Anne Parsons Leadership Program

Anne Parsons was a giant in the orchestra field. An institutional and civic leader of tremendous vision and presence, Anne was known across the orchestra profession as someone who led from culture – and it was through cultural transformation that she brought the Detroit Symphony Orchestra out from its darkest days to being one of the country’s most vibrant orchestral institutions.

Anne was beloved by those who knew and worked with her, but above all she was a role model to women on their journey to leadership positions, and to those already in leadership positions who aspired to her level of skill, finesse, and deep authenticity.

To honor Anne’s life and legacy as a transformational leader and mentor, the League has established the Anne Parsons Leadership Program.

The program supports promising women and nonbinary orchestra professionals, creates and trains a new network of established orchestra leaders to mentor and support them, and builds a wider pool of candidates for leadership roles in the country’s leading orchestras.

For the June 2025 to June 2026 program, six participants will be selected based on their demonstrated experience, vision for the field, and demonstrated commitment to leading and serving American orchestras.

The program will advance a new generation of candidates with the capacity to take on C-suite roles in major orchestras as well as building a culture of mentorship, coaching, and support across our field.

The Anne Parsons Leadership Program is an orchestra leadership program that welcomes applications from women and nonbinary individuals who have either 5 years of professional experience in the orchestra field or are currently in an executive leadership role in orchestras or comparable music organizations (including music festivals and arts organizations). 

The program serves professionals who want to serve in executive leadership roles and those who want to move up in their executive leadership. Examples of women or nonbinary individuals who could benefit from this program include:

• Current orchestra executive leaders with the motivation to advance to a larger-budget organization
• Individuals who aspire to their first C-suite role in an American orchestra and have demonstrated orchestral leadership initiative (participating in leadership training opportunities, taking lead on collaborative projects, etc.)
• Alumni of the League’s longstanding leadership programs (Emerging Leaders Program, Essentials of Orchestra Management, and Orchestra Management Fellowship Program)
• Orchestral musicians looking to transition into administrative orchestral leadership roles
• Leaders and aspiring leaders who have a successful track record of at least 5 years employment in orchestras or comparable music organizations (including music festivals and arts organizations) and wish to progress on a path to lead an American orchestra

For the June 2025 to June 2026 program, six participants will be selected based on demonstrated experience, vision for the field, and commitment to leading and serving American orchestras. All applicants, whether accepted to the Anne Parsons Leadership Program or not, will receive a one-year professional membership to the League of American Orchestras. The League especially encourages applicants from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in the orchestral field.

After completing the Anne Parsons Leadership Program, participants will be able to:  

• Apply their leadership skills and mindset to advance towards or take on an executive leadership role in an American orchestra
• Utilize emergent and responsive leadership skills in advancing critical issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the orchestra field
• Identify, analyze, and offer creative solutions to key strategic challenges in the evolving orchestra field
• Advance orchestras as diverse, inclusive, and innovative organizations, while fulfilling their unique role in the cultural context of their communities
• Thrive in an environment of evolving and competing imperatives as orchestras respond to the issues of our place and time and envision the future
• Be an active member of a growing inclusive network of peers, mentors, and resources for continued professional development

Program participation for June 2025 through June 2026 will include:

• June 11-13, 2025, League National Conference in Salt Lake City, UT
• Leadership Training
• Leadership Strengths and Styles Coaching
• Bimonthly Cohort Meetings
• Bimonthly Conversations with Mentors
• Quarterly Leadership Forums
• Program and Self-Evaluations

Program participation is free. In addition, each participant will receive a travel stipend and free registration to the League’s National Conference to convene and to contribute their insights to the national debate. Participants will benefit from networking opportunities supported by the mentors, and the whole cohort’s profile will be promoted on a national level. Program participants will receive a one-year professional membership to the League of American Orchestras.

Participants are expected to commit to and participate in all sessions and associated events from June 2025 through June 2026. Partial participation is not permitted.

The League of American Orchestras is pleased to announce a unified application for the Essentials of Orchestra Management and Anne Parsons Leadership Program. Individuals are invited to submit materials for consideration to the program(s) for which they are eligible via a single application; applicants may apply to both programs if they wish. 

Find details about application materials and requirements for this program in the 2025 Application Guidelines.

The 2025-26 mentoring and faculty team will be announced soon.

The Anne Parsons Leadership Program was conceived by the League in coordination with a group of four large-budget orchestra leaders who served as mentors for the 2023-24 program:

• Jennifer Barlament, Executive Director, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
• Marie-Hélène Bernard, President & CEO, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
• Kim Noltemy, President & CEO, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
• Melia Tourangeau, President & CEO, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

2023-24 Faculty:

• Astrid Baumgardner, President, Astrid Baumgardner Coaching + Training
• Deborah Borda, Executive Advisor to the President and Board of Directors, New York Philharmonic
• Katherine Goforth, Operatic Tenor
• Suzan Jenkins, CEO, Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, MD
• Christina Littlejohn, CEO, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
• McKensie Mack, Founder and CEO, MMG EARTH
• Sarah Willie-LeBreton, President, Smith College

League staff:

• Caen Thomason-Redus, Vice President, Inclusion and Learning
• Heather Briere, Director, Learning and Leadership Programs

The initial cohort was comprised of:

• Catherine Beeson, Assistant Principal Viola, Colorado Symphony
• Kathryn Ginsburg, General Manager, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• Emma Kail, Executive Director, Grand Teton Music Festival
• Kate Kammeyer, Director of Development, Bozeman Symphony
• Felecia Tchen Kanney, Vice President of Marketing, Communications & Digital Media, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
• Pamela Calero Wardell, Senior Director of Development, Capital, and Special Campaigns, Jacksonville Symphony

• Read more about Anne Parsons’ legacy in Symphony‘s Summer 2022 issue
• Read the latest press release