Welcome to the "new" League!

At our annual meeting last June (held during the Nashville conference), the membership enthusiastically voted to change the League's name.  Since then, with the expert help of the Boston-based strategic communications firm Sametz Blackstone Associates, we have been busy preparing a new website and an entirely new visual identity system that will help revolutionize our service to you.

Well, the day has finally arrived—the organization formerly known as the American Symphony Orchestra League will now be known as the League of American Orchestras (or, simply, “the League,” for short)! 

Why the change?
For the past three years, the League has been engaged in an intensive planning process, more comprehensive than any such effort in the organization’s 65-year history, involving extensive consultation throughout the orchestra field and beyond. From that process a strategic direction and implementation plan emerged that enable the League to transform itself to better assist America’s orchestras with the innovation, training, research and development, leadership, and advocacy they need. The League of American Orchestras name fits in with this broad new vision of a revitalized and re-energized League.

In the  press release describing the change, the League’s Board Chair Lowell Noteboom commented, “Our new name captures the essence of the new League and the diversity of our constituents. Our nearly 1,000 member orchestras include not only the hundreds of professional and community symphony orchestras in cities large and small all across the country, but also the professional chamber orchestras and the hundreds of youth orchestras that are training the next generation of musicians. All of them, as well as their musicians, managers, trustees and volunteers, are joined together in and served by the new League.”

New website, new email addresses
Check out our new website at www.americanorchestras.org

The new site provides increased ease of use, more opportunities for timely information, targeted experiences for specific audiences, and much more, while also better reflecting the vitality of America’s orchestras and our own dynamism and renewed focus. There are multiple points of entry—by area of interest, by key messages, and by topic—or, you can use a search function to find the information you need. And our new site is just the beginning: there is more to come!  Subsequent phases will include a more streamlined ordering process and enhanced member services.

We’ve changed our URL to reflect the new name, and our email address format will change to person @americanorchestras.org as well, but DON’T WORRY: our symphony.org emails will automatically redirect to the new address for the foreseeable future.

New visual identity
Like the new website, our new name, messages, graphic identity, and the look of our print and digital communications reflect the goals, strategies, and spirit of our strategic plan. While we continue to work hard for our friends and colleagues in the field, you can now expect a more engaging and consistent experience when interacting with us. All of our communication materials will now employ a shared visual and verbal language so that it’s easy to tell what’s coming from us, so that we’ll be more easily and quickly recognized.

Branding is not window dressing: our new name and brand—and the strategic vision that informs them—are meant to signify our promises to you as well as what you can expect from us. Success ultimately means walking the walk, and we look forward to engaging you in more and meaningful ways as we reaffirm our commitment to America’s orchestras.

What’s next?
In the coming months, you’ll see even more improvements to the website, and SYMPHONY Magazine is undergoing a makeover as well.  Stay tuned!