The more you know...

I don't know about the for-profit world, but in the not-for-profit world there are lots and lots of opportunities for improving your knowledge and skills. In the sector there is a great deal of on-the-job training, but outside learning is always encouraged and appreciated. There are many aspects of working in the not-for-profit world that we don't know coming in - these are skills and talents that must be honed and improved over time and if you can take a class in it, all the better!
Right now I am taking a course through the Fieldstone Foundation - a great foundation in Southern California and Utah. The course series is called the Executive Learning Group and has a cadre of wonderful NPO leaders from around San Diego involved. Our sessions are lead by Tom Hall, former Executive Director of the Old Globe and a very talented administrator/consultant.
Some other opportunities for learning that I am pursuing are through the San Diego Foundation - at the end of March I hope to take a course through the Foundation on Corporate Partnerships and in April begin a six-month course in Development. I am so excited about the possibilities of continued learning so that I can better serve Orchestra Nova and our family of supporters.

A Post-Bach Reflection

We plan our seasons a year in advance, so as we were creating an all-Bach program, I had no idea I would enjoy it as much as I did. Last night we performed the final concert at Sherwood Auditorium and the musicians played wonderfully. Even with the challenge of holding their bows in a Baroque style (slightly higher up on the bow than usual), the sound that came off that stage was what makes Orchestra Nova who we are. The concert highlighted our own players, instead of bringing in guest artists, and as I watched from backstage, I was overwhelmed with pride for this organization and for the musicians that perform under the Orchestra Nova name. And I'm reminded that during this time of cash shortages and uncertainties, that the arts most definitely have a place in people's lives, hearts, and simply define who we are. And because of that, we plan for next season.

The end of the world (as we know it)

It's a scary, yet quite telling time for orchestras these days. Last week, the New York Philharmonic posted its largest recorded deficit in its 168 year history. That's saying quite a bit, especially in the wake of the appointment of its young new music director, Alan Gilbert. In the same week, the Cleveland Orchestra's musicians made the unprecedented move of handing out leaflets to its audience prior to a concert in order to make a statement amidst contract negotiations. This, from one of the greatest and highly paid orchestras in the country.

What is happening? Essentially, our profession is struggling to catch up with the catastrophic economy and rapidly changing societal tastes with a dinosaur of an organizational paradigm. Despite unrivaled quality, audiences, donors and sponsors are either pulling back their focus on the arts and entertainment, and we are witnessing a possible cyclical or permanent cultural ice age for certain art forms. In some ways, it doesn't really matter which, for many arts institutions are increasingly being forced into oblivion on a daily basis all over the world. What is needed is a general revolution of presenting classical music in a way that the American public can embrace broadly; a new approach that accepts the arts as a business (at least in part) and the viewer as a consumer with limited time and resources, and then begin to ask the difficult question of whether we are truly in touch with the public we are supposedly serving in the first place.

Why do you work in the arts?!?

I get that question when I talk to some of my friends from high school or college - why do you work in the arts? Why work in a nonprofit - especially now?

I think the answer is simple and universal to every member of our dedicated team: we work in the arts and in the nonprofit world because we love it. To be a part of the creative process, to contribute to something larger than yourself and to be a part of a cultural tradition that spans millennia - that is pretty cool.

It takes dedication to work in a world like this, especially at a time like this. We are lucky at Orchestra Nova to have a very dedicated staff team - people who genuinely believe in the art that we help create and who love serving the audiences who come. I know that sounds cliché, but talk to any of us and you’ll soon discover a passion that doesn’t exist in many other organizations.

So yeah, that is why I work in the arts, and that’s why I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work at Orchestra Nova.

And for our next trick...

The moment you finish one concert, you are already focusing on the next one...or even further in the future.

Right now we are in the midst of planning for our 2010/2011 season, a process that takes about 6 months to put together. Season planning is one of those elements that is rarely ever seen beyond the administrative offices of an arts organization. When planning a season there are a whole host of issues that need to be taken into consideration. The scheduling calculus regarding the availability of venue, artists, what other arts organizations arts are doing, all of these are factors that require require a lot of flexibility and creativity.

Jung-Ho is putting together next season from an artistic point of view - pulling everything together from the programming side of things. We start with a white board with all our concert slots and then discuss them as a team, writing up every idea on post-it-notes and continuously refining. We are now looking multiple years in advance - all the way out to 2015! Attached is a photo of our current planning calendar - would you look at all those post-its!

West Coast vs. East Coast orchestra management - is there a difference?

As many of you know, Jung-Ho Pak serves as artistic director for both Orchestra Nova San Diego and the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra (as well as several other groups around the country - he's a very busy guy.) Tomorrow, I'll be leaving sunny So Cal and traveling to the Cape to attend CCSO's holiday concerts, meet my artistic and education colleagues, and see what it's like to manage an orchestra more than twice our size in a city one fifth the size of San Diego. I'll get the chance to watch performances from backstage and from the audience (a rarity for me), chat with musicians, and watch Jung-Ho with his "other family."

We're in a pretty unique situation - having a sister orchestra 3,000 miles away that we can cross-train, cross-market, and share resources (guest artists, music) and ideas with. Granted, putting on a concert is fairly universal. But who attends, why they donate, and the overall Cape Cod culture is what I'm looking forward to seeing. At least there's no snow in the forecast...

Applause or not?

Recently, we've been experiencing more applause in between movements of a symphony or concerto, and while that's been frowned upon by long time classical music audiences, it's undeniably a result of us attracting new audiences. So ensues the heated debate between those who believe a symphony is a sacred musical experience that should not be disrupted vs. those who think that if a movement is played well, it should be acknowledged with approval. Another way to look at this is the desire for the experienced wanting to educate the newcomers.

One illuminating detail to this discussion is the actual history of applause. Throughout most of classical music history, applause between movements was accepted and even welcomed with delight by composers, including the most famous like Mozart and Beethoven. If the applause was great enough, the audiences were treated to a an encore performance of the movement. In an era without a recording device or replay button, this was indeed a gift by the performers. To read a fascinating perspective, read this description by a noted critic from the New Yorker magazine: http://www.therestisnoise.com/2005/02/applause_a_rest.html It also strikes me as very funny that those who do not advocate applauding between movements, feel very strongly that one is equally "in the know" when applauding after a beautiful aria in an opera. This seems most contradictory as an opera is even more a continual dramatic thread and suspension of reality that is broken with applause.

One of the most negative reasons newcomers state why they don't attend classical concerts is the intimidating and sterile environment they find there. The last thing they want to hear is how they are to express their enjoyment of the music. For Orchestra Nova, we're also breaking the rules on how we are "supposed" to express joy on stage. We strive for real emotion, so we hope to get the same from our audiences.

It's clear orchestras around the country are struggling to gain relevance for an increasingly non-Euro centric and uninitiated culture. Nova been successful in bringing in a broader demographic, and our regular audiences seem to be very understanding that the spontaneous applause is perhaps a good thing overall.