The League of American Orchestras Conference at NPAC
Check this page regularly for updates to the day-to-day Conference schedule. All contents subject to change.
Contact: Jan Wilson (
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) for more information.
Items with an asterisk (*) indicate advance registration and/or additional fee required.
Visit the calendar for a quick view of events.
9:00am – 5:00pm
Location TBA
On Tuesday, June 10 programs organized by National Arts Strategies (NAS) will provide insight and tools for building partnerships, funding opportunities and negotiating skills. Registration for these seminars is open to all attendees on a first-come, first served basis. Click here for more information about NAS, the programs, and the faculty.
Today, the most creative initiatives are being achieved through partnerships. How do you identify the partnerships that are most likely to succeed? What are the secrets to creating those relationships efficiently? Learn frameworks for analyzing your “network” and targeting the right partners at the right time. Professor Powell is a leading expert in the areas of network theory and organizational research. Click here for more information and bio.
Negotiation is an art - and a science. Even the most experienced leaders get surprised by the complex psychology and group behaviors that drive negotiations. Enhance your ability to create negotiated solutions that support healthy long-term relationships; achieve your goals, negotiate successful coalitions, and learn to work together to “grow the pie.” Professor Neale is a leading expert in negotiation. Click here for more information and bio.
Corporate sponsorships and philanthropy are harder to find in today's world of strategic corporate philanthropy. Nonprofit organizations are going beyond traditional approaches to develop strategic “cause marketing” relationships with corporations. Explore frameworks to win more attention and financial support from corporations, create an optimal fundraising strategy that includes cause marketing partnerships, identify in advance the most promising cause marketing partners, and design an effective cause marketing program with a corporation. Internationally recognized expert in marketing strategies for mission-driven organizations Kash Rangan leads this program. Click here for more information and bio.
The Exhibits at ArtsTown by Ovation TV at the Colorado Convention Center is open from 9:00am to 5:30pm.
8:00am – 12:30pm
Hyatt Regency Denver Hotel
Let us help you invest in the future! The League of American Orchestras is committed to recognizing and encouraging effective and visionary leadership in the orchestra profession. A healthy and growing talent pool of well-trained, dedicated professionals is critical to maintaining institutional vitality and future growth. And, those who work for America’s orchestras need enhanced skill sets to undertake the complex tasks needed to ensure our collective success.
There are six half-day OLA seminars available; one of them is likely to be just right for you. Empower yourself with new skills and access to best practices from leaders in our field as well as subject matter experts from all over the country.
NOTE: Additional seminars will be available on Wednesday, June 11 offered by our partner service organizations. Click here for information.
8:00am – 12:30pm
Location TBA
Exhibit Hall in the Colorado Convention Center is open from 9:00am to 5:30pm.
1:00pm – 1:30pm
League Delegate Orientation
Location TBA
2:00pm – 3:30pm
OPENING SESSION: THE POWER OF COMMUNITY BUILDING
Wells Fargo Theater, Colorado Convention Center
Celebrate the performing community and share exciting visions of what the future of the performing arts could be! With Mitch Landrieu, lieutenant governor of Louisiana; Bill Rauch, artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper; Erin Trapp, director, Denver Department of Cultural Affairs, and Dana Gioia, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts.
This session lays the foundation for ideas that will be discussed and challenged throughout the Convention. Click here for more program details.
4:00pm – 5:30pm
AMERICASPEAKS CAUCUSES
Location TBA
In preparation for Saturday morning's 21st Century Town Meeting™ three caucus sessions will be held, one each day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The caucuses are designed to cull ideas and create action agenda for consideration at Saturday’s Town Hall Meeting™—and all are aimed at ensuring a strong future for the performing arts in the years to come.
The National Performing Arts Convention has engaged AmericaSpeaks to lead this process of caucuses and town meeting, using the latest methods and technologies. You’ll find a level playing field where every voice is equal, where all ideas are written down and considered. Join the discussions—let your ideas, opinions, and hopes help shape the ideas, opinions, and hopes of others.
5:30 – 7:00pm (All NPAC delegates may attend)
Opening Party
Sponsored by Target
Galleria of the Denver Performing Arts Complex
Expand your personal network as you mingle with many new faces from all over the performing arts universe, as well as orchestra colleagues, presenters, and business partners at the opening reception. Refreshments and cash bar available. Open to all. Advance registration
With additional and deeply appreciated support from Center Plate (click here for more details)
7:30pm
Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Boettcher Concert Hall
Jeffrey Kahane, music director
Duain Wolfe, conductor and chorus director
Natasha Paremski, piano
Basil Vendryes, viola
Colorado Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Bernstein, Candide Overture
Bernstein, Chichester Psalms*
John Corigliano, Piano Concerto
Giya Kancheli, Styx
*CSO premiere
Conducted by Maestro Wolfe. Balance of program to be conducted by Maestro Kahane.
Helen M. Thompson and Gold Baton Awards will be presented during the concert.
Following the performance
Hyatt Regency Denver
League Tune-Up Party (approximate start time 9:30pm)
Open to all League delegates and League Business Partners. Mingle with colleagues and friends and drink a toast to Henry Fogel at the Tune-Up Party back at the Hyatt Regency Denver following the performance. Your badge serves as your admission.
Hosted by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Exhibit Hall in the Colorado Convention Center is open from 9:00am to 6:45pm.
8:00am – 9:30am
Constituent Block 1
League Presentation 1
Turning First-Timers into Life Timers: Understanding and Reducing Churn
Orchestras have known that long-term audience members are incredibly
loyal and generous. We’ve tended to believe that our challenge lies in
attracting newcomers to our institutions. Research now shows that while
we attract significant numbers of newcomers, we are not effective in
converting them to longer-term customers and supporters. We now know
that first-timers make up almost 50% of our customers annually, but
more than 80% of them do not purchase tickets again for the following
season.
In partnership with the consulting firm Oliver Wyman, nine senior
orchestra marketing professionals have been studying this “churn” in
and out of the orchestra audience. This presentation brings forward the
results of this multi-million dollar pro-bono study to help us better
understand this phenomenon, helping to minimize the impact of churn,
and development strategy that will enable us to retain more of our new
customers.
10:00am – 11:30am
Locations TBA
AMERICASPEAKS CAUCUSES (all NPAC delegates)
Location TBA
In preparation for Saturday morning's 21st Century Town Meeting three caucus sessions will be held, one each day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The caucuses are designed to cull ideas and create an action agenda for consideration on Saturday, one aimed at ensuring a strong future for the performing arts in the years to come. Click here for more details.
Noon – 1:00pm
GENERAL SESSION: FROM GOOD TO GREAT AND THE SOCIAL SECTORS
Best-selling author Jim Collins discusses his groundbreaking theory on what makes the difference between a "good" organization and a "great" one, and how to achieve superior performance in the social sector.
Click here to read selections from Jim Collins’s monograph From Good to Great and the Social Sectors.
1:15pm – 2:30pm
Grab some lunch in the Exhibits in ArtsTown and explore all the amenities within.
SmART Bar Consultations
2:45pm – 5:45pm (all NPAC delegates)
Locations TBA
For this three-hour period you will have your choice of session(s) to attend. In-Depth Workshops and Art-Making Workshops each last for 3 hours. Breakouts are each 75 minutes.
Below is the list of sessions by category. Click on the category links below for complete details of each session.
Ten 3-hour comprehensive sessions on a range of topics are yours for the choosing. Hear thoughtful presentations from experts on big issues, engage in active problem solving and exploration in small groups, and, in many cases, create take-away plans and ideas to inform your work back home.
BEYOND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT: INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR PERFORMING ARTS SUSTAINABILITY
Speaker: Heather Peeler, senior consultant, Community Wealth Ventures; Diane Peacock, managing director, Community Wealth Ventures
THE NOT-SO DISTANT HORIZON: THE NEAR FUTURE AND THE PERFORMING ARTS
Moderator: Doug McLennan, ArtsJournal Speaker: David McIntosh, futurist
TAKING ART OFF THE SHELF: WHAT DO TODAY’S AUDIENCES REALLY WANT?
Moderator: Lynne Conner, author of “In and Out of the Dark: A Theory About Audience Behavior From Sophocles to Spoken Word”
Speakers:
Jamie Merwin, founding artistic director, olive Dance Theatre; Michael
Rohd, artistic director, Sojourn Theatre; Elizabeth Streb, artistic
director, STREB Lab for Action Mechanics; Kevin Noe, artistic director,
Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble
THE VALUE OF A SEAT
Moderators:
Charles Isherwood, theatre critic, The New York Times; Joanne Steller,
vice president, strategic communications, Target Resource Group
Speakers:
Jon Limbacher, vice president and chief operating officer, The Saint
Paul Chamber Orchestra; Phillip Matthews, director of communications,
Theatre Communications Group and manager, Free Night of Theater
HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE REAL WORLD OF PRACTICE: CREATING A NEW ALIGNMENT
Moderator: Jane Polin, philanthropic advisor
Speakers:
Warrick L. Carter, president, Columbia College (Chicago); Moy Eng,
program director, The Hewlett Foundation; Christopher Kendall, dean,
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance; Ellen B.
Rudolph, program officer for the arts, Surdna Foundation; Scott L.
Steele, executive director, U/RTA; Andrew Taylor, director, Bolz Center
for Arts Administration, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of
Business; James Undercofler, president and CEO, The Philadelphia
Orchestra
NURTURING TEACHING ARTISTS
Moderator: Eric Booth
Speakers:
David O'Fallon, president, MacPhaill Center for Music; Daniel Renner,
director of education, Denver Theater Center; Barbara Shepard, director
of national partnerships, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Locations TBA
Take a master class with an artist from your own discipline or another. Workshops are open to anyone at the Convention, whether novice or expert. Take home something you create yourself!
2:45pm – 4:00pm and 4:30pm – 5:45pm
A number of our sponsors will be providing useful and informative
sessions on a number of topics and that are open to all. Click here for a full description of these sessions.
Locations TBA
Looking for a practical approach to a specific problem? Then these rounds of shorter, topic-specific breakout sessions will appeal to you. Because these breakout sessions will be multi-disciplinary, participants will be able to learn from experts and from one another in ways that are not available at regular annual conferences. Note: Some breakouts will be held twice, some only once, so please choose carefully.
THE ART OF LIVING OR LIVING FOR ART: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR ARTISTS
2 Sessions: 2:45pm – 4:00pm; 4:30 – 5:45pm
Moderator: Nicole Garneau, assistant director, community partnerships, Columbia Collect Center for Community Arts Partnerships
Speakers:
Jim Brown, The Actors Fund; Jordan Hirsch, Sweet Home New Orleans; Adam
J. Natale, director of member services, Fractured Atlas; Wendy
Oxenhorn, executive director, Jazz Foundation of America
5:45pm – 6:45pm
All Delegate and Exhibitor party
The Exhibits at ArtsTown by Ovation TV
Start your evening by joining colleagues, presenters, and business
partners at this reception in the Exhibits at ArtsTown at the Colorado
Convention Center. Refreshments, hors d’oeuvres and cash bar available.
Open to all.
7:00pm-10:00pm
Offsite
National Friends of the League Dinner (by invitation only)
For Donors of $600 or more to the League's Annual Fund.
Evening
Performances and Other Activities
Constituency Block 2
Hyatt Regency Denver Hotel
8:00am – 8:30am
Welcome and Introductions
Darlene Dreyer, Advisory C chair, Executive Director Paducah Symphony
Constituent Block 2 continued
8:30am - 9:30am
Growing Your Orchestra in Saturated Markets
Smaller budget orchestras face a multitude of challenges – one being
the small fish in a big pond syndrome. This session will focus on how
to find your marketing niche, make your orchestra standout among other
nonprofits in your community and become the leader for developing
partnerships with other nonprofits in your community.
Panelists/Presenters: TBA
10:00am – 11:30am
AMERICASPEAKS CAUCUSES
Locations TBA
In preparation for Saturday morning's 21st Century Town Meeting three caucus sessions will be held, one each day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The caucuses are designed to cull ideas and create an action agenda for consideration on Saturday, one aimed at ensuring a strong future for the performing arts in the years to come. Click here for more details.
11:45am – 1:15pm
League Annual Luncheon and Annual Meeting (you must register and pre-pay for this)
Hyatt Regency Denver Hotel
1:30pm – 3:00pm
GENERAL SESSION: RADICAL IDEAS FROM BEYOND THE BORDER
Location TBA
Celebrate the innovative work being done around the world. Each speaker at this session has introduced bold strategies that establish the arts at the center of community life. Meet José Antonio Abreu, the visionary founder of El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education miracle; Madhusree Dutta who founded Majlis, a center for rights discourse and multi-cultural initiatives in Mumbai, India; and Germaine Acogny, award-winning dancer and choreographer and the founder of an International Centre for Traditional and Contemporary African Dances in Senegal. Moderated by Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Click here for more information.
3:15pm – 6:00pm
Constituency Block 3
Hyatt Regency Denver Hotel
Great Ideas - and Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Smaller Budget Orchestras!
Join your colleagues for an informative sharing session of your orchestra’s best ideas for ticket sales, fundraising, board development, and more during this informative session. Plan to bring brochures and handouts to share with your colleagues from your orchestra’s most innovative, exciting, and successful projects. We will also spend some time discussion current issues and will respond to your questions about smaller budget orchestras and the orchestra industry.
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Dinner on your own
7:30pm
OperaColorado
Nixon in China
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
John Adams, Nixon in China
James Robinson, director
Marin Alsop, conductor
Maria Kanyova, Pat Nixon
Robert Orth, Richard Nixon
Marc Heller, Mao Tse-Tung
Tracy Dahl, Madame Mao
Thomas Hammons, Henry Kissinger
Chenye Yuan, Chou Enlai
Melissa Malde, Nancy T'ang
Julie Simson, Second Secretary
Jennifer Dedominici, Third Secretary
10:00pm – 1:00am
ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT (DELEGATES 35 & UNDER)
ORANGE CAT STUDIO at 2625 Larimer St. in Denver's River North Arts District
What happens when the next generation of performing arts
professionals get together after hours? Are you looking to shake
things up and network with your open-minded peers? Come hang out,
listen to fresh live music at a trendy venue with a backyard garden,
and talk informally about our ever-changing field at this laid back,
late night session. No ties, no paper, no laptops allowed…
8:00am – 9:30am
Constituency Block 5
Hyatt Regency Denver Hotel
The Balancing Act
One of the key challenges of smaller budget orchestra executive directors is managing people (sometimes difficult people) and the various constituencies in their organization, from board members and music directors, to musicians and volunteers. This session will address the executive director’s role in managing and maintaining these constituencies, as well as ways in which they should plan for the future of their orchestra and their career and development in orchestra management.
Panelists: TBA
10:00am – 12:30pm (all NPAC delegates)
A 21ST CENTURY TOWN MEETING WITH AMERICASPEAKS CONCLUSIONS AND CONCLUDING SESSION
Location TBA
The ideas that surface at the caucuses the previous three days will be addressed at Saturday morning's 21st Century Town Meeting. Using the latest technologies, topics will be consolidated, discussed and voted upon by thousands of your peers, each with an individual touch pad. Results will be projected on large video screens in order to identify and hone an agenda to be ratified by this newly unified performing arts community.
At this concluding session, you will help set the agenda for how the arts will be perceived now and in the coming years: by our communities; by national, state, and local governments; by our supporters; and by our audiences. Let your voice be heard, and your vote count, so that we will speak with one voice and together ensure a vital future for the performing arts.