The World Federation of Amateur Orchestras has three categories of membership; corporate members, individual corporate members, and individual personal members. Individual personal members are not listed in this overview.
Corporate members
AIMA – Italian Amateur Musician Association
Italy
Associazione Italiana Musicisti Amatori is to be a focal point for amateur music in Italy, not only on a national scale, to meet the needs of Italy’s amateur musicians, but also beyond Italy’s borders, as a link with the rest of Europe and the world. AIMA is a non-profit association created to give amateurs dignity and the possibility to fulfil their musical aspirations through playing music together.
Contact person: Tommaso Napoli
Website: https://aimamusic.it
Bundesverband Amateurmusik Sinfonie- und Kammerorchester (BDLO)
Germany
Founded in 1924, the Federal Association of German Amateur Orchestras (BDLO) is the world’s largest and oldest association of symphonic and chamber orchestras. Today, the BDLO is made up of more than 800 amateur orchestras and chamber music ensembles, thus gathering almost 34,000 amateur musicians of all ages. The majority of the members are autonomously organised orchestras, others are run and sponsored by institutions such as universities and music schools.
Contact person: Helge Lorenz and Jasko Dolezalek
Website: http://orchesterverband.de/
De Unges Orkesterforbund (UNOF)
Norway
UNOF, the Norwegian Youth Orchestra Association, was founded in 1974, and is the largest Norwegian orchestra federation. The association is an umbrella organization for children and youth orchestras. UNOF has 5 400 members between the age of 2 and 26, who play in 175 local orchestras. UNOF also runsNUSO – The Norwegian Youth Symphony Orchestra, a national orchestra for youth between the age of 13 and 20. The assoication also supports 14 summer music academies around the whole country.
Contact person: Terje Winther, Birgitte Mikalsen and Carl Ninian Wika
Website: http://orkester.no/unof/
Flemish Amateur Music Organisation (VLAMO)
Belgium
VLAMO wants amateur instrumental music to flourish in Flanders, Belgium. They are an umbrella organization for 1200 amateur orchestras (or 65000 musicians) around Flanders. Most of the orchestras are wind bands and fanfare orchestras (typical for the low countries), but they also have members which are brass bands, symphony orchestras, string orchestras, pipe bands, show bands, drum bands, accordion orchestras, majorettes and twirlers, etc.
Contact person: Steven Hellemans and Alex van Beveren
Website: www.vlamo.be/
Japan Amateur Orchestra Organization (JAO)
Japan
JAO aims at promoting youth and common citizens’ amateur orchestras’ activities and contribute to the development and enhancing of musical culture all over Japan.
JAO was initially formed by 23 organizations which responded to an invitation to gather in Toyohashi-shi, Aichi prefecture, in June, 1972 (Showa era 47).The following year, in 1973, the first National Amateur Orchestras Festival was organized in Toyohashi. That Festival is now the core annual activity of JAO and has, over the years, contributed to the promotion and spread of amateur orchestras from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
Contact person: Shuji Mori and Haruo Hiramatsu
Website: http://www.jao.or.jp/e/
Individual corporate members
This overview will be expanded with more information about each individual orchestra.
Bombay Chamber Orchestra, India
Crescendo International Orchestra, Nepal
Annapurna Chamber Orchestra, Nepal
Shangai City Symphony Orchestra, China
Singapore National Youth Orchestra, Singapore
World Civic Orchestra, USA
Bejing International Chamber Orchestra, China
Society Orchestra of the Croatian Music Institute, Croatia
UP Arco – The University of the Philippines String Orchestra, The Philippines
Taoyuan City Jungli Youth Orchestra, Taiwan
Partner associations
European Orchestra Federation (EOFed)
Europe
The European Orchestra Federation, EOFed, was established in May 2009.
EOFed unites the amateur and youth and other types of non-professional orchestras in European countries, which play symphonic orchestra and chamber music works of all periods of time and genres. Organisations of brass bands, wind instrument orchestras and other specialized ensembles are partners of EOFed.
EOFed promotes amateur music making of all ages with a special focus on youth. It aims at facilitating contacts and cooperation amongst its members and individual orchestras. It runs an event and festival data bank and offers partners in the music business advertising and promotion opportunities.
EOFed also coordinates and facilitates the international lending of musical notes, scores and partitions. A major concern of orchestras is access to sheet music, scores and parts.
Contact person: Jüri-Ruut Kangur
Website: https://eofed.org/
NPO WFAO
Japan/Asia
NPO-WFAO is a non-profit organization that aims at supporting the amateur orchestra activities and contributing to international cultural exchanges with the aim improving world-wide cultural exchange and mutual understanding.
The certified NPO WFAO was founded to provide WFAO with solid administrative support. That support extends beyond national frontiers. NPO WFAO’s support is open to all those who requests its help or are willing to provide assistance.
NPO WFAO intends to amplify the worldwide activities of WFAO especially in helping regions in the developing world, such as parts of Asia or Africa to set up their own organizations and, as such, NPO WFAO aims extending orchestral activities all over the world.
NPO WFAO’s purpose is to contribute and extend, through orchestral practice, all the educational activities in the world, be it youth, adult, or life-long educational programs.
Contact person: Goro Kamino, Joe Yamaji and Haruo Hiramatsu
E-mail: info@npowfao.or.jp
Website: http://npowfao.or.jp/en/