Goals and Priorities Supported by the Campaign for a New Direction
Over the period of 2005 to 2007, the League of American Orchestras undertook a strategic planning process involving thousands of orchestra stakeholders – administrators, musicians, music industry professionals, trustees, volunteers, and funders – in assessing the evolving needs of the orchestral field and developing the means by which the League can best help its member orchestras interpret and respond to the changes and challenges they face in their own environments. A new set of goals emerged from that process.
Going forward, the League will seek to help orchestras both large and small to a) develop a deeper understanding of artistic and organizational models that work, particularly as models evolve; b) become more aware, both internally and externally, of areas of common purpose and more adept at collaboration when it represents the most efficient means for success; and c) be vitally engaged with and meaningful to their communities.
The planning process also enabled the League to identify four areas of work as being crucial to the newly articulated goals, and it here that the League is now focusing its attention:
- Learning and Leadership Development programs are addressing critical retention issues and enhancing the overall strength of orchestras by expanding the leadership capacity of staff, board members, musicians, and volunteers, and by developing a new generation of orchestra executives. Those at the helm of today’s orchestras need to possess an increased capacity to lead to weather an environment that is increasingly marked by rapid change.
- A new focus on Research and Innovation is helping to create a knowledge base that will enable orchestras to move toward better fact-based decision making on topics of consequence to large cross-sections of the field; for example, understanding consumer behavior patterns and what drives current and potential audiences. This work will encourage innovation and minimize the risks of experimentation by expanding the information available to orchestras and improving the speed with which it can be accessed, and equipping orchestras with a greater range of analytical tools.
- Through an expanded focus on Advocacy, the League will foster conversations on the public role of orchestras with policymakers and others, and will help orchestras to communicate with a unified voice with the thought that greater impact can be achieved collectively than in isolation. The League is also developing a vast communications network to convey to the larger public the many benefits that orchestras provide through music and community programs and services, and is equipping its members to do the same.
- As a source of Meaningful Information, the League is also bringing together orchestra managers and leaders from across the country to develop a single instrument for gathering orchestra financial, operating, and other data so that the data will be of greater use to member orchestras when analyzed and disseminated. Additionally, the League is investing in its technology platforms and data management systems to expand services –such as the addition of distance learning opportunities – and improve responsiveness to its members.
The Campaign for a New Direction – a five-year, $25 million effort that is for the League unprecedented – will help the League to launch and then grow a wide range of initiatives that have the potential to be of tremendous value to America’s orchestras, as well as refine and sustain programs that have long benefited the field, contributing immeasurably to the health of these organizations and the communities they serve.
For additional information about the Campaign for a New Direction please contact Stacey Weston, Vice President for Development, at 646-822-4009 or by email at
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Campaign Case Statement