Welcome, delegates and guests, to the 2026 Conference of the Regional Orchestra
Players’ Association! Since ROPA’s founding in September of 1984, representatives
from our member orchestras have met every year to talk about what musicians in
regional groups need to make the struggle for better wages and working conditions
easier and more productive. Our Conference represents something really good about
the AFM, that a union can be responsive to the needs of its membership in a way that
has made a huge difference in the lives of the musicians we represent.
We are hosted this year by The Dallas Opera Orchestra and The Dallas-Fort Worth
Professional Musicians’ Association, AFM Local 72-147. We on the ROPA Executive
board would like to thank President Stewart Williams, along with ROPA Delegates
Grace Wollett and Katrina Smith, and all the Dallas team for everything they are doing
for us.

Dallas is one of the leading Arts centers in the United States, and the cultural hub of
North Texas. The Dallas Arts District spans 68 acres and is among the largest urban
arts districts in the nation. A lot of hard work is behind this revitalization, and it shows.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is one of our nation’s leading orchestras, and The
Dallas Opera is well known for producing both classic and contemporary operas. Since
its founding in 1957, the company has earned particular recognition for presenting U.S.
premieres of important contemporary and international operas. In addition to bringing to
the stage new works alongside the standard operatic repertoire, the company is a great
example of successful community engagement.

Our agenda this year includes presentations on a variety of topics, from health and
wellness to media initiatives and financial analyses. We are also reprising a panel called
Connections That Count, focusing on relationships with other unions and civic leaders.
We are pleased to offer the leadership of the AFM a chance to connect with its
membership, and we once again thank the Symphonic Services Division for its
Negotiating Workshop and other supporting reports. We hope that all our our attendees,
presenters, auditors, and guests find every moment of the Conference enjoyable,
informative, and useful.

The 2026 ROPA Conference is the first Player Conference to take place after the AFM
Convention, held last month in Ottawa Canada. We congratulate AFM President Tino
Gagliardi on his re-election, and we welcome Karen Suarez Flint as the new
International Vice President, and the first woman to hold that office in our Union's nearly
130-year history. We sincerely wish the best for President Gagliardi, Vice President
Suarez Flint, and all the newly elected and returning members of the International
Executive Board as they take on today’s challenges. Now more than ever, it’s vital to
show the solidarity that brings us real progress. We will always be stronger together.

In Solidarity,
Steve Wade
President, Regional Orchestra Players’ Association