League of American Orchestras Forms Student Leadership Council

The League of American Orchestras has formed a Student Leadership Council, the first in the organization’s 81 years, to provide a platform for the League to better understand and integrate the voices of young people into its work and support the growth of student engagement within the orchestra field. The new Council is part of a renewed commitment to grow participation by young people and incorporate their ideas into the League’s work, as outlined in the recently released Strategic Framework 2023-2026.

“It has so often been proven to me that young people hold the answers about the future,” said Simon Woods, the League’s President and CEO. “Not only do they bring creative thinking and fresh ideas, but they also view the world through the lens of fairness and equity, which is so vital for our field. They will be the next generation of orchestra musicians, staff, audience members, donors, and volunteers, so we need to be listening to them now if we are to future-proof our field for the coming generation.”

Five high school, college, and graduate students from across the country—Lorin Green, Julia Jacobsen, William Ryan, Max Stephenson, and Lauren Zwonik—have been selected to serve on the 2023-24 Student Leadership Council this season.

The students will participate in quarterly council meetings and take on leadership roles in a number of areas including:

• For the League’s Student Constituency, assume responsibility for:
  • Membership growth, benefits, surveys, and engagement on the League’s communications platform League360
  • Student marketing and recruitment, including for the League’s 2024 National Conference in Houston
  • Programming for both virtual Constituency Meetings as well as in-person at the Conference
• Advocate for increased visibility of youth voice and perspective by the League
• Serve as ambassadors in League academic and orchestral partnership expansion
• Collaborate with the League in strategically building inclusive pathways for a new generation of diverse and creative professionals to enter the orchestra field and flourish as leaders
• Promote a thriving future for orchestras

Under Woods, the League brought youth perspectives to the organization’s recent National Conference in Pittsburgh when, for the first time, over 1,000 delegates heard from students in a Closing Plenary. Students were also featured in the highly-rated session, Youth Perspectives on Engaging with Orchestras. Future plans to extend the League’s engagement with students include collaborations with music schools, conservatories, and orchestras.

To post a comment, you must register and login.