Home Conference at a Glance Toolbox and Perspectives Sessions

Toolbox and Perspectives Sessions

The Music Business - Adapting to a Changing Landscape Audio Recording Now Online!
Click here to listen to the recording, and click here to read about the session.

Leadership: The Next Generation Perspective Materials Now Online!
Click here for notes and resources, and click here to read about the session.

Friday, June 22: 10:30-11:45 am and 1:45-3:00 pm

Explore important issues at the Orchestra Toolbox and Perspectives sessions. This year, we've identified two different types of sessions. Choose from:

Toolboxes: Informative, hands-on sessions that will provide you with practical tools, best practices, and fresh ideas on your selected topic

Or

Perspectives: Thought-provoking presentations and panel discussions offering multiple points of view on important topics that will expose you to the latest thinking around the issues that concern you the most.

There are a total of twelve sessions offered, six on Friday morning and six on Friday afternoon.

Morning Toolbox and Perspectives Sessions

TOOLBOXES (3)

Innovation—It Doesn't Just Happen
David A. Owens, P.E.  Ph.D. Clinical Professor of Management and Innovation at Vanderbilt University leads a session on innovation; examining the influence of organizational culture, barriers and constraints, and introduces a practical framework you can use to improve your organization's capacity to innovate.

Presenter: David A. Owens, P.E., Ph.D. clinical professor of management and innovation, Vanderbilt University, and leader, National Arts Strategies seminars on "Leading Innovation."

Especially recommended for Staff, Volunteers, Trustees

Take Action: The Future of Orchestras is Education Today
Every individual involved with orchestras can do more to support the re-birth of music education. Orchestras can raise their voices and use their civic clout when local education priorities are debated. Learn how your orchestra's trustees, volunteers, administrators, and musicians can take action to revitalize music education in our schools and communities. The future of our art form and artists may depend on it.

Panelists: Sandra Ruppert, senior associate for research and policy, Arts Education Partnership; Sandra Kilpatrick Jordan, strategic partnerships, public affairs and government relations, NAMM; Charles Burke, director of education, Detroit Symphony Orchestra; B.J. Adler, executive director, Alliance for Young Artists & Writers

Especially recommended for Executive Directors, Education/Community, Musicians, Conductors, Trustees, Public Relations, Business Partners, Youth, Volunteers

Ticketing Solutions for Tomorrow
Imagine the possibility of totally wireless ticketing transactions, up to the minute updates on ticket availability to your subscribers PDA or cell phone, or ticket scanning technology that makes standing in entry lines a thing of the past. Sports stadiums and rock concerts are already utilizing existing technology to create seamless ticketing solutions, and many more new and exciting possibilities are on the way. How can orchestras incorporate this technology? What should orchestras be looking out for when shopping for the ticketing system that would best suit their needs?

You'll leave this session with a new understanding of how integrated ticketing solutions can help expand your audiences and primed to ask the right questions when you're shopping for a new ticketing solution.

Moderator: Tom Tomlinson, project director, Atlanta Symphony Center
Panelists: Brian Feldman, client development manager, Tessitura Software—Impresario L.L.C.; Robert Friend, vice president, sales and marketing, Choice Ticketing Systems; Charlie Wade, vice president, marketing and communications, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Especially recommended for Development Directors, Executive Directors, Marketing, General Managers, Business Partners, Youth

PERSPECTIVES (3)

Subscription: Dead or Alive?
Danny Newman published his now-legendary book Subscribe Now in 1977, and changed the way we market. But does Subscribe Now say anything to us today? On the 30th anniversary of this landmark book, New York Philharmonic marketing director David Snead and a panel of fellow experts discuss and debate the classic subscription model and its relevance today.

Panelists: David Snead, director of marketing, New York Philharmonic; Douglas W. Kinzey, president, Audience Strategies for the Arts, Inc.; Michael Pastreich, executive director, Elgin Symphony Orchestra

Especially recommended for Executive Directors, Musicians, Conductors, Artistic Administrators, Trustees, Marketing, Public Relations, General Managers, Business Partners, Development, Operations Managers

The Music Business—Adapting to a Changing Landscape
Classical music is just a slice of the overall music business world. What might the changing tastes and habits of music consumers tell us about our current and future audiences? What is on the minds of top music business executives as they think about consumer trends—and what does this mean for you?

Hear from some of Nashville's top music business thinkers about trends in the music business, the future of electronic media and music and how potential audiences consume music when they're not in the concert hall.

Panelists: Daryl Friedman, vice president, advocacy & government relations, National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences; Mark Montgomery, CEO, echomusic; Alan D. Valentine, president and CEO, Nashville Symphony; George Flanigen, co-founder, Deaton Flanigen Productions

Especially recommended for Executive Directors, Musicians, Conductors, Artistic Administrators, Trustees, Marketing, Public Relations, General Managers, Development, Operations Managers, Youth, Business Partners

What Makes a Great Workplace Environment for Musicians?
Arguably a great workplace environment is one characterized by a sense of common purpose, positive relationships among stakeholders, and an overriding sense of pride in delivering work at the highest level. Isn't this what we all want for our orchestras? Hear from Laura Brownell, executive director, Symphonic Services Division, American Federation of Musicians; Bruce Ridge, chair, ICSOM; Tom Fetherston, president, ROPA; and Carla Johnson, president and executive director of the Virginia Symphony, about their perceptions and recommendations around creating and sustaining the workplace environment that helps, every day, to renew our shared commitment to our orchestras, and create common ground for all of us.

Speakers: Laura Brownell, executive director, Symphonic Services Division, American Federation of Musicians; Bruce Ridge, chair, ICSOM; Tom Fetherston, president, ROPA; Carla Johnson, president and executive director, Virginia Symphony

Especially recommended for Executive Directors, Education/Community, Musicians, Conductors, Artistic Administrators, Trustees, Public Relations, General Managers, Development, Operations, Volunteers

Afternoon Toolbox and Perspectives Sessions

TOOLBOXES (2)

Beyond Your Website: New Ideas for Online Communications
Click here to see the Beyond Your Website Presentation.

So what's the big deal about podcasting? Blogs? Vlogs? RSS? In this session, you will learn practical tips and get an overview of current and emerging electronic communications technology. Find out how to take advantage of Web 2.0, collaborative communications, and user-generated content and how to best use each to reach your audience in a presentation by Sarah Bruning, Public Affairs Manager, Carnegie Hall.

Presenter: Sarah Bruning, public affairs manager, Carnegie Hall
Moderator: Julia Kirchhausen, vice president of communications, American Symphony Orchestra League

Especially recommended for Smaller Budget Executive Directors, Education/Community, Conductors, Artistic Administrators, Marketing, Public Relations, General Managers, Business Partners, Operations Managers, Youth

New Music: Tapping into the New Commissioning Community
Want to commission a new work and find a way to engage your community at the same time? Come and learn about the growing trends in individual patronage, grass-roots collectives, and co-commissioning; take home new tools to help you identify, recruit, and commission new works for your orchestra. Some great strides have been made in this area and we'll be covering some projects such as Magnum Opus, Sound Investment and Ford Made in America.

Panelists: Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, music advisor, Nashville Symphony, and principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; Andrea Laguni, executive director, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Connie Linsler Valentine, executive director, Nashville Chamber Orchestra

Especially recommended for Smaller Budget Executive Directors, Education/Community, Musicians, Conductors, Artistic Administrators, Marketing, General Managers, Operations Managers, Youth, Music Publishers

PERSPECTIVES (4)

Creating an Orchestra—Community Connection
As orchestras seek ways to amplify their civic value, the meaning of community service will need to be reviewed and redefined. We may view an excellent subscription concert as an example of service to the community, but does the general public? Conversely, some of the most "successful" community engagement programs may never produce ticket-buyers. How does an orchestra position the balance of its artistic and charitable activities to communicate its civic value?

Moderator: Jonathan Katz, chief executive officer, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
Panelists: Ryan Fleur, president & CEO, and Dan Poag, board chair, Memphis Symphony Orchestra; Lucas Richman, music director and conductor, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra; Tom Bennett, executive director, South Dakota Symphony

Especially recommended for Executive Directors, Education/Community, Musicians, Conductors, Artistic Administrator, Trustees, Public Relations, Business Partners, Development, Youth, Volunteers

Leadership: The Next Generation
New and talented leadership is essential for any organization to thrive—both on the staff and the board level. Board members that represent "next generation" leadership are part of this equation. What are the particular challenges and opportunities as we see emerging leaders on the executive and board level? What are their expectations for interaction with one another, for the artistic and organizational performance of the orchestra—and for changing relationships with the wider community? Benefit from the experiences of speakers Mark Hanson, President and Executive Director, and Christopher Abele, Board Chair, of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Henry Fogel, President and CEO of the American Symphony Orchestra League, will moderate.

This hands-on session will present a model of a high-functioning executive/board chair team representing "next generation" leadership. It will help you to develop strategies to enable the creation of just that kind of board. It will also help to uncover or give voice to some of the challenges/opportunities specific to this cohort and their implications for working relationships, board recruitment, retention, artistic and organizational accountability, and community connectivity.

Moderator: Henry Fogel, president, American Symphony Orchestra League
Panelists: Chris Abele, board chair, and Mark Hanson, president and executive director, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Highly recommended for Executive Directors, Board Members, Development, Youth Orchestra Personnel, Volunteers

Volunteers and Staff: Maximizing the Relationship
A well-functioning partnership between orchestra volunteers and professional staff can bring significant value to your orchestra in a number of ways. Clarity around roles and responsibilities can help insure that the projects are efficiently managed, lead to success, and bring pride and satisfaction to all involved. Hear from three volunteer/staff teams that work together at the highest level, and see results for their orchestras that can serve as models for others.

Moderator: Alan Jordan, executive director, Vermont Symphony Orchestra
Panelists: Susan Williams, director, and Charles Cagle, president, Nashville Symphony Orchestra League; Brenda Nienhouse, executive director, Spokane Symphony; Peggy Springer, treasurer, Spokane Symphony Associates

Especially recommended for executive directors, board members, development, volunteers

What is the Future of Pops?
Superstars, thematic programming, orchestra centered concerts, multi-media extravaganzas, concerts without orchestra—it's a big pops world out there. What are the trends, and what artists and projects will keep your pops audiences begging for more?

Moderator: Kendra Whitlock, general manager, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Panelists: Shelly Fuerte, director of artistic planning, San Diego Symphony; Jim Mancuso, director of special programs, Nashville Symphony; Randy Chaplin, president, Chaplin Entertainment

Especially recommended for Smaller Budget Executive Directors, Musicians, Conductors, Artistic Administrators, PR, General Managers, Business Partners