Number of German orchestras continues to fall
According to a statement from the German Orchestra Association (DOV), the number of German cultural orchestras has fallen further to 131. The first nationwide survey in 1992 counted 168 publicly financed orchestras that performed regularly.
According to the DOV, 37 cultural orchestras have effectively disappeared from the map. In the same period, the number of designated musician positions in orchestras nationwide has fallen from 12,159 to currently 9825. This corresponds to a reduction of a good 19 percent.
Membership data shows that orchestras will become more female in the future: The average proportion of women in German orchestras is around 30 percent, and already well over 50 percent among 25 to 30-year-olds.
Even in the 24th year after reunification, the orchestra structures in the new federal states are still not secure, explains DOV Managing Director Gerald Mertens. To date, around 37 percent of all permanent positions for musicians have been lost in the East alone. An end to this development is not in sight.
