American Symphony Orchestra League 62nd National Conference

There was a very special buzz to our 2007 National Conference. Almost 1,400 delegates joined together to share, debate and learn from each other and the many other partners that also attended.

Enormous thanks go to Alan Valentine and his team at the Nashville Symphony for their hard work in assisting the League's staff in preparing the event and for assisting in its smooth execution. A special thanks to conductors Leonard Slatkin and Paul Gambill and the musicians of the Nashville Symphony and Nashville Chamber Orchestra for two wonderful concerts in the astonishing Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The League also thanks all its many sponsors, donors and exhibitors for their participation and commitment to the Conference and America's orchestras.

Guest speakers included Marin Alsop, music director designate, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Martha Ingram, chair, Nashville Symphony, board of directors; and The Honorable Bill Purcell, mayor of Nashville.

Early feedback has indicated that this was one of the most successful, useful and relevant conferences ever. Among the highlights were inspirational sessions that looked at A Radical New Revenue Model; a highly interactive session, Engaging Art: Research, Practice and Innovation saw hundreds of delegates join the debate via their laptops with comments uploaded to a team of bloggers. The jam-packed session discussed the momentous changes in America's cultural life and also involved 3,500 people from as far away as New Zealand and Finland viewing and commenting.

New to this year's conference was an Innovations Expo that allowed delegates to interact with representatives from 23 different orchestras to learn about best practices and innovative ideas; Almost Famous, an opportunity for under-35 year old delegates to meet and have ideas about the future of our orchestras without "tradition" looking over their shoulders; yoga classes; and of course as it was Nashville, songwriting workshops!

No Conference is complete without the excellent array of Orchestra Leadership Academy Seminars. There were thirteen in total this year with topics ranging from Artistic Excellence to Building Audiences and from Concert Halls to Improving Board Performance. In the same vein the ever-popular Toolbox and Perspectives sessions included the Future of Orchestras is Education Today, Subscription: Dead or Alive and What Makes a Great Workplace Environment for Musicians. As always, throughout the week, delegates were able to meet at length in Constituent meetings and discuss issues of mutual interest.

The annual Celebration! was hosted by the Grand Ole Opry's Eddie Stubbs, and saw the field's achievements recognized and the presentation of the League's/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, MetLife Awards for Excellence in Community Engagement, the Bank of America Awards for Excellence in Orchestra Education and the Volunteer Council Gold Book Online Awards. This year's Helen M. Thompson Award was presented to Andrew Berryhill of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra Management Fellows and American Conducting Fellows were recognized as well.

Finally, at the Conference Luncheon further information about the League's Strategic Plan and Campaign for a New Direction were announced and Lowell Noteboom, chair of the League, announced that as part of the new strategic direction the board had approved a change in the League's name from American Symphony Orchestra League to League of American Orchestras. Full details and a comprehensive roll-out of the new name and comprehensive branding campaign will take place in the Fall.

Many of you have asked that we post information and content from many of our sessions—and we will do so as content comes in. Keep checking back as we add audio, links to PDFs, and photos in the coming days and weeks.

Next year promises to be a very special conference as the League joins with our partners from other art forms for the National Performing Arts Convention in Denver, Colorado, June 10-14, 2008. Mark your calendar now and for more information see www.performingartsconvention.org.