The field is having a moment right now about the lack of black and brown people in American orchestras - on stage, backstage and in the audience. Some of the energy in the current moment can be framed as being about resources: if orchestras don’t become more connected to more people - different types of people -  we will suffer for it. At the same time, some of the energy … [Read more...]

Interaction Institute for Social Change | Artist: Angus Maguire                   Thinking about orchestras and equity, two things have helped me frame a perspective: Angus Maguire's reboot of Craig Froehle's graphic (featured above) and Createquity’s article Making Sense of Cultural Equity. The Maguire/Froehle graphic is well known for good reason. With a simple image it … [Read more...]

In my last post I noted that, when I look at an orchestra's structure, I don't see anything that parallels a musician's practice room. Scaled for an organization, what would a workshop like that look like? In the musician's practice room we have our abilities as musicians, but a practice room also has lots of tools available. Tools - like scales studies, etudes, warm ups, a … [Read more...]

Looking at an orchestra through the four frames, I don't see any space designed for innovation, imagination and open questions. I don't see anything like a workshop. What do I mean by 'workshop'? I mean a room where you go to prototype ideas and solutions to problems. A room that can suspend 'real world' systems and relationships. A room where you get better at your craft … [Read more...]

A book that has been foundational for me making sense of orchestras is Reframing Organizations by Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal. I use their ideas all the time when I’m trying to figure out what's going on in orchestras. Bolman and Deal talk about looking at our organizations - and our choices for action - through four frames: the structural frame, the human resources frame, … [Read more...]