Participants will consider multiple views of the future of orchestras at the League of American Orchestras' 68th National Conference, June 18-20, 2013 in St. Louis. The Conference, under the theme Imagining 2023, will include a keynote and breakout sessions with futurist thinkers and industry leaders, live participatory performances and traditional concerts, and a master class with conductor David Robertson, music director of the St. Louis Symphony, which is co-hosting the Conference. Nearly 1000 professionals and volunteers from across the orchestra field are expected to attend the three-day event. The closing general session will be video streamed live.
"The challenges that orchestras continue to experience are also giving energy to great experimentation," says League President and CEO Jesse Rosen. "Those orchestras that are better attuned to what lies ahead are more likely to move forward. While not everything will be considered through the lens of 2023, this Conference is about keeping the future firmly in mind."
The Conference opening general session will feature keynote speaker Elizabeth Merritt, Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums, American Alliance of Museums; a welcome and address by Jesse Rosen, the League's president and CEO; and a performance by St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, conducted by
David Robertson. An interactive general closing session moderated by Graham Parker, general manager, WQXR and vice president NYPR will include Garry Golden, futurist; Elizabeth Merritt; Mark Niehaus, president and executive director, Milwaukee Symphony; Richard Slaney, head of digital, Philharmonia Orchestra (UK) and co-creator of
The Orchestra app and RE-RITE, the Philharmonia Orchestra's digital residency, and Stanford Thompson, CEO, Play On Philly!
Orchestras' innovations and experimentation will be highlighted, with many new voices, including representatives of participatory music organizations building community through musical collectives like the Make Music movement. Other areas to be addressed include developing new and younger audiences; meeting the civic relevance and engagement mandate; expanding the creative palette; and fiscal management and planning.
Among the forward-looking break-out sessions will be:
- New Music from Here to 2023: A Conversation with David Robertson and Jesse Rosen;
- New Music and Community: Opportunities to Broaden Audiences with Gene Dobbs Bradford, executive director, Jazz St. Louis; Robert Franz, music director, Boise Philharmonic; Jim Hirsch, executive director, Chicago Sinfonietta; Tim O'Leary, general director, Opera Theatre of St. Louis; and Frank J. Oteri, composer advocate and founding editor, NewMusicBox; New Music USA
- Building Community Through Music with Tod Machover, composer; Chris Marianetti, co-founder & artistic director, Found Sound Nation; Marc Thayer, director of education, Association of American Voices; Kate Wilkinson, executive director, National Music Day; and Jim Holt, manager, member engagement, League of American Orchestras
- Introduction to Mergers and Creative Alliances with Paul A. Helfrich, president and CEO, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance; Robert Harrington, partner, La Piana Consulting; Patricia Richards, board chair, Utah Symphony l Utah Opera; and Marc Scorca, president & CEO, OPERA America
- Imagining 2023: A Conversation with Greg Sandow, writer, teacher, change agent
The focus on the future will continue with such sessions as Developing Cross-Cultural Competency; The New Digital Landscape; Learning from New Ensembles; andDesign Thinking: The Art of Being Customer-Focused. Orchestras' innovative and experimental activities will be explored in two Check This Out sessions.
The League is also hosting a pre-Conference seminar on Foundations of Collective Bargaining. This free program is being offered for musicians, administrators and board members by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service as a service to orchestras. Participants will gain skills that will assist them in reaching durable agreements that build healthy communication and trust among stakeholders.
Throughout the Conference interactivity will be emphasized by on-site tweeting, video streaming of the final session, and a series of fun, participatory "Recess!" events aimed at giving orchestras ideas for low cost, community-building events they can create in their home cities. Conference "Recess!" opportunities will include, among others, an early morning musical parade through Gateway Arch National Park, conceived by New York City composer and percussionist Amy Garapic, and a group listening event connected to the sunset, with music by Seattle composer Nat Evans. At a devoted "Playground" area, Conference attendees will be able to post light-hearted six-word musings on the topic ofImagining 2023. These postings will then run in a continuous loop during the general closing session.
Live performances will include an evening concert on June 18 featuring the St. Louis Symphony and conductor
David Robertson performing
John Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony, Sibelius' Symphony No. 7, and overtures and arias by Mozart and Wagner with bass
Eric Owens. St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra will perform works by Bizet and contemporary American composer Ingram Marshall, also with
David Robertson conducting, at the Conference opening session on June 18, at 4:15 p.m. Members of the St. Louis Symphony's IN UNISON Chorus will be featured in a gospel performance at the Conference closing session, on June 20 at 2:45 p.m.
For a full Conference schedule, including online registration, hotel accommodations, and travel discounts, visit
americanorchestras.org/conference2013
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