I’d like to summarize how these initiatives can apply to the academic setting, and what we can do as educators to adapt them for our use and prepare students for a future in the performance, administration and support of orchestral music. Perhaps some orchestra directors have already taken such steps:

1. It is essential for university orchestras to develop partnerships with public schools, and maintain a creative presence through both performance and educational activity. In light of the many schools that have no music programs, it is no longer sufficient for universities to expect professional orchestras to do all the heavy lifting in this regard.

2. University orchestras must be involved in their community through appropriate artistic, educational and social partnerships. We cannot afford to perform solely for an audience of music department personnel! Performances must take place both on and off campus, and efforts must be made to engage both the university as a whole and the community beyond.

3. University orchestras must partner with local professional orchestras to bring ongoing visiting panels of musicians, administrators, historians, educators and union representatives to discuss and educate our students about careers, directions and realities in the orchestra world. It is no longer enough for our students to learn orchestral excerpts and audition techniques. They must be aware of the range of musical, educational and administrative activities that are required to maintain a positive artistic presence in the community.

4. University orchestras must encourage its members to read newspapers and blogs, and keep up to date on current cultural affairs and their repercussions. It is critical that our students become knowledgeable, not only about symphonic repertoire, but about the orchestra’s place within the context of popular culture and the arts.

5. And finally, we must be honest with our students that we are educating them, not just to launch careers in orchestral performance, but in the hope that they will explore the many additional and valuable ways to contribute to society, in music education and administration, as well as in non-musical fields. Our students should be encouraged to excel on their instruments and pursue professional orchestral careers when appropriate, and to be aware of the variety of equally meaningful career options and life long opportunities in support of arts and culture. I believe that the hard work and dedication required to master an orchestral instrument, contribute actively and positively to an ensemble, and do well in academic classes prepares the undergraduate music major for an outstanding career in a range of fields, including but not limited to music. I believe this type of honesty will lead to the creation of more confident orchestral musicians, administrators, teachers and supporters who understand and appreciate their particular contribution to the arts.

I hope to explore these possibilities with my orchestra, and report back to you again at the next American Orchestras Summit. Hope to see you there!

Overall, I think our expectations of what an orchestra does (give concerts) and what orchestral musicians do (practice and give concerts) have begun to change and will change even more dramatically in the years ahead. The flexibility of the service exchange model—as pointed out by Kelly Dylla in her recent post—suggests that it has great potential to alter the way orchestras interact with their community without—and this is key—merely adding responsibilities and hours to overworked managers and musicians.

Regardless of whether service exchange programs gather steam, we need to train aspiring musicians differently. This point was made poignant when Barbara Zmich argued that we are doing thousands of students an egregious disservice by accepting them into music schools, training them to play orchestral repertoire (to the exclusion of just about everything else), and then setting them free to figure it out in the real world. Aaron Dworkin helpfully noted that music schools could better prepare students to work creatively within and beyond narrow orchestral careers. Most music students graduate without a single course in business, economics, or entrepreneurial enterprise, yet these courses might make the difference in helping them develop successful music careers. As Larry Tamburri observed, the rising enrollment in arts programs can be viewed as problem (more applicants in a shrinking job market) or as an opportunity to fix problems. I’d like to view it as the latter: 

More and more students want to invest their lives in music. If these students are taught to approach music-making as means to an end (as Sara Billman suggested) and encouraged to develop skills in organizing and sustaining new musical initiatives, the future of American orchestras may be bright indeed.

It’s a powerful idea for reframing how we consider our roles.  The means — the artistic experience — is what keeps us all in this business, whether we’re artists or administrators.  But we must connect to our audiences in a meaningful way, and provide them with a chance to connect with each other, in order to be successful and relevant.  And in that regard, the artistic experience is just one component.

U-M Professor Michael Jensen gave a provocative talk that included a rather dire projection that the pyramid of world – national – local – amateur organizations will shrink to merely world and amateur.  I’m not sure I buy it.  While it’s true that you can tune in to the Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall and have more control over the immediate listening environment and be listening to arguably the world’s greatest orchestra (is there really such a thing?), part of what attracts us to the LIVE performance is the sense of community.  In times of crisis, people’s immediate instinct is to come together.  That’s why so many people attend candlelight vigils and similar gatherings when disaster strikes.  The live performance is more compelling than broadcast concerts because of two factors: the immediacy of the artistic experience, and the opportunity to connect with others.  Sometimes the connections are brief, or even unspoken, but they are connections all the same.

Despite all of the dire statistics cited about declining attendance, we need to bear in mind that if we fall into the trap of embracing national trends, we will only reinforce them.  If we each act within our own institutions to try to reverse those trends, we can all be successful in changing that direction.  Of course it’s helpful to know the general direction that things are going.  But if we use the national statistics as a benchmark against which we measure our own performance, we’re probably in trouble.

The major political parties realized years ago that the way to be effective in achieving their overarching goals was to start at the local level, with school boards and city councils, and gradually build enough momentum to have an impact nationally.  As performing arts groups, we too need to take that local focus to ultimately have an impact on the national landscape.  Being relevant in our own communities is a great first step.

The service exchange model hires musicians for a type of service that is not approved under the musicians’ collective bargaining agreement,  such as teaching or mentoring,  instead of the standard services musicians normally perform, such as  rehearsing and performing. This approach can significantly help orchestras balance their budget and increase their relevance in the community.  This idea ties into so many of the conversations, that it simply must be debated and acted upon sooner than later.  Service exchange must be embraced for our orchestras to survive.

I feel so passionately about this because service exchange is a tried and true model that works for most working musicians and even a few forward thinking orchestras.  Musicians who are in per-service symphony jobs often have a private studio, play in other orchestras, perform in small chamber groups, and take advantage of the well-paying for-profit gig that comes along every now and then.  These musicians are in the community and people not only know them, they love them.

Why do we not access this incredible resource of human capital that already exists outside of the symphony culture (both in per-service and full-time orchestras)?  It is as if we think that keeping our musicians away from seeming common will help them retain their exceptional and professional status.  I know this approach is loosing steam, but it is not loosing steam fast enough. Unfortunately it is also because music schools and other institutions have taught musicians that they are too special for the rest of us, and do not teach them how to communicate- that is, how to persuade, negotiate, and listen to their audiences.  There are a few lucky musicians who get to live in this world that was artificially created for them, but most of us learn how to communicate in the real world well after they played their last note in an isolated practice room.

How do we turn this around?  My audacious idea (shared by many one or two other audacious folks around) is to change the job description for orchestra musicians.  This will be a wake-up call to the industry as a whole, and will force music schools to teach to the new “whole musician”  job description, and not just the behind-the-screen “invisible musican” orchestra audition.

At the beginning of this article, I said that we included almost every stakeholder in the symphony business.  The one stakeholder that we did not include is our audience.  Many people at the conference, however, spoke on their behalf, and called for us to stop doing things to people and start doing things with people.  What better way to start doing things with people and not to people than by having our front lines, the most important group of people in a symphony, the musicians, tell us what excites them about playing for and talking with audiences?  If we create a systemic change in our training, audition, and embrace the service exchange model, musicians will once again become the center of the symphonic organization and audiences will once again return.

Good news: much of it is going online. The archive is currently working to post 1.3 million sheets from the Philharmonic’s collection, focusing on 1943–1970. Yet even this is just one piece of a large pie. You can check out the archive’s site here.

These archival projects are key for the musicologist and Lenny fans, but they also have wider repercussions for summit participants. Barbara Haws and Joseph Horowitz stressed the importance of getting orchestra stories written and published—not just for music lovers, but for those interested in American culture and history (i.e., a much broader audience). As American orchestras gain greater visibility in these general historical narratives, their present and future relevance will be easier to assess and sustain.

Orchestra archives are also important for the “going local” initiatives expounded by composer Evan Chambers and Mary Steffek Blaske. By structuring concerts and additional programming around local resources, be they resident composers, local geography (like the Huron River Watershed), amateur/student music groups, or other regional cultural programs, the orchestra becomes an active community builder. While history doesn’t capture everyone’s fancy, bringing the story of a local orchestra to its audience (through publications, exhibits, pre-concert talks) clarifies that which is normally hidden in day-to-day operations: an orchestra’s intrinsic role and legacy within the local community.

Years ago I was at a panel discussion of family foundation board members.  What has stuck in my mind for some 15+ years later is a question posed to Helen McMaster of the Harold & Helen McMaster Foundation.  She was asked, “How do you like being asked for a gift.”  Possible too basic a question, but her answer was so telling.  Helen simple answered, “Slowly.”

Partnerships, Teamwork, Group efforts, Associations, Alliances, Relationships and yes Cooperation – however you define these themes of engagement they are critical to the health of the American Orchestra, but they do take time, patience and yes creativity.

Here are some of the thoughts I took from this panel:

•    I heard panelists discuss the partnership of equality.  The importance of sharing the give and the get with both sides of the equation

•    Where does decision making happen?  Maybe we should go back to Kelly’s reference to The Tipping Point in her blog yesterday?  Who is the “connector” in the organization you want to partner with.  This connector may not be the CEO – so ask around and find the right person work with.

•    Figure out the organizational culture of your potential partner.  Do they share the same values as your organization?  If not, it may be the wrong partnership.

•    Explore your vulnerability – approaching partnerships with humility is critical.

The following is a definition from the website bnet.com:

A “portfolio career” is a “career based on a series of varied shorter-term jobs either concurrently or consecutively as opposed to one based on a progression up the ranks of a particular profession. The portfolio worker is frequently self-employed, offering his or her services on a freelance or consulting basis to one or more employers at the same time. However, a portfolio approach can also be taken to full-time employment with a single employer, if the employee chooses to expand his or her experience and responsibilities through taking different roles within the organization.

Source: bnet.com

To critics, the portfolio approach to career development may appear unfocused and directionless. However, it is an excellent opportunity to experience the many different avenues available in modern life. It is important, in general, for the portfolio worker to maintain some overall sense of purpose or strategic direction in the work they undertake, and to view their portfolio career as a unified whole rather than a collection of “odd jobs.”

Although defined above in the business sense, these two words have real implications for those of us trying to make careers in orchestras across the country. Let’s face it, as musicians, we look at that definition and say, “Yep, that’s pretty much what I do every day of my life.” Many, if not most, of us who identify themselves as “artists” strike a balance between teaching, creating and administering, effectively drawing from each of these in order to make a living.

So why am I dedicating an entire blog post to this concept? The fact is that most classical musicians entering the workforce today who are interested in carving out a career in classical music should probably be thinking about several “mini” careers that make up their full time job. It is not unreasonable to think about a career in which you balance a private teaching studio, perform in several small chamber ensembles, work as an administrator for a small arts organization and have that “side job” to round out your work!

The truth is that if you are a person who is passionate about your art and you would like to continue to create on a regular basis, the portfolio career may give you the opportunity to have that artistic outlet. Would your art be the “breadwinner” of your portfolio career? Possibly, but what is more important is the fact that this approach allows you to continue to create.

I’d like to think of the Portfolio Career as a “freelance” career on steroids. To me, being a freelancer means that you are focused primarily on your art as a means of sustaining your career while those seeking a portfolio career are balancing their art with jobs that feed their creative passion. This subtle, but important, difference allows 21st century artists to develop careers that are not completely reliant upon their art, essentially allowing them to continue to create without the stress of piecing together a career of gigs that are not necessarily “in the bag” from year to year.

It’s worth mentioning that, as artists or creative beings, our portfolio career can consist of jobs that still capture our creative passion even though it may not be creating a work of art in the studio or on a stage. In his book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink argues that, “The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people…will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.”

The time is now for musicians to bring their creative abilities to the workplace as one spoke on the wheel of their portfolio career. Whether it’s working in a creative fashion to streamline a company’s day to day operations, collaborating on a team in the spirit of true entrepreneurial business start-up, or simply working with the orchestra’s administration staff to help the sustainability of the ensemble, artists now can have a seat at the table with their business counterparts. The words “business counterparts” should not be viewed as a four letter word by musicians. The truth is that we have a lot to learn from each other and if we each bring our strengths to the table, both sides have a greater chance of achieving true wealth in our lives.

I’d be interested to hear how the concept of the “portfolio career” resonates with you and I look forward to reading your responses to this post.

Many interesting things were said over the course of the day, but a lot was left unsaid, which I found unsettling.  Perhaps I’m asking for the moon, but I wish there had been a session that tried to deal with the elephant in the room, instead of dodging it.  When Mark Stryker, a cultural reporter for the Detroit Free Press, asked the question of one panel about dealing with the fixed cost issue, admittedly when time was running out, it was almost painful to watch the ensuing answer avoidance.  It would have been insightful to have had musicians from Orchestra A alongside management from Orchestra B discussing some of the more pressing issues of labor contracts from both sides and their impact on organizations.  Or perhaps to have had management and musicians from some of the organizations that have been successful  in dealing with these issues, such as the Memphis Symphony or the Atlanta Symphony, sitting at the table together and discussing how they each realigned their roles and expectations within the organization, and how that’s changed the relationship.

This becomes a particularly important issue in light of the recent (admittedly short) strike in Cleveland, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s article on Sunday about possible bankruptcy for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Wall Street Journal article last week (“Too Big To Succeed”).

Before I go any further, let me go on record as saying that I have a constant internal struggle about management/labor issues.  My parents were both schoolteachers who had union contracts, and my sister is a freelance musician in New York who served on the negotiating committee when the Broadway musicians went on strike a few years ago.  I recognize the historical problems that led to the need for unions to protect their members, and I don’t make generalizations about musicians or teachers being “overpaid for the amount of work they do” because I recognize that there’s a lot more to the job than meets the eye – just as there’s a lot more to my job as a marketing director than most people realize (which is why I’m blogging at 1:30 am after attending the summit, a pre-concert dinner, the concert, and a post-concert reception – all of that without having done any “real” marketing today).  I am not a union hater.  But I do think the current model creates too much antagonism and entrenched position-taking that is not helpful in dealing with the larger issues at hand.

My point has to do with flexibility and trust.  One of the reasons I enjoy working for a performing arts presenter is that we don’t have the level of overhead and fixed costs facing our orchestra colleagues, which allows us to respond to opportunities – and threats – in a far more nimble fashion.  When I look at some of the strict work rules that orchestras are dealing with, I honestly don’t get it.  Who is ultimately harmed by having a 30-45 second excerpt of an orchestra concert or rehearsal air on tv?  Doesn’t it benefit both the financial situation of an organization and its musicians when more people become aware of its involvement in and relevance to a larger swath of the community?  The lack of trust on both sides is palpable and ultimately makes no sense.  I sympathize with musicians who are asked to do education programs, for example, but have no training about classroom dynamics and pedagogy at different grade levels, just as I sympathize with management/administration who have to continually find new stratgies for performing their jobs effectively to adapt to new realities.  But frankly, I also know that if my job were the same as it was 14 years ago when I started here, it would be far less interesting and certainly less satisfying.  Part of the challenge of stretching myself is what makes the work enjoyable.

Finally, I take some issue with Nate Zeisler’s definition of innovation in addressing some of these issues.  My organization is in the prototype phase of an innovation lab project that was awarded through EMC Arts last June.  Their definition of innovation has really helped us view these issues through a new lens.

Innovations are instances of change that:

• Provide new pathways for you  to fulfill your mission
• Are discontinuous from previous practice
• And result from a shift in your underlying organizational assumptions

Our innovation project was developed in response to a changing media environment, when our daily newspaper stopped publishing and migrated online.  That said, our project has gone far beyond  the local media environment and has integrated the work of every department within our organization in new ways.  Our project team is made up of people in the box office, development, IT, production, education, programming, and marketing/PR.  The impact of this group of people working together toward a common goal has reached far beyond the innovation project and into virtually every area of the organization.

If everyone negotiates for the short-term instead of keeping an eye on the long-term, there very well may not be a long-term.  Imagine what a difference it would make it both musicians and management could come to the table with a shift in underlying organizational assumptions!  Imagine if both management and musicians could start with a clean slate and really think about what’s needed, rather than how things have always been.  Suddenly we would all be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.  It won’t always be comfortable, but the end result will be worth it.

- If orchestras are going to survive, they will have to matter (a hell of a lot) to people who will never go to a subscription concert.

- The community must be involved in shaping the orchestra.

- The word “outreach” is a negative and condescending term that describes a one-way street. “Engagement” means get the community in the room and ask, “what can we do for you.”

As expected, the Chicago Symphony under Boulez gave a stunning performance. . .

Here is rare footage of a youthful Boulez conducting an excerpt from Debussy’s Nocturnes. Perhaps someone will ask him tomorrow why he was wearing sunglasses!

During the fall of 2007 I began working on a major research project that would become the Washtenaw County Cultural Master Plan.
( http://www.a2artsalliance.org/initiatives_culturalplan.asp)  The plan took shape during an 18-month process where we listened to the voices of county residents as they described why they valued arts and cultural programming in their communities.  I had the honor of running 29 focus groups during this process and what I heard about county music programs astounded me.

In one county village I learned about the Saline Fiddlers, who since 1994 have been sharing a very unique repertoire of American folk fiddle, bluegrass, jazz, western swing and Celtic music.  This high school extracurricular program performs 80+ concerts a year nation wide, often traveling to Europe during their summer break.  The string program in all Saline area elementary schools is filled to the brim with Fiddlers in training!

Down the road further west I discovered that Manchester was a year-round Mecca for traditional music.  In Manchester I was invited to a fall barn dance where I brought a dish for the potluck table and danced the Virginia Reel with my student intern.  Manchester hosts a major annual folk festival (River Folk Festival) the first week of August where this sleepy town comes alive with national folk music icons.

Right here in Ann Arbor I learned that the Pioneer High School Music Department had been chosen as the National GRAMMY Signature School for 2005-2006
Honored as the number one music program in the country.

As a researcher, I questioned why Washtenaw County was so fortunate to have such a density of excellence in music, so I continued to piece together facts to reveal this story of success.

•    I learned that Ann Arbor schools had a rich history of making music a priority and that every 5th grader was not just offered but was required to learn an instrument.

•    I heard about a local artist, Ken Kozora, who created a musical instrument drive called, Horns for the Holidays.  Ken collects instruments no longer being used and donates them to deserving children who can’t afford to rent or buy them.

•    I observed the high concentration of classically trained musicians in the county.  They were living locally and performing in groups such as the Detroit Symphony, the Toledo Symphony and the Ann Arbor Symphony.  Many were also teaching in university programs, and most importantly to me they created an unusual level of access for high quality private lessons for area youth.

All of these seemed to be interesting resources, but I still could not understand why such a concentration of music programs had developed in one county, until I interviewed the county superintendant of schools.  He chuckled and suggested that there was one critical ingredient to the county’s success that I had missed.  He suggested that my missing link was the University Musical Society (UMS.)

UMS has spent 20 years offering teacher professional development programs to county schools.  Teachers in Washtenaw County are in the habit of regularly spending time with the UMS Education Department learning about upcoming artists and programs before they bring their classes to enjoy world-renowned opera, orchestras and theatre performances.

It is this missing link between the applied and appreciation of the highly skilled professional that I now believe offers students inspiration to learn, practice and perform.  I share Ken Selden’s disappointment in the lack luster audience for the University Orchestra performance Tuesday night.  I wonder if there’s an untapped audience among our county youth?

But I know if we are serious about developing audiences Washtenaw County is focused on the right group.  Appreciation of classical music needs to be a habit that starts young and it needs to begin hand in hand with our public school systems.