The Score | Pacific Northwest Connections

On December 3, the Oregon Symphony hosted the second annual Northwest Orchestras Gathering, which was established to foster discussion about issues and challenges facing orchestras in the region. Nearly 50 artistic and administrative professionals from 33 orchestras across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia attended the event. Oregon Symphony President and CEO Scott Showalter and Scott Faulkner, representing the League of American Orchestras, opened the meeting with a conversation about strategic planning. Faulkner advised orchestra leaders to take stock of what they are doing and what they could be doing. “If you can’t say, ‘Hell, yeah!’ about a project, you shouldn’t pursue it,” he said. Afterward, attendees participated in break-out sessions addressing topics including fundraising, artistic planning, public relations, and equity, diversity, and inclusion. The half-day meeting was followed by dinner and an Oregon Symphony concert led by guest conductor Eivind Gullberg Jensen and featuring Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Walton’s Violin Concerto, with soloist James Ehnes. The group of northwest orchestras plans to continue meeting annually while expanding its membership with the support of the League of American Orchestras.