In November, the League of American Orchestras launched a new Student Leadership Council, the first in its 81-year history, to provide a platform for the League to better understand and integrate the voices of young people into its work and to support the growth of student engagement in the orchestra field. The Student Leadership Council is part of a renewed commitment to increase participation by young people and incorporate their ideas into the League’s work, as outlined in the League’s Strategic Framework 2023–2026. The five students in the Leadership Council will bring their voices to the League’s strategic thinking, develop content for the League’s student constituency, and help create pathways for a new generation of professionals.
“It has so often been proven to me that young people hold the answers about the future,” said League President and CEO Simon Woods. “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—were selected to serve on the 2023–24 Student Leadership Council.
The students will participate in quarterly council meetings and take on leadership roles in a number of areas. For the League’s Student Constituency, they will 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
The League brought youth perspectives to the organization’s 2023 National Conference in Pittsburgh when, for the first time, over 1,000 delegates heard from students in a Closing Plenary session. 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. And Student Leadership Council members played vital roles at the League’s 2024 National Conference.
Meet the Student Leadership Council
Symphony asked members of the Student Leadership Council to share their thoughts on where they see orchestras today and tomorrow—and what it will take to get there. Below are their thoughts, along with a brief bio for each and the names of the orchestra professionals they were paired with as mentors, based on the student’s orchestra career aspirations.
Things I Wish I Knew
By Lorin Green
CV: DMA 2025 in flute performance, University of Washington; community relations manager, Seattle Symphony; panelist, League of American Orchestras’ 2023 National Conference; participant, League of American Orchestras’ Essentials of Orchestra Management, 2023. Student Leadership Council mentor: Anwar Nasir, executive director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
There are many things that I wish I knew from a younger age. I wish that I knew that there was not one path or “the right” path. My time studying and working in the arts has shown me that trying to fit into a certain role or align to a singular path is limiting. Paths can be circles, hills, oceans, mountains and much more. I went to music school and thought that everything I learned was going to set me up for the exact career I wanted. This was not true, and I wish I had known that.
I wish that someone had told me that I was limitless, and my opportunities were limitless, but it should be my why that guides me. I wish I had known that it was ok to change my mind, and that success can be measured in multiple ways. I deviated from my singular path as an orchestral musician because I saw a new path within non-profit work and arts administration. I would not have been able to see that path if I had not allowed myself to look around. I wish I knew that you can be on more than one path at a time, that there are hidden journeys that you are unable to see at the start of a new path. I wish I would have known that some paths merge eventually.
I wish that I could have seen the person I am now, the various roles I play, and the variety of people I get to collaborate with and serve. I wish I knew that I could be fulfilled in more than one way. I wish more people had asked me why. I wish our schools had asked us why instead of focusing on just what and how. I wish I knew that I would constantly rediscover my why.
Joining the League of American Orchestras Student Leadership Council was another moment where I answered my why. I am here because I recognize that art is everything. I am here because I believe art belongs to all of us and the barriers to access within the arts are what will be our downfall. I am here because the voices of future stewards of our field should be heard.
I wish I knew that I knew this all along, and I wish I had allowed myself to speak out more and not be afraid of being divergent, because I was going towards something greater —something bigger than I could see. We as a field must diverge from the one-dimensional path that we have been set on for so long so that we can see the other paths that lay ahead. I wish we would allow ourselves to see what we were capable of.
Working Towards Accessible, Inclusive Concerts
By Julia Jacobsen
CV: BM 2025, BS 2025 in violin performance and marketing, University of South Carolina; student digital marketing coordinator, USC School of Music; marketing and design assistant, social media coordinator, Boulanger Initiative. Student Leadership Council mentor: Carlos Vicente, vice president of marketing and sales, Walton Arts Center.
As an early-career violinist and marketer for music organizations, I often observe the inner workings of the orchestras around me whether I am actively playing with them, working in their office, or attending a performance. From the moment a new season is announced to seeing the crowd on the day of the concert, I have learned of the long journey it takes for a curious community member to become a patron of the arts. This perspective is further shaped by my advocacy work as the Creative Marketing Manager at Boulanger Initiative, an organization that promotes women and gender-marginalized composers, and in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Music.
For communities historically excluded from the concert hall, this customer journey is lengthy and difficult. There is much to be done to create an accessible, inclusive, and exciting space that brings new audiences to our music. Moreover, after completing my honors senior thesis at USC titled “Broadening Classical Music Audiences Through Inclusive Marketing and Accessible Concert Experiences,” I have learned of a wide array of successful marketing approaches that have proven to increase audience attendance and expand an orchestra’s reach to new communities, especially for medium- and smaller-budget orchestras.
Pre-Concert
As administrators, we often view our work from our own familiar lens and less through the eyes of someone experiencing the fruits of our labor for the very first time. Thus, we must constantly be wearing the curious community member’s shoes when designing the website, crafting emails, and creating marketing materials. This should involve significant experimentation and A/B testing with a watchful eye on bounce rates, open rates, and conversions. Since every orchestra serves a different community, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy on how to engage those communities before they make it to the concert hall.
Concert Day
It’s essential to understand that while 40% of orchestras’ sales come from new ticket buyers (according to a report by the League), the challenge lies in encouraging these individuals to return. Curating that first-time concert attendee experience is crucial for creating lifelong patrons. Major pain points for newcomers include parking, signage, and concert hall etiquette. Information about parking options should be accessible from event pages and communicated to first-timers both in email communications after the ticket purchase and on social media. Branded signage throughout the inside and outside of the performing space can give attendees a sense of peace and reduce confusion, as well as give the orchestra more visibility. Although etiquette during orchestral performances is constantly evolving, making newcomers aware of the typical conventions early on (like clapping after jazz solos or arias in an opera) can help prevent them from feelings of anxiety or exclusion during the performance. These issues will likely vary across orchestral audiences, which is why it is important to analyze user experiences after attending the performance.
Post-Concert
Collecting patron feedback is an incredibly useful and affordable way to gain an in-depth understanding of how the orchestra’s systems are working and glean demographic, psychographic, and behavioral information from your attendees. You only ever get one chance to experience an orchestral performance for the first time, so capturing data from that experience can be informative when making decisions to help increase the size of future audiences. Post-concert surveys have seen significant input when included in thank-you communications after a performance, and may even alert you and your colleagues to issues that have yet to be considered and remedied. Lastly, I would like to sing the praises of Aubrey Bergauer’s book Run It Like A Business. She expertly melds overarching strategy with concrete tactics, providing an incredible amount of useful information that anyone involved with an orchestra would benefit from learning. This is the best guide on evolving an orchestra into a successful business currently out there and worth the read.
I am incredibly thankful to the League for allowing me to serve on its Student Leadership Council and engage with fellow students and professional colleagues interested in orchestral music and arts administration. This commitment to fostering the next generation of leaders in our field is a commitment to the future of orchestras as a whole.
Building Your Orchestra for the Future
By Max Stephenson
CV: BMO 2024 in trumpet, outside field in Business with minor in marketing, Ithaca College; operations manager, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Youth Orchestra; operations manager, World Civic Orchestra; intern, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. Student Leadership Council mentor: Kelly Woodhouse Boston, director of operations, Seattle Symphony.
In 2017, I auditioned for the inaugural season of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Youth Orchestra (CCOYO). Now, as Operations Manager of the CCOYO, I have had the opportunity to come full circle with the organization and have since been deeply involved in orchestral communities. Working also with the World Civic Orchestra (WCO), I have the privilege of fostering an environment where musicians of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities come together to celebrate the universal language of music. Through these experiences, I have developed a unique perspective on the role that musicians, music directors, and administrators all play in the social responsibility of an orchestra within its community.
With each passing year, it has become increasingly clear to me that community engagement is vital for the health of an orchestra and its relationships with schools, teachers, donors, and other community partners. Beyond the traditional community concerts and outreach programs that we are all familiar with, I believe further efforts to make orchestras more approachable should be explored.
Having recently invested significant energy in the recruitment and audition seasons of the CCOYO and WCO, I have begun asking myself a crucial question: Is the organization that I am promoting truly approachable?
In short, would most people feel welcomed into my orchestra without receiving heavy marketing materials? This question is positioned to consider prospective performers, although I would argue that it can also be applied to prospective audience members, donors, and partners.
As discussed at the League’s 2023 Conference, changing trends in donor and audience demographics reveal a striking reality of what orchestras could look like in the next few decades if major efforts are not made to foster younger, more diverse audiences. Depending on organizational circumstances, such efforts could take the form of expanded transportation to concert halls, reduced ticket costs for students, or artistic programming and marketing tailored for younger populations, not to mention increased diversity and representation on stage. If someone cannot see themselves represented on stage, an environment that is inviting and approachable has not been fully achieved.
As you weigh your options, consider polling your local communities to gather the most relevant and directly applicable feedback possible. Each orchestra exists in a unique environment, so what works for one may not work for all. Testing new strategies can be unnerving and stressful, especially against tried-and-true blueprints that have been successful in the past. Any and all efforts to develop a stronger support system from young and diverse audiences should be encouraged and nurtured; it is an incredibly important task, both to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion and maintain financial sustainability for the future.
True Authenticity
By Lauren Zwonik
CV: DMA 2024 in flute performance, with Certificate in University Teaching, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; personnel manager for the UNLV Opera Orchestra; treasurer and board member, Las Vegas Flute Club; community internship graduate assistant, Las Vegas Philharmonic; panelist, League of American Orchestras’ 2023 National Conference. Student Leadership Council mentor: Rebecca Cain, vice president of orchestra operations, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
How can we, as classical music orchestras, create authenticity in our communities?
We each have memories that stick with us throughout our careers as arts administrators. A core memory for me actually comes from a music history pedagogy course during my masters. This professor not only focused on how to teach music history, but they stressed the need to focus on the core subject of every class: the students. Their thoughts can be applied to any discipline, whether we are assuming the role of educator, performer, or arts administrator.
This professor asked the class three questions: Do your people feel seen? Do your people feel heard? Do your people feel loved?
For the people who want to feel seen: what could that look like in our orchestras? For the people who want to feel heard: what could that sound like in our orchestras? For the people who want to feel loved: what could that feel like in our orchestras?
During my time as a young professional, traveling the world and witnessing genuine authentic connections, a few similarities have stuck out to me.
- Humility and the willingness to learn help to build meaningful relationships with our patrons, staff, and musicians. If we continue to remind ourselves that we are all human, making mistakes can ultimately help to break barriers between us, our staff members, our business partners, and our audiences. This ultimately allows us to grow along the way.
- Authenticity can also be manifested by taking time to focus on the individual. Arts organizations can sometimes feel like we have to juggle multiple tasks, events, and conversations to keep afloat. However, by taking the extra step to block out the to-do lists and looming projects while working with one person, that relationship automatically becomes stronger and healthier. It shows that the person is the most important part of our day; we are actively choosing to be active and engaged during that shared time together.
- We must always remember that actions speak louder than words. What we choose to say versus how we act can highlight two opposing ideas. This can be seen by following through on our action plans and strategic planning, continuing the work towards inclusion and representation of underrepresented groups, and committing to the well-being and growth of a positive work environment. With just a few ideas highlighted above, authenticity should be at the core of every arts and non-profit mission statement.
If we guide our daily interactions with these three questions and actions of authenticity, I truly believe that we can lead our teams, musicians, and our communities towards a path of greater empathy and compassion.
William Ryan
CV: 2024 graduate, Burncoat High School; composer, violinist, and concertmaster, High School Orchestra, Worcester Youth Orchestra, and Joy of Music Youth Orchestra; panelist, League of American Orchestras’ 2023 National Conference. Student Leadership Council mentor: Andrea Reinkemeyer, composer. William Ryan was not available to provide a comment for this article by press time.
Learn more about the Student Leadership Council at https://americanorchestras.org/connect/constituency-groups/student-leadership-council/.
