There can be no doubt that American orchestras are in a state of dramatic, systemic change. Several orchestras have shut down, others are in serious crisis. The bad news keeps growing by the week: the long, tumultuous strike in Detroit, bankruptcies and liquidations in Florida, Syracuse, Honolulu, Louisville, New Mexico, and most soberingly, in Philadelphia. Opera, theatre, and dance are also being challenged, but orchestras are in the lead by far. The arts blogosphere is atwitter (pun intended) with conversations about business models, labor issues, declining support, cultural relevancy, and so forth.   Sure, the NEA, the Wallace and Knight Foundations, the League of American Orchestras, and others, have commissioned numerous studies about what is happening to the field, and why, to try to help orchestras understand and weather these storms. But as I read some of these studies and then look back at the field, I think, okay, I agree with this data… but what are we doing about it?

A few weeks ago, I read a most intriguing post by Jeffrey Nytch, Director of the Entrepreneurship for Music at the University of Colorado in Boulder at the excellent Entrepreneur The Arts blog:

Are we finally going to get serious about the crisis facing America’s orchestras? | Entrepreneur the Arts

This article jumped out at me like a breath of fresh air. Mr. Nytch poses a deep, serious question that has been at the forefront of my mind over the last three years that I’ve been away from orchestra management working in higher education.  I’m pointing out this article because it didn’t seem to get many responses.  At least, not yet.  But his call for the reinvention of the orchestral enterprise is long overdue.  Here is Mr. Nytch’s statement about entrepreneurship and the direct challenge:

“…one of the cardinal rules of entrepreneurship is that markets that are in extreme turmoil are markets ripe with opportunity – for those who are able to see the problems from a different perspective, that is. So how would an entrepreneurial approach change the way we go about solving the current orchestral crisis? If you were to re-invent the orchestra from scratch, based on the principles of entrepreneurship, what would you come up with?

Arts managers, consultants, arts journalists and bloggers love to analyze the problems facing the non-profit arts industry, myself included.  Arts managers talk a lot about problems because their feet are in the fire daily. They are often stretched in fifty different directions dealing with the many functions in their organization, there’s rarely time or space to really step back, analyze the issues, and develop truly entrepreneurial ideas to change their business. I think this makes a lot of hard-working orchestra professionals ill-equipped to be among ”those able to see the problems from a different perspective.” For truly revolutionary – risky - new ideas that managers might discover, develop, or desire to implement, traditional practices and institutional fear can make change an extremely challenging process, particularly for musicians and board members.

Arts consultants talk a lot about problems because they are the ones usually invited into a crisis situation to help analyze and solve them.  Often, consultants are forced to put a temporary bandage on a problem, leaving behind a set of “doctor’s orders” or recommendations for further consideration when the organization is able to take another step forward. Arts consultants are sometimes too timid to explose the truly big hairy audacious problem at the root of all others inside a particular orchestra. (That is, until it’s time for the annual orchestra conference, when entire sessions are devoted to these earth shattering discoveries – with names removed, of course).

Arts journalists and bloggers report a great deal about the problems in the orchestra field… because, well, we know that bad news sells more papers, attracts more hits, and generates reactionary buzz.  Journalists are obligated to report on significant issues facing their communities, including crisis in the arts. Bloggers tend to write about problems out of their need to react and express their opinions on the issues. There’s nothing wrong with talking about the problems in the field, but it is time we start answering the call for innovation and build more creative conversations around that.

One of the reasons I just went to the TEDxMichiganAvenue Arts and Innovation sessions last Saturday in Chicago was because I’m tired of reporting on and responding to crisis in the arts field.  I want to explore and talk about solutions. So, in the spirit of entrepreneurial innovation, I hereby accept Mr. Nytch’s challenge. I’m going to give myself the same kind of assignment I would give to my students in Arts Management 101: Develop a New Business Plan for an Arts Organization. In this case, it will be a plan for an orchestra in the 21st century.  Because I’ve been trained as a traditional arts administrator, and I’ve worked in that field for 12 years, I know it won’t be as easy as I think. So many practices in orchestral production, presentation,  financing, and administration are deeply rooted in tradition.  It may be touch to step back far enough and truly begin with a blank page. But I love a good challenge.

I invite reader participation in this challenge, too. Feel free to e-mail me if you have an idea, or if you would like to contribute a guest post, or just comment here as we go.