changed its name in October 2022 to coincide with its 140th anniversary.

## Members

The ISM has a membership of over 11,000 music professionals including performers, composers and songwriters, music teachers, music administrators, music technology professionals and portfolio musicians, and provides discounted membership for students and early career musicians. Members may use appropriate post-nominal letters. FISM (Fellow), MISM (Member), SMISM (Student Member). Members may also apply for ISM Registered Private Teacher status, and apply for a DBS, PVG or Access NI.

### Notable members

The ISM's current members include Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Mark Elder, Sir James Galway, Dame Felicity Lott, Dame Judith Weir, Betty Roe MBE, Julian Lloyd Webber, Andy Boyd, Paul Harris, Gerald Finley, and Craig Ogden.

### Presidents

Source:
1921-22 Arthur Mann
1922-23 Allen Gill
1923-24 Sir Landon Ronald
1924-25 Sir Donald Tovey
1925-26 Sir Walford Davies KCVO OBE
1926-28 E Markham Lee
1928-29 Sir Adrian Boult CH
1929-30 Sir Hugh Allen GCVO
1930-31 Sir John McEwen
1931-32 Bernard Johnson
1932-33 Harry Plunket Greene
1933-34 W Gillies Whittaker
1934-35 Sir Edward Bairstow
1935-36 Sir Stanley Marchant, CVO
1936-37 Sir Percy Buck
1937-38 Robert Forbes CBE
1938-39 Sir Thomas Beecham, Bart CH
1939-40 Sir Hugh Allen GCVO
1940-41 Frederic Austin
1941-45 Sir George Dyson KCVO
1945-46 Sir Thomas Armstrong
1946-47 Sir Ernest Bullock CVO
1947-48 Harold Craxton OBE
1948-49 Henry Havergal OBE
1949-50 Astra Desmond CBE
1950-51 Edric Cundell CBE
1951-52 Herbert Howells CH CBE
1952-53 Walter Stanton
1953-54 Herbert Wiseman
1954-55 W Greenhouse Allt CVO CBE
1955-56 Sir Reginald Thatcher OBE MC
1956-57 Sir Malcolm Sargent
1957-58 Douglas Fox OBE
1959-60 Leslie Regan
1960-61 Sir Thomas Armstrong
1961-62 Gerald Moore CBE
1962-63 Sir Jack Westrup
1963-64 James Denny MBE
1964-65 The Lord Menuhin OM KBE
1965-66 Frank Merrick CBE
1966-67 Maurice Allen
1967-68 Sir Anthony Lewis CBE
1968-69 Hervey Alan OBE
1969-70 Sir Peter Pears CBE
1970-71 Philip Cranmer
1971-72 Sir Charles Groves CBE
1972-74 Leonard Blake
1974-75 Willis Grant
1975-76 Richard Lewis CBE
1976-77 Ida Carroll OBE
1977-78 William Llewellyn MBE
1978-79 Sir David Willcocks CBE MC
1979-80 Ian Wallace OBE
1980-81 Evelyn Barbirolli OBE
1981-82 Ronald Smith
1982-83 Sir Charles Groves CBE
1983-84 John McCabe CBE
1984-85 Sir David Lumsden
1985-86 Meredith Davies CBE
1986-87 Louis Carus
1987-88 Patrick Salisbury
1988-89 Pamela Bowden
1989-90 William Mathias CBE
1990-91 Dr Lionel Dakers CBE
1991-92 Sir John Manduell CBE
1992-93 Dame Gillian Weir DBE
1993-94 Jack Brymer OBE
1994-95 Sir Philip Ledger CBE
1995-96 Emanuel Hurwitz CBE
1996-97 Ian Partridge CBE
1997-98 Professor George Pratt
1998-99 John Hosier CBE
1999-2000 Dr George McPhee MBE
2000-01 Sarah Walker CBE
2001-02 John Stephens OBE
2002-03 Guy Woolfenden OBE
2003-04 Professor John Morehen
2004-05 Professor George Caird
2005-06 Robert Lloyd CBE
2006-07 Colin Bradbury
2007-08 Roger Vignoles
2008-09 Professor Roderick Swanston
2009-10 Kenneth Ian Hÿtch
2010-11 Professor Gavin Henderson CBE
2011-12 Professor Paul Max Edlin
2012-13 Suzi Digby OBE (Lady Eatwell)
2013-14 Richard Hallam MBE
2014-15 Professor Sir Barry Ife CBE
2015-16 Jeremy Jackman
2016-17 Nicolas Chisholm MBE
2017-18 Susan Sturrock
2018-19 Professor David Saint
2019-20 Dr Jeremy Huw Williams BEM
2020-21 Professor Chris Collins
2021-22 Deborah Keyser
2022-23 Vick Bain
2023-24 Pauline Black
(2024-on Nicky Spence - announced)

## Services

The ISM supports members through expert legal assistance from a specialist in-house legal team and a 24-hour legal and tax helpline, comprehensive insurance including public liability insurance, legal expenses insurance, and discounted musical instrument insurance; practical advice ISM's staff team and access to online advice pages; free promotion through the ISM Music Directory, the UK's only online directory of professional musicians; professional development events including seminars, webinars and conferences.

## Campaigns and surveys

In its work to protect musicians' rights and support the profession across the sector, the ISM campaigns and lobbies to make their views known to policy makers.
The ISM led a successful campaign to secure the place of music in the English Baccalaureate as part of a sixth pillar of creative and cultural subjects. The campaign achieved nearly 50,000 signatures to a petition and support from over 110 organisations. On 7 February 2013 the Government withdrew its EBC proposals and introduced a new performance measure for schools that will include creative subjects.
In 2015, the campaign was relaunched in response to the Department for Education's proposal to implement the English Baccalaureate as a headline accountability measure in schools. The campaign is supported by 100,000+ individual signatories and over 200 organisations from across the creative industries including Aardman Animations, Shakespeare's Globe, The BRIT School, The Design Council and more. The campaign has recently debated the issue of the EBacc and its exclusion of creative subjects in the Houses of Parliament.
In 2014, the Government launched a consultation on the new GCSE, AS and A level in music. While the aims of the reforms were positive, the Government defined only one area of study: ‘music composed in the western classical tradition between 1700 and 1900.’ The ISM stated, 'not only does this artificial time-frame make no musical sense but musicians of the future will only be able to study classical music written before 1700 and after 1900 if they take this as a separate area of study, and the overall effect of the reforms will do little to support and encourage musicality. And it could even have a detrimental effect on musicianship and the study of musical genres.' The ISM subsequently the 'Beyond 1990' campaign, urging the music sector to respond to the consultation.
In 2013 the ISM launched the campaign Protect Music Education calling for confirmed funding for music education hubs from 2015, and for the Government to drop its proposal advising local authorities to cease funding music education. It united the music sector, gaining the support of 134 organisations from across the music sector, 5,000 individuals and many distinguished musicians.
On 22 July 2014, the campaign was deemed a double success, with £75million of funding for music education in 2015/16 secured, and the Government backing down on its proposal.
The ISM has an ongoing campaign to help musicians travel by air with confidence, taking fragile, hand-held instruments in the cabin as part of hand baggage allowance. easyJet announced a more musician-friendly hand baggage policy following discussions with the ISM.
A survey by the ISM in 2017 found that 60% of the respondents had experienced sexual harassment.

## Affiliations

The ISM holds memberships with many industry bodies, including the Council for Subject Associations, Creative Coalition Campaign, Creators' Rights Alliance, Educational Recording Agency, National Campaign for the Arts and the National Music Council.

## Awards

In 1976, under President Ida Carroll, the ISM established the Distinguished Musician Award to acknowledge outstanding contributions to British musical life.
Recipients have included: Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, Errollyn Wallen CBE, Thomas Adès, John Wilson, Kathryn McDowell CBE, Dame Emma Kirkby, Dame Felicity Lott, Malcolm Arnold, Janet Baker, Nicola Benedetti, Sarah Connolly, Pierre Boulez, Adrian Boult, Julian Bream, Janet Craxton, Peter Maxwell Davies, Colin Davis, Norman Del Mar, Jacqueline du Pré, Mark Elder, James Galway, Alexander Gibson, Evelyn Glennie, Reginald Goodall, Charles Groves, Christopher Hogwood, Witold Lutosławski, Charles Mackerras, George Malcolm, John McCabe, Antonio Pappano, Peter Pears, Simon Rattle, John Stephens, Michael Tippett, William Walton, Fanny Waterman, Judith Weir, David Willcocks, Julian Lloyd-Webber and Oliver Knussen