Category: Help Yourself

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges confronting modern society. How are artists and orchestras responding? How can orchestras connect the dots between classical music and the effects of climate change? On Wednesday, April 21, the League of American Orchestras will present Climate Emergency: Artistic Responses and a Call to Engagement, a webinar—free to League members—that examines how orchestras can respond to the climate crisis. The webinar will feature a panel of artists and executives who are charting new roles for orchestras in the climate crisis, and it will offer knowledge and resources to enact change in artistic life, communities, and orchestras. The webinar will be moderated by Tanya Kalmanovitch, associate professor, the New School, and faculty, New England Conservatory, with panelists Matthew Burtner, composer; Martha Gilmer, chief executive officer, San Diego Symphony; Jimmy Lopez, composer; Steven Schick, guest curator, San Diego Symphony, and distinguished professor of music, UC San Diego; and Terry Wolkowicz, education director, New Bedford Symphony.

Climate Emergency: Artistic Responses and a Call to Engagement takes place on Wednesday, April 21 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern/12:00 p.m. Pacific and is free to League members. Click here to learn more. Questions? Contact League Member Services at member@americanorchestras.org.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is continuing to revise guidance for the application process to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, which opened on Thursday, April 8, and then closed amid technical problems. This $16 billion program provides emergency assistance for eligible venues—including orchestras—affected by COVID-19. SBA and its resource centers provide definitive guidance on the application requirements and grant administration details. The SBA continues to modify key guidance, including the Frequently Asked Questions and SVOG Application User Guide.

Key tips:
• Once an organization begins the online application process, the SBA advises it “should make sure to save the application frequently, [and] have the SVOG dedicated website, www.sba.gov/svogrant, at the ready to refer to.”
• Local SBA resource partners can provide assistance with the application process. Find local SBA resource partners at www.sba.gov/localassistance.

The League of American Orchestras will continue to provide updates. The League overview of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants program includes further links to SBA resources. More information on the full array of federal relief options is available in the League’s Federal COVID-19 Relief Resource Center.

On Thursday, April 8, the Orchestrating a Better Future with New Audition and Tenure Guidelines from NAAS webinar will present new guidelines from the National Alliance for Audition Support (NAAS), a collaboration of the League of American Orchestras, The Sphinx Organization, and the New World Symphony. The webinar, which is free for League members, will examine how the NAAS audition and tenure guidelines offer paths forward in eliminating the discriminatory practices that have led to the exclusion, harassment, and lack of access that have long impeded people of color in the orchestra field. Panelists in the webinar will explore the evolving understanding of the audition process and how it can be more equitable, recognizing that any ideas operate under existing collective bargaining agreements and are subject to mandatory bargaining. The webinar will cover best practices, how and why they were developed, and the key role of music directors in leading this work. Panelists include Andre Dowell, chief of artist engagement, the Sphinx Organization; Afa S. Dworkin, president and artistic director, the Sphinx Organization; John Kieser, executive producer of media, New World Symphony; Michael Morgan, music director, Oakland Symphony; Tito Muñoz, music director, the Phoenix Symphony; Bill Neri, project manager, NAAS; and Meredith Snow, ICSOM chairperson and violist, Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Orchestrating a Better Future with New Audition and Tenure Guidelines from NAAS takes place on Thursday, April 8 at 3:00pm Eastern/12:00pm Pacific. The webinar is free for League members. Learn more and register here. If you can’t attend the live webinar, register to receive the recording. Contact League Member Services at member@americanorchestras.org with questions.

The League of American Orchestras has announced key findings from its most recent COVID-19 Impact Survey. Approximately 200 orchestras across all budget groups participated in the League’s third COVID-19 Impact Survey, which opened on February 22 and closed on March 11. Key findings include:

• 23% of orchestras are currently offering performances with a live, in-person audience.
• Over two-thirds (67%) are offering streaming performances.
• 43% of respondents anticipated resuming concerts with live, in-person audiences in the early fall (17% in September and 26% in October).
• Programming in the 2021-22 season will continue to be weighted somewhat toward chamber orchestra and small ensembles (64% and 58% respectively) rather than full-orchestra performances (49%). The largest-budget orchestras are an exception: 80% anticipate programming for full orchestra.
• Orchestras expect halls to be on average at 42% of capacity when audiences return in person.
• Not all orchestras have been able to perform this year: nearly one-third (28%) are not offering any performances—live or streamed. For smaller-budget orchestras, that percentage rises to 56%.

For more information, contact knowledge@americanorchestras.org.

On Wednesday, March 24, the League of American Orchestras and Classical Movements will co-present “Musicians’ Voices: Adversity and Innovation in the Time of COVID,” a webinar in which five orchestra musicians will discuss topics centered around the lifelong commitment to making music in person and in isolation. The webinar is part of Classical Movements’ “Musician’s Perspective” series and is free for League members and non-members. As the country begins to emerge from a pandemic that has changed our lives and our relationship with technology, panelists will address the question of what we will take with us, and what we will leave behind. The 90-minute discussion will be moderated by Alex Laing, principal clarinet at The Phoenix Symphony, with panelists Kristen Bruya, principal bass, Minnesota Orchestra; Jauvon Gilliam, principal timpani, National Symphony Orchestra; David Kim, concertmaster, Philadelphia Orchestra; Lauren Roth, concertmaster, Tucson Symphony Orchestra and faculty member, Prague Summer Nights; and Amanda Stewart, associate principal trombone, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Neeta Helms, president of Classical Movements, will provide the preface and introduction.

“Musicians’ Voices: Adversity and Innovation in the Time of COVID” takes place on Wednesday, March 24 at 3:00 pm Eastern/12:00 pm Pacific. The webinar is free of charge. Learn more here. Contact League Member Services at member@americanorchestras.org with questions.

On March 19, the League of American Orchestras issued the following Statement on Violence and Discrimination Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders:

The League of American Orchestras stands in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community as it faces a terrible new wave of hate crimes and racism.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are an integral part of our orchestra community and our country. AAPI discrimination precedes the pandemic and has long existed—though it has previously been ignored. The League is dedicated to fighting this racism as part of its long-term commitment to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in our own organization, and in supporting our members to do the same.

The hate against our fellow Americans must stop. Discrimination, stereotyping, and aggression must stop. As we stated in August 2020, “We choose to move fully and without delay toward absolute diversity and equity within our field; and henceforth to respect the value and boundless creative capacity of every human being.”

Read the Statement on the League’s website.

The Alchemy of High-Performing Arts Organizations, Part II: A Spotlight on Organizations of Color, a new report by SMU DataArts in partnership with The Wallace Foundation, explores how leaders of arts organizations of color view the reasons for their success, along with challenges they face. Based on research conducted in August and September 2020, the report finds commonalities among eleven arts organizations of color in dance, music, theater, and multidisciplinary performing arts, among them Chicago Sinfonietta, as well as ten community-based arts organizations, each with a proven record of high performance. Co-authored by SMU DataArts Director Zannie Voss and SMU DataArts Research Director Glenn Voss, the new report aims to inform arts organizations in multiple disciplines about approaches to financial sustainability. Simon Woods, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras, is quoted in the introduction to the study: “After a pandemic that has asymmetrically affected those who have less, and who are marginalized or oppressed, orchestras—and all arts organizations—must come back with a new will to engage with their whole communities.” Read the full report at wallacefoundation.org and at culturaldata.org.

The Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra in Honolulu has announced the return of its “Nā hōkū ‘ōpio | Young Stars Program,” a competition for local musicians. The contest winners will be featured as soloists in a live performance with the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, scheduled to take place in early May, and appear on the streaming show Tuning Up with Iggy & Dave. The competition is open only to Hawai‘i high school graduates from the classes of 2020 and 2021 who are current, full-time residents of the State of Hawai‘i. Due to the pandemic, the 2021 “Nā hōkū ‘ōpio” competition will be held virtually, with applicants submitting an online application with a video recording to the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra. The application and video submission deadline is April 15, 2021. Winners will be announced on May 1, 2021. The “Nā hōkū ‘ōpio” competition is open to strings, voice, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. The five-member panel of judges will include Hawai‘i Symphony musicians, members of the HSO Associates, and guest judges from the community. Learn more at www.myhso.org.

The sixth federal COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan, will extend or expand nearly every form of federal assistance available to orchestras amid the coronavirus pandemic, including the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, Employee Retention Tax Credit, and National Endowment for the Arts funding. The relief package also introduces new opportunities. On Friday, March 19 at 1:00 pm Eastern/10:00 am Pacific, the League of American Orchestras’ Washington, DC-based advocacy team will present a quick review of the latest developments and a guided tour of League COVID-19 resources. Free for League members, the webinar will provide greater understanding of how the new COVID-19 relief package applies to orchestras, explore League resources that can help orchestras navigate various forms of relief, and explain how to stay engaged with policy leaders in the coming months. The March 19 webinar will be followed by additional learning events that take deeper dives into relief provisions.
The free, League member-only webinar on the latest COVID-19 relief opportunities takes place on Friday, March 19 at 1:00 pm Eastern/10:00 am Pacific. Learn more and register here. If you can’t attend the live webinar, register to receive the recording. Contact League Member Services at member@americanorchestras.org with questions.