Bill’s Rules for the Industry

Wow.  We seem to have hit a low point when it comes to either ethics or morals (or both) in the classical music industry, and that’s really saying something.  How about we start out 2013 with a short list of dos and don’ts for Boards, Adminstrations, and Musicians.  Submissions welcome.

Boards:

• do NOT hire a resume-padding pedophile as your orchestra President.  This cannot end well.
• do NOT hire CEO’s who have no musical background.
• DO get to know the people that you are supposed to in charge of (musicians/administration).
• do NOT embark on multi-million dollar renovations of your hall while simultaneously complaining about how much ‘the help’ are paid.
• DO undergo due diligence – no one slips a multi-million dollar deficit under the door.
• DO realize that your position is a public trust.  The orchestra needs you, the public needs you, we all need you.  What you do is extremely important, and I, for one, thank you for what you do.  Yes, I am aware that in some circumstances the words ‘thank you’ will have to be forcibly dragged from the clenched mouths of the musicians of your orchestra.  Forgive us.  We are strange people.
• DO realize that if your orchestra is in financial difficulty that the first people you want to level with are the musicians.  If they are smart (insert snide comment here) they will be very motivated to work with you.  Transparency and honesty are key.
• do NOT piss off all the other arts organizations in your area by claiming that government or related funding should only be directed to the elite few non-profits (namely your orchestra).  We are all in this together, and starting a pissing war with the non-profits that are supposed to be your community partners is self-defeating.
• DO be creative.  Being on the Board does not mean showing up for meetings and quibbling over whether that $7.24 line item should be in this column or the other one.  You are ambassadors to the community for the orchestra.  You are especially ambassadors to the business and (for lack of a better term) the 1 % community.  Whether we understand it or not, we need you.  Desperately.  And we need the support of the business and 1% community.  Desperately.  And it behooves you to be as creative with fundraising and personal PR as we are on stage with our music making.  The combination of those two creative threads will allow your orchestra to not only survive, but to thrive.  That’s the goal here.  I’ve run into too many Board members who apologize for not having musical talent.  Don’t worry about it. We all have different talents.  You definitely don’t want me negotiating your next multi-million deal with British Petroleum or some such.  Yes, I’d prefer that you have some musical background, but as long as you love music and want it to be an integral part of your community, go for it. Use your talents to make the orchestra a vibrant and healthy part of your community.  Nothing but good can come from that.
• DO have litmus tests for your next Music Director.  However…
• do NOT have one of those litmus tests be an accent.
• do NOT allow your Music Director to program Overture/Concerto/Symphony for an entire season.  Fire that person.

Administrations:

• DO be honest with all your stakeholders.
• do NOT forget that the most important stakeholders are your audience! Not the Board, not the musicians, not the staff… your audience.
• DO engage all your stakeholders.  It’s important that everyone be on board with your plans.
• DO look for money in unfamiliar places.  This may include untraditional concert experiences, or untraditional donors (owners of local sports teams?  who knew), or a fundraiser with a local coffee maker.  The more people who invest in your orchestra the wider your support is in the community.
• DO insist that the musicians do more than show up and play, and/or appear on a negotiating committee.  Insist that they take a role in being the public face of the institution.  This includes fundraising and PR.  I know this may seem fairly obvious but you would be (or might not be) stunned at the number of musicians who I have heard publicly state that anything past playing their instrument is not their job.
• do NOT budget for a deficit.  Ever.  If a deficit happens it better be for some other reason.  If you budget for a deficit you have betrayed the public trust.
• DO insist that your orchestra take advantage of the modern world.  Social media, untraditional media outlets, etc.  They can be your friend.
• do NOT assume that your audience will not accept change.  Your audience will embrace creative and interesting concert experiences, including program, as long as you never compromise the highest artistic standards!
• do NOT allow your Music Director to program Overture/Concerto/Symphony for an entire season.  Fire that person.
• do NOT hire a Music Director based on one set of concerts. Ever.  The only thing worse than making a rush choice is making a bad rush choice.  Take your time.  You are turning the reins of your orchestra over to someone who needs to be able to go from Bach to (God forbid) Bieber  and everything inbetween.  And fergodsakes, please make sure that person is at least old enough to shave.

Musicians:

• do NOT be one of those people who show up, sit in the back of the section with a sour look on your face, and complain all day about your job.  No, for the vast majority of us this music thing is not an easy life but it beats the hell out of working deep sewer.  People pay us to make music.  We are running the greatest scam in the history of the world.
• DO be a music nerd.  It’s fun, it’s beautiful, and it’s your enthusiasm that will draw other people into the joy of music.  These people may not understand more than one word in ten when you wax poetic about that fabulous use of the leitmotif in the 3rd movement of Symphonie Fantastique, but that’s OK.
• DO smile on stage.  Or at least give it a try.  It won’t kill you.
• DO become engaged on every level or your organization, especially in the Education ventures.  The more you can reach children the more you help shape the world around us, and every single study done insists that more music makes for a better society on every level.
• do NOT start every sentence with “If only the Board raised more money…” or “If only the administration would do….”.  Please.  Running a personnel heavy organization like an orchestra is not easy, especially in the non-profit world.  Let us be grateful that there are people willing to do this work so that we can play music.  Besides, I guarantee you that I have not had a lot of conversations with Board members or administration that have started with “If only the 2nd violins had used a different bowing in that passage then…..”.
• do NOT put anyone into your orchestra who cannot play Mozart.  Period.
• do NOT let any of your colleagues talk you into appointing someone to a position without going through the audition process.  I don’t care how good they are.  We make a lot of noise about following the union rules, etc., and this goes directly to our own integrity.
• DO embrace change.  Change is the only constant in the world.  Please realize, though, that with change comes failure.  Some of the initiatives you will be asked to take part in will not be successful.  But without failure there cannot be success.
• do NOT immediately ask “how much is the pay?” when approached to do something “outside the box.”  Being flexible is a good thing.
• do NOT show up at rehearsal and sight-read.  I don’t care how good you are.  It’s unprofessional.

Conductors: (and yes, I do see the irony of not listing ‘conductors’ under ‘musicians’)

• DO have the courage to try something different.  If you believe in it, of course.  It is your belief that sells it to the orchestra, and if they believe in it they can sell it to your audience.
• do NOT constantly program overture/concerto/symphony.  If you do, you deserve to be fired.
• do NOT become Music Director of 5 orchestras simultaneously.  One is enough.  Pay attention to that one and do your job well.  It was good enough for Ormandy, it should be good enough for you.
• DO have the courage to tell your Board chair that he/she is wrong about something.  That having been said, be prepared to back it up.  And you had better be able to do just that.
• DO have the courage to tell a musician that it’s time to retire.  It is by far the worst part of the job, but your obligation is to the audience.  They pay the bills.  It is not your fault if someone isn’t doing their job and they can’t conceive of doing anything else.  Tell them to get a hobby.
• DO listen to your audience.  Engage with them.  Ask them questions.  Listen to what they say.  You will learn something.
• DO keep playing your instrument.  This is very, very important.  It will keep you humble.
• do NOT let anyone talk you into appointing someone to the orchestra without going through the audition process.  Ever. This is an integrity issue.
• do NOT whine about all the union rules.  Whining about some of them, however, is perfectly fine (and, is in fact, expected).  But keep in mind that most of them are there for a good reason.

Everyone:

• DO love what you do.  If you don’t love it, get out.  Please.  Music is too beautiful to be taken for granted.