Our colleagues of color—and many communities served by the orchestras we represent—are living with deep pain and fear, subjected to the threat of police violence, to the risks inherent in serving as essential workers in a time of crisis, and to ongoing oppression in a society scarred by racism. There is an urgent need for White people and predominantly White organizations to do the work of uprooting this racism.
While gender representation in the orchestral field has diversified both onstage and offstage recently, the challenge of creating truly inclusive and equitable environments remains. Salary parity, promotion and tenure, and interpersonal treatment are all issues in which gender inequity continues to manifest.
Today’s complex audiences crave a deeper connection to music makers both locally and globally. To provide this, orchestras require an understanding of how listeners and music fanatics relate to and consume music in the digital world.
When we return to the concert hall, we will be forced into a wholesale reevaluation of our revenue model. It isn’t simply that demand will be down, we’ll have fewer seats, and patrons will expect to pay less. The reality will be more nuanced and we’ll need to look to our patrons to tell us what our value is to them.
COVID-19 is challenging many of us to rethink how we lead, create, raise funds, program, and engage with audiences. If the pandemic is a portal (as Arundhati Roy puts it), where do we hope it will lead us? How can we reimagine and reinvent our organizations to be more relevant, equitable, and successful?
Congress is working on its fourth package of federal relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be making decisions about policies that will affect orchestras, musicians, and the communities they serve.
Last Updated: May 18, 2020 This is a rapidly changing situation and recommended actions may be highly-specific to your location. Check your state and local health agencies for guidance specific to your location. In addition to the resources below, the League has created dedicated discussion group on its League360 platform for members to exchange questions and information regarding the …
Even though in-person performances are suspended and marketing resources are reduced, we are not on hiatus. In fact, maintaining and growing patron engagement is more important than ever. According to Fred Reichheld, Bain Fellow and Creator of the Net Promoter System, “What you do now—how you treat your patrons—will be what everyone remembers after the COVID-19 crisis recedes.”
Orchestras are dealing with unprecedented economic challenges, and board engagement in managing this crisis is more critical than ever. Susan Nelson of TDC provides insights on how boards can help their orchestras make informed decisions based on their principles and values and daunting choices in this constituency session from the League’s 2020 Online Conference.
As our organizations contemplate seismic change in an uncertain landscape, a strong scenario-building process can help us to find the way forward. By identifying and understanding the important yet unpredictable forces at play, how these forces converge, and how they will likely influence our reality going forward, scenario-building can help us to begin to tell new stories about the future, and shape new strategies in pursuit of new realities.