The Business of Orchestras

On Tour with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra: Reaching Out to Aboriginal Children

Jun 13 2006

The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO), based in Ottawa, has developed an innovative and very successful outreach program to school districts, particularly for Aboriginal children. While on tour throughout Canada, the orchestra presents teacher resource kits and student guides, focusing on the music of Beethoven, Mozart, and Vivaldi. The Vivaldi kit contains references to Aboriginal culture and includes an original story. Combined with recorder clinics at participating schools, NACO’s educational outreach has reached over 18,000 students.

Claire Speed, NACO’s Education Director, explains in detail how they’ve put together this program, under the guidance of Music Director Pinchas Zukerman. She also describes NACO’s in-depth outreach program designed entirely for students who attend First Nations (reserve) schools.

Be sure to read the companion article, Yvonne Caruthers’ interview with Doug Burden, bass trombonist with NACO, who describes the experiences he and his NACO brass colleagues had with the First Nations’ children during the Kispiox Music Project in British Columbia.

Jun 12 2006

The level of musician involvement with programming new music varies from one ensemble to the next, but overall, musician influence is minor. Historically, conductors exercise jurisdiction over these matters, and as a result, an inadvertent divide between musicians and composers has steadily grown throughout recent generations and is, perhaps, wider than ever.

Christian Woehr III is the Assistant Principal Violist for the SLSO and also an avid composer. These dual abilities create a unique dichotomy: as an orchestral musician, he has to work against the tide of conductor influence on programming of new music; but as a composer, the preferred method for getting his music performed is to curry favor with a conductor.

Chris’ article explores these issues and more, in addition to serving as a prelude to Polyphonic.org’s June, 2006, Virtual Discussion Panel.

May 15 2006

Collective representation touches the lives of every orchestra musician at a number of contact points. Although most musicians are aware of what “the union” is, they may not realize how many facets of the union directly influence their career. One of those contact points is the Symphonic Services Division (SSD).

In an effort to help professional orchestra musicians better understand the organizations which represent them, SSD Executive Director, Laura Brownell, has written an introductory guide explaining what SSD is, how it connects with the musicians, and what they are working on this season.

May 13 2006

In an effort to help professional orchestra musicians better understand the organizations which represent them David Angus, President & Secretary-Treasurer of the Rochester Musicians’ Association, Local 66 of the American Federation of Musicians, and hornist with the Rochester Philhamonic Orchestra, has written an introductory guide explaining what how Locals function within the American Federation of Musicians and how they connect with their respective orchestral musicians.

May 13 2006

Orchestras are always talking about “moving to the next level,” but how exactly do they go about accomplishing that task? Is there a prescribed formula dictating which steps to take and in what order? Do the musicians simply wait for events to transpire, or can they serve a compelling force capable of inspiring the organization to reach its full artistic and economic potential?

Among the professional orchestras throughout North America, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra has encountered every possible high and low an organization can experience in a span of only 20 years. Within that period, they’ve endured everything from a dark period of bankruptcy to the exhilarating high of raising $120 million for a Symphony Center they own and operate that opens in September, 2006.

Nashville Symphony Orchestra violinist Laura Ross has been with the organization throughout that entire period and she chronicles those events for Polyphonic.org in this article and describes how the Nashville Symphony musicians played an integral role throughout every step in the process.

May 06 2006

When should an orchestra use radio advertising vs. direct mail? What about telemarketing, print advertising, email, group sales, or special promotions?

In his 2nd column, Christopher Stager explains how an orchestra develops a marketing plan to achieve a sales goal. He describes how to define the primary media option for a concert and then select those options that can best support it. Chris identifies the many components of a marketing plan, and then presents a brief case study from the Seattle Symphony.

May 01 2006

How does a Music Director Search Committee ever arrive at consensus around one candidate? Roger Saydack has served as Chair of three Music Director Search Committees for the Eugene Symphony Orchestra. In this article, he shares his experiences with these three committees, and explains the principles that these committees adopted that enabled them to come to consensus.

Roger first explains the importance of a balanced committee, with the number of musicians equaling the number of Board and community members. Second, he describes the nature of consensus decision-making and emphasizes the importance of looking for the “right” candidate rather than the “best” candidate. And finally, he discusses the necessity of getting to know the candidates as artists, to evaluate whether the candidate’s artistic vision fits with the artistic vision of your orchestra. Roger concludes with the observation that a Music Director search, when viewed as a true opportunity for new experiences, can rejuvenate an orchestra.

Apr 16 2006

To IBB or Not To IBB

Interest-based bargaining (IBB), non-confrontational negotiating, mutual-gains bargaining, win-win bargaining – no matter what you call it, symphony musicians disagree vehemently about whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Robert Levine has written a thoughtful essay that explores this disagreement about IBB. Robert presents a brief history of the evolution of symphony players’ negotiating their own contracts, and then goes on to discuss the pros and cons of adopting non-traditional bargaining techniques.

Whether you believe that IBB can encourage more creative solutions, or believe that IBB results in bad outcomes for musicians, you’ll find this essay provocative yet balanced. To continue this discussion, the Orchestra Musicians’ Forum has selected Robert’s essay as the subject of our first Virtual Panel Discussion, moderated by Drew McManus and beginning on April 17th.

To IBB or Not To IBB first appeared in the July/August 2005 issue of Symphony, the magazine of the American Symphony Orchestra League. Used by permission.

Apr 08 2006

Are you confused about Orchestra Committees, Locals, Player Conferences, CBAs, AFM, ASOL, SOI, etc., etc.? The orchestra world often begins to seem like alphabet soup. But here’s a quick and easy way to sort your way through the basics of contracts, labor law and unions, and find out just exactly how your orchestra is run.

Robert Levine, Principal Violist in the Milwaukee Symphony, former Chair of ICSOM, and President of AFM Local 8 in Milwaukee, has written an article in question & answer format that walks you through all these issues. From defining collective bargaining to discussing why orchestras are unionized, Robert presents a clear (and often amusing) picture of what you need to know to participate meaningfully in your orchestra and your local.

Robert goes on to describe how an orchestra works, from both the musicians’ point of view, discussing such topics as peer review, tenure, auditions, and revolving seating, and the industry’s point of view, touching on orchestra categories and funding. This FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) article will continue to grow – please send in your questions and Robert will add the answer.

Apr 06 2006

Ever wonder how to define your perfect Music Director candidate?

Scott Freck, General Manager of the North Carolina Symphony, has lots of suggestions for doing just that. He passes along a warning from a colleague about avoiding “Anti-Last-Guy Syndrome,” and gives detailed advice about how to construct a survey that identifies what you want in your Music Director. The survey enabled them to define three categories of traits: the “Must Haves,” the “Would Very Much Like to Have,” and the “Not a Top Priority” items.

He then goes on to describe the research their Search committee did on the top candidates – all excellent advice if your orchestra is embarking on a Music Director search.

On Tour with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra: Reaching Out to Aboriginal Children

Nepotism to Amigo-ism: Can a composer enter an orchestra’s door without holding a conductor’s hand?

SSD Advocates for Symphony Musicians and their Local Unions

Symphony Musicians and Their Local Union

Growing Pains: Nashville’s Transition From ROPA To ICSOM

Marketing the Orchestra Installment Two

Some Guiding Principles for Music Director Searches

To IBB or not to IBB? Why musicians so often say “no” to interest-based bargaining

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Labor Relations, Negotiations, and Contract Administration

Modeling the Ideal: Constructing a Music Director Profile