AGMA is honored to share this performance of Solidarity Forever (AGMA 2020 Version) featuring AGMA members of  The Metropolitan Opera including Nathaniel Hunt, Ashley Emerson, Sarah Larsen, Christopher Job, and members of the Met Opera Chorus. https://vimeo.com/455874289 The Solidarity Forever score (found below) was written by Met AGMA Committee Chair Ned Hanlon (chorister), the Met’s Jeremy Little (chorister), and AGMA Eastern Counsel Sam Wheeler. They wrote this song earlier in the spring to encourage AGMA members to stay strong and stick together during the pandemic. Special thanks to Met Opera Ballet, Met Opera Supers, Maria D'Amato, Rachel Schmiege, Sara Heaton, Lianne Coble-Dispensa, Scott Dispensa, Brandon Mayberry, ... Read More -->

The American Guild of Musical Artists is the labor union of the finest singers, dancers, and staging staff in opera, choral performance, and concert dance in the United States. Like members of our sister unions, COVID-19 turned our lives upside down, leaving thousands of Artists unemployed. This has taken a devastating toll on AGMA artists, cutting fundamental economic lifelines for those of us who spend our lives in the performing arts. Nearly six months later, we continue to confront an unprecedented loss of work and earnings. We were the first to lose our jobs, and will likely be the last to return to work. And yet, have we given up? No. Have we stopped singing, dancing and creating? No. We are AGMA. We carry on. Doing so isn’t ... Read More -->

AUGUST 26, 2020 - American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) announce the wide release of the AGMA/SDC Return to Stage and Performing Arts Playbook. “From the onset of this life-changing pandemic, the economic security, health, and safety of our members have been top of mind. AGMA, SDC, and our medical experts are extremely proud of our Playbook, as it helps to address the unique risks of singing, dancing, stage managing, choreographing, and directing,” said Len Egert, National Executive Director of AGMA. “Our Playbook was initially intended as an internal tool for AGMA and SDC, but we are happy to make it widely available to the industry at large, because we are all in this toget... Read More -->

A new caucus has been established within the American Guild of Musical Artists. The AGMA Black Caucus will empower marginalized voices and bodies to combat systemic racism throughout the opera, dance, and choral music industries, and the larger performing arts community. The Caucus serves to work toward several ongoing objectives. Highlights include: Making Black union members more aware of their rights as members and compelling AGMA to do anti-racist work, within the Union and with its affiliated companies, to foster a stronger relationship between AGMA and its Black membersEnsuring that the Union demands that companies implement policies, training, and hiring procedures that shift workplace culture, advance equity, and ... Read More -->

On Tuesday, July 21, 2020, AGMA sent the following memo to its signatory companies: Dear AGMA Signatory Company, As we near the end of July, AGMA is reaching out again to our companies regarding potential reopening and related safety issues. AGMA remains dedicated to working with you to address the daunting challenges that reopening safely will entail. We must commit to working collaboratively and transparently to address the safety and economic security of your artists and companies. From the onset of the pandemic, AGMA’s foremost concern has been the safety and health of our performing artists and the well-being of the companies through which they share their exquisite talents. Our May memo to companie... Read More -->

6/2/2020 - With discussions on reopening beginning around the country across various industries, the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) announced that they have engaged the services of medical experts to assist with COVID-19 safety planning and ensure that their members are protected. The two unions—AGMA, which represents opera performers, choral singers, and dancers, and SDC, representing stage directors and choreographers—will be working with Dr. Mark Cunningham-Hill, Dr. Laura S. Welch, and Dr. Stephen J. Anderson, who have multiple decades worth of experience in protecting the health of employees and maintaining healthy workplaces. “AGMA and SDC are ready to work to... Read More -->

On Sunday, May 31, AGMA released the following statement on social media: "The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is made up of diverse Artists who put more beauty into the world by coming together in union to create tremendous works of opera, dance, and song.  It is clear that our society remains unequal and unjust. In recent weeks, the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and the resulting protests by Americans all over the country, have again reminded us of the plight faced by our black brothers and sisters in America. Black lives matter, and AGMA stands in solidarity with those who are fighting for a more equal and more just future.  We call on elected leaders at all levels of government ... Read More -->

TODAY at 4:00 p.m. PST (7:00 p.m. EST), an accomplished high school choir will host a benefit concert on Zoom to raise funds for the AGMA Relief Fund. Due to COVID-19, in just seven weeks, the AGMA Relief Fund has seen a 2,000% increase in grant dollars given to AGMA artists in crisis. Established in 1945, the viability of the Fund is 100% dependent on donations.  San Clemente High School (SCHS) was founded in 1964, and its choral tradition is deep-rooted in its 56-year history. The California high school has five choirs in place, ranging from beginning level ensembles to advanced women’s and mixed ensembles. They’ve toured New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. They regularly perf... Read More -->

Today, the AGMA Relief Fund is participating in #GivingTuesdayNow, a new global day of giving and unity in response to the needs caused by COVID-19. COVID-19 has made a devastating impact on the Arts. Reports estimate nearly two-thirds of artists across the U.S. are now fully unemployed due to the pandemic. As a result, the AGMA Relief Fund has seen a 2,000% increase in emergency financial assistance granted to AGMA artists. The viability of the AGMA Relief Fund depends on donations. No amount is too little and funds go toward AGMA artists in need during the most catastrophic health and financial crisis in our history. The Arts will play a major role in our nation’s healing, so please help our artists today. Consider... Read More -->