So I’ve accepted the challenge to put on an entrepreneurial hat and re-invent an American orchestra for the 21st century. This is my first post to formally open this can of paint.
At this early stage of exploring broader strokes of concept and philosophy, I’ve given my mock organization the name Musical Arts Development Corporation, or “MAD” for short. Therefore, this blog series will bear the title “Project MAD,” and I’ve created a blog category to group these entries together for easy reference. As I was pondering ideas to launch this series, a favorite quote from the film Network came to mind: “I am mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Sometimes a little anger leads to creativity, change, and action. I am rather perturbed at the state of the industry. So “Project MAD” it is. I may formally name the orchestra later.
Most arts organizations begin with the good old fashioned mission statement. Here’s my first draft:
The mission of the Musical Arts Development Corporation is to develop and sustain creative expression through the art of music for the benefit of humanity.
Not particularly exciting? Sorry. Please do note that unlike many common orchestra mission statements out there today, I have purposefully left out references to a specific geographic or social community, a statement of inherent quality, and no reference to specific programs, activities, or methods. One could fill a blog with all the “stuff” that goes into developing and writing an effective mission statement. I prefer not to overthink this item, and I am a firm believer in mission statements (and bylaws, for that matter) that allow room for flexibility, especially since it can be changed later. For now, I’m keeping it simple and straight-forward and checking “mission” off the list of things to do.
My next step was to think about some core values. What are some important bedrock values that I would want to establish as shared beliefs across this new musical organization? Some of these will make more sense as you learn more specifics about my model later. But here are my initial core values:
- Creativity – we support creativity in musical expression from composition through performance.
- Excellence - we pursue excellence in all that we do.
- Opportunity - we create a conducive environment for artists and citizens to learn, perform, and experience music at all levels.
- Responsibility - we operate within our means, and act ethically and responsibly in the acquisition and stewardship of our natural, human, and fiscal resources.
My next step was to jot down a few goals. Again, because I’m at the “big picture” stage of sketching out an entrepreneurial model in concept, it’s difficult to articulate specific, juicy, “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” of a musical organization that has not yet fully emerged. But I do have the following developmental goals to share, which are not in any sequence of steps. Some of them may seem very common for any orchestra – that’s because they are important:
- To attract and retain a high-caliber of musicians, arts educators and leaders.
- To champion the creation of new music as well as developing innovative approaches to the interpretation and presentation of classical music.
- To create and grow demand for live classical music and dominate the community marketshare for musical activity.
- To make programs affordable and accessible to the broadest possible audience.
- To share excellence in the music created locally with the world by any means possible.
Some additional preliminary thoughts:
I have not stated the geographic location where MAD will be located. My goal is to develop a concept orchestra that could be replicated, so location is really not so important. It may be determined later. Maybe there is an ideal home to this company – or not. I kind of like the idea that cities might compete to attract this orchestra or type of orchestra to its community, much like they compete to attract other commercial ventures. After all, I’m building a company that can bring at least 700% in direct and indirect economic impact along with it.
In the next post, I’ll be revealing more preliminary ideas behind the various goals, particularly goal #3, creating and growing demand for live classical music and dominating the marketshare for musical activity.
I encourage reader feedback and response.
