League of American Orchestra

Conference Highlights

JUN 13

Constituency Meeting, Networking and Social

Volunteer Networking Dinner

Location: Duquesne Club

Get together with other orchestra volunteers for a “Taco Tuesday” at the historic Duquesne Club. Located in the heart of the Golden Triangle and walking distance from the Conference Hotel, this beautiful facility is on the National Registry of Historic Places. You will enjoy a taco buffet, receive a ticket for a drink of your choice (Margarita? Sangria?), and get to know your fellow delegates. Take advantage of this opportunity to see the intricate architecture and influential art of this gorgeous club. For those interested, at the end of the evening there will be a docent-led tour of the Duquesne Club’s world-class art collection.

Cost: $60

JUN 14

General Session, Live Music

Opening Concert and Keynote

Speaker(s): Rich Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, Allegheny County; Ed Gainey, Mayor, City of Pittsburgh; Manfred Honeck, Music Director, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair, National Endowment for the Arts; Melia Tourangeau, President and CEO, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Simon Woods, President and CEO, League of American Orchestras

Location: Heinz Hall Theater

Welcome to the League’s 78th National Conference as we kick off in beautiful Heinz Hall with performances by both the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, playing Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Márquez led by Music Director Jacob Joyce, and the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras, playing Umoja, Anthem of Unity for orchestra by Valerie Coleman under the direction of Music Director and Conductor Brian Worsdale.

The opening session will feature a keynote by National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, as well as welcomes from League President and CEO Simon Woods, Pittsburgh Symphony President and CEO Melia Tourangeau, Pittsburgh Symphony Music Director Manfred Honeck, Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald, and City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey.

BMI has generously co-sponsored the Opening Session at the League’s Conference.

JUN 14

Live Music

Pre-Concert Conversations: Clef Notes

Location: Heinz Hall Theater

From 6:35-7:00pm, join Pittsburgh Symphony Assistant Conductor, Jacob Joyce, for Clef Notes: The Conversation, an insight conversation about the evening’s program. We’re pleased to be joined, as well, by special guests including composer Stacy Garrop who will share commentary on her new work written for the Pittsburgh Symphony, Forging Steel.

Or, get a quick snapshot overview of the program, as well as a brief Q and A, at Clef Notes: The Snapshot from 7:15-7:25pm in the Encore Lounge.

JUN 14

Live Music

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Concert

Location: Heinz Hall Theater

Purchase your tickets directly through the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Use promo code Orch2023 for pre-sale access. 

About This Concert

The Conference concert on Wednesday, June 14 at Heinz Hall features the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Manfred Honeck, in a program showcasing the exceptional depth of this artistic partnership, as well as a bouquet of works with Pittsburgh roots. Wynton Marsalis’ fanfare Herald, Holler, and Hallelujah (co-commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony) opens the program and is followed by a second Pittsburgh Symphony commission, Forging Steel by Stacy Garrop, that will have received its world premiere in Pittsburgh just a few days earlier (June 9). The June 14 Pittsburgh Symphony concert also showcases the outstanding talent of 20-year-old Spanish violin virtuoso María Dueñas who will take center stage in Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole. Two of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s signature works bring the program to a grand conclusion: Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919), as well as an innovative collaboration with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in Ravel’s Bolero featuring original choreography by former Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Susan Jaffe who now heads the American Ballet Theatre. 

Program

Wynton Marsalis: Herald, Holler, and Hallelujah [ CO-COMMISSION ]   
Stacy Garrop: Forging Steel [ COMMISSION + WORLD PREMIERE JUNE 9, 2023]   
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole (María Dueñas, violin)
Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird
Ravel: Bolero with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre [ ORIGINAL CHOREOGRAPHY ]     

Artists
Manfred Honeck, conductor
María Dueñas, violin

JUN 14

Networking and Social, Live Music

Tune-Up Party

Location: Heinz Hall Theater

Following the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s performance on Wednesday, be sure to stay for the Tune-Up Party. Come for the performance and festivities; stay for the conversation and company!

This event is open to all Conference registrants; you’ll just need your badge to enter.

JUN 15

Elective

Leveraging Volunteer Power to Amplify Orchestras’ Fundraising and Community Outreach

Speaker(s): Janet Cabot, Volunteer Council President and Board Member, League of American Orchestras and Board Member, Madison Symphony; Ginger Denney, President, Amarillo Symphony Guild; Marena Gault, Volunteer Council Member, Dallas Symphony; Larry Lang, Executive Director, Amarillo Symphony; Kim Noltemy, President and CEO, Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Robert Reed, Executive Director, Madison Symphony Orchestra; Nancy Wrenn, Advisor and Parliamentarian, Women’s Symphony League of Tyler

This session will include a panel discussion moderated by Nancy Wrenn of the Women’s Symphony League of Tyler with 3 orchestras of varying sizes as examples of successful collaboration between orchestras and volunteer leagues. Discussion will include the opportunities and challenges to overcome, making the case for why orchestras need a strong volunteer organization, and the resources that volunteers can provide.

JUN 15

Elective

Shared Services: How the Downtown Pittsburgh Cultural Organizations Benefit by Working Together to Lift All Boats

Speaker(s): Marilyn Coleman, Consultant and Director of Shared Services; Christopher Hahn, General Director, Pittsburgh Opera; Aleta King, Vice President Marketing & Sales, Pittsburgh Symphony; Rona Nesbit, Executive Vice President, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust; Janet Sarbaugh, Retired Vice President of Creativity, The Heinz Endowments

Orchestras large and small can benefit from cost savings, and one model is to partner with sister organizations in the same community. The Pittsburgh Cultural District’s unique program of Shared Services, an innovative operational collaboration, provides the seven major arts organizations in the district with scaled fees depending on budget to purchase healthcare together, to screen Tessitura data for marketing mailings across the district, and to create joint brochures and marketing campaigns. This collaboration offers human and employee resources to the seven companies and pools the purchasing of office supplies as well as program book advertising and printing. 

The idea was founded by the Board leadership of a few of the seven major arts organizations in the district with seed funding provided from the foundation community. Over 20 years later, Shared Services is now a self-funded model. Join us to learn how your community could replicate this hugely beneficial program that saves the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra about $1 million a year in healthcare alone.

JUN 15

Elective

Trends in Giving: A Deep Dive into Data on the Philanthropic Environment

Speaker(s): Laura MacDonald, President and Founder, Benefactor Group; Marlah Bonner, Vice President, Development, League of American Orchestras

Despite the global pandemic, economic headwinds, and social disruptions, charitable giving to the arts sector increased in 2021. But what about ’22 , ’23, and the future? The sector is sensitive to the economy: recession, market fluctuations, inflation, and other factors influence whether giving grows or declines. And calls for racial equity and diversity offer both opportunity and challenges.

Laura MacDonald, Principal and Founder of Benefactor Group, will explore trends in philanthropy to the arts—focusing on orchestras—and engage a panel of orchestra leaders to discuss the specific impact for members of the League of American Orchestras, and how they may leverage opportunities created by the recent shifts in the philanthropic landscape. 

Key trends we will explore include:

  • The Highly Coveted Intergenerational Transfer of Wealth
  • Evolving Preferences Among Grantors and Mega-Donors
  • Rallying Annual Fund Donors
  • Trends in Funding for Racial Equity 
  • Donor Advised Funds 
  • The War for Talent

JUN 15

Elective

Creating a Culture of Innovation

Speaker(s): Farnam Jahanian, President, Carnegie Mellon University and Ex-Officio Board Member, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

What can the orchestra field learn from how start-ups create a culture of innovation? The tech sector in particular is a world of constant development, of innovation and new ideas, of failing fast and often, and of potential big wins and sometimes big losses. Farnam Jahanian, President of Carnegie Mellon University, moderates a panel of local Pittsburgh tech companies about how they got their start, where they are now, what lessons they’ve learned, and where they see their business evolving into the future. Learn about their core values, what drives them, their challenges, and how they have overcome and grown.

Volunteer Notes
Directions for Registering

Diane.unkovic@gmail.com

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