On Wednesday (4/30) on Polyphonic.org, Ann Drinan writes, “At a seminar at Mondomusica New York on April 11, 2014, Heather Noonan of the League of American Orchestras joined with violin and bow makers, an international environmental expert, and government officials to discuss the recent tightened restrictions on bringing ivory into the US, resulting from an Obama Administration Executive Order issued on February 24, 2014.” Noonan is the League’s Vice President for Advocacy, and on this issue she works with the American Federation of Musicians and advocates from organizations such as Chamber Music America. “She stressed that the issue is not just traveling with an instrument containing ivory, but determining whether your instrument actually contains an endangered substance. The latter process can be quite difficult, and many musicians are just not willing to take the risk, so they are deciding not to travel. According to Heather, ‘For individual musicians who are considering embarking on travel, it’s difficult to predict what they will encounter because everything is in a state of flux.’ … The biggest challenge for musicians is that a system has not yet been built to facilitate compliance.… The AFM and the League (and others) are urgently talking to policy leaders and mainstream conservation groups.” The article includes links to resources to address the issue.
Posted April 30, 2014
