Greetings from 20,000 ft. This entry comes on the eve of a long awaited fishing and boating vacation in the Canadian boundary waters north of Minnesota celebrating, among other things, the completion of my year as an American Symphony Orchestra League Management Fellow. As you may know, these National Conferences acted as nice bookends to mark the beginning and completion of the year.
This year’s Conference took place in Washington D.C. and here is how the week played out in the eyes of this Fellow:
Saturday, June 11I hop a short flight from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. and spend a calm afternoon with some family in the area. Later, I check into the Hilton Washington, the location for the majority of Conference events of the week. In the evening, my roommate for the week, fellow Fellow Kevin Shuck, arrives and we grab a leisurely dinner at Chipotle. At night, the 05 Fellows take some time to relax and prepare for our final of three two-day leadership sessions with John McCann.
Sunday, June 12Bright and early in the morning, we begin the first day of our final leadership session. Smiles, hugs, and handshakes are exchanged as Edgar, Kevin, John, Hilary, and I reunite in this capacity for one last time. We spend the day further developing our leadership philosophies, now tempered by experiences with ten of the nation’s leading orchestral institutions. Later in the day, our conversations focus on the topic of renewal in a field where managers face the very real threat of burnout. In the evening, we meet up for a historical dinner where our 25th class of Management Fellows gathers with the first class of Conducting Fellows, a new kind of Fellowship in its inaugural year.
Monday, June 13Day two of the leadership session proves to be a bit more relaxed. We continue conversations from the previous day and begin to shape what will later evolve into the foundation for our Management Fellows speech to be presented during the Closing Celebration attended by all 1,500 Conference attendees. Later that night, the 05 Fellows join with the 06 Fellows and League administrators, led by President and CEO Henry Fogel and his wife Fran, for an appropriate family style dinner at Buca di Beppo. This is the first time 05 and 06 Fellows enjoy time together.
Tuesday, June 14Conference begins…well sort of. Two days of Orchestra Leadership Academy seminars officially kick off the week before the festivities officially begin on Thursday. These full-day
OLA seminars are one to two day training seminars on a variety of topics (for an extra fee). I spend day one in a session called
“Musically Speaking” led by Thom Wilkins (Music Director of the Omaha Symphony) and Eric Booth (speaker, consultant, and Juilliard faculty member) where we learn to better articulate and focus our interactions with specific groups of constituents (I focus on corporate sponsors). Other seminars span topics including strategic planning, board chair training, educational programming, volunteer training, selling subscriptions, board evaluation, building an effective sales force, creating fund-raising plans, and planned giving.
Wednesday, June 15Kevin and I wake up at an extremely early hour for the League’s 6:30am staff meeting. Yes, we are indeed on the League’s payroll and therefore available as hired hands throughout the week, assisting with logistics to ensure that a smooth week is had by all. It is refreshing to see my long-distance colleagues after meeting many for the first time during our two week stay in New York City.
After the meeting, I attend another OLA seminar titled
“Creating a Fund-raising Plan” led by Bruce D. Thibodeau, President of Arts Consulting Group. Inc. A roomful of development (fund-raising) managers take notes as Bruce condenses a basic fund-raising 101 course into a five-hour timeslot, quite a challenge!
Later in the afternoon, approximately 500 Conference participants, including yours truly, were equipped by the League’s Washington D.C. officers, Heather Watts and Melanie Hausmann, with bios and rap sheets for Senate and House representatives from all 50 states for a session called
“Orchestras on the Hill.” This passionate group of individuals stormed the offices of our elected officials for some grassroots lobbying. The League’s Conference changes locations every year but returns to the capitol every several years with an emphasis on arts advocacy. This experience proved to be one of the most beneficial elements of the whole week. Thank you Heather and Melanie!
Orchestras on the Hill was concluded by a celebratory reception attended by several state representatives that was highlighted by a invigorating performance by violin duo Mark O’Connor and Nadja Salerno-Sonnerberg. Then, the League’s prestigious Gold Baton Award was handed to National Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leonard Slatkin and members of the Congressional Arts Caucus.
Following the reception, I floated over to a local restaurant for a Fellows dinner attended by Management Fellow alumni from across the program’s 25 years. In all, approximately 30 alumni were in attendance. The dinner, organized by Fellow alum Jennifer Leed (now Special Projects Manager at the National Symphony), was the first of a handful of
Fellows Forum activities for the week. (The Fellows Forum is a Management Fellowship alumni network.) After the dinner, a few of us continued chatting into the night at a local coffeehouse/bar.
Thursday, June 16After another 6:30am staff meeting, Conference officially begins with an
opening session highlighted with a performance by the Youth Orchestra Day Philharmonic (a honors youth orchestra of sorts) and addresses from Henry Fogel (League President and CEO), Michael Kaiser (Kennedy Center President), Rita Shapiro (National Symphony Executive Director), and Mike Huckabee (Arkansas Governor, Chairman of the Education Commission of the States, and arts supporter).
Later, I attend a phenomenal forum called
“Making the Case” that fits perfectly with the week’s theme of arts advocacy. In the afternoon, we break up into our various
specific disciplines (i.e. artistic, marketing, development, operations, etc.) and meet with peers from similar budget size orchestras throughout the US. As the PSO’s new Director of Corporate Support & Special Projects, I join in the development meetings for large budget orchestras. Then, in the afternoon, I attend a session that focuses on Joe Horowitz’s controversial new book
The Rise and Fall of Classical Music in America. In the evening, I forgo official Conference activities for an Ethiopian meal with Kevin and Yu-Ling (PSO Director of Marketing and 04 Fellow). That night, Kevin, Edgar, and I continue working on both our collective address for the Closing Ceremony as well as individual speeches for Friday morning’s Fellows breakfast. To find additional inspiration for my reflections on the year, I take a break at 11pm to attend a session called
“Gone, but not Forgotten” where orchestra management vets recount war stories from their heyday.
Friday, June 17Today begins with an Orchestra Management Fellows Alumni breakfast attended by Fellow alumni and newbies as well as our host orchestra executive directors. After receiving certificates of completion and a presentation of the new Fellows, I look back and fondly recall experiences and personal growth over this past year in a short speech.
The development meetings and networking sessions from the day before continue into today complimented by a
Conference Luncheon where Henry Fogel and Lou Mason (League Chairperson) present the League’s Annual Report. Then, in the afternoon, I watch from a backstage control booth as the Conference
Closing Ceremony takes place. The ceremony, emceed by Marvin Hamlisch, includes a presentation of various awards, performances by “The President’s Own” US Marine Band, and a Management Fellows speech presented by Kevin. The evening is polished off with a trip to a local pool hall with friends and colleagues.
Saturday, June 18This is it. The last day of my Conference holds one meeting of the Fellows alumni Forum where two guest speakers are introduced. Jonathan Katz, CEO of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies speaks with us about arts advocacy and Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser delivers a truly enlightening speech about his career as well as his management and leadership philosophies.
Then, as we check out of our rooms, my fellow Fellows Edgar, Kevin, and I say our fond farewells as the surreal reality finally dawns on us that this unforgettable year has come to an end.
