Chicago: Day 4

James Barry:
When I started at the League back in October I often heard around the office phrases such as: "just wait until conference, remember at conference, well... at conference." I was fairly certain this conference thing must be a pretty big deal. Now in Chicago on my fourth day I have the bragging rights to speak phrases that end in "conference." Simply: it has been a whirlwind. I expected and was warned about the long hours, having to rise at the crack of dawn, the non-stop work - which all happened. But the things I didn't foresee or expect are those that have left the strongest impression on me. On Wednesday just before 1pm I witnessed the Palmer House Hilton bristle to life with delegates: reunions of old friends, hugs, handshakes, new introductions, the beginning of new relationships. The inspirational power of the Beyond the Score presentation of the New World Symphony reinforced why all "this" matters. And when the CSO's facilities manager spoke at the Operations/General Managers constituency meeting about hall/office utility consumption I understood the level of detail and insight orchestra staff members have brought to coping with the new economic reality and their willingness to share successes with others.

day 3 begins...

people strolling into Orchestra Hall. Chicago youth symphony and MusicNOW beginning soon.

RE: Social Networking Time Management

Hi Liz here again -

Yesterday I engaged is some lively conversations about how to manage social
networking and not let it rule your every waking moment. It is very
important to keep these outlets fresh and new, but how can you fit updates
to these social sites in check. The suggestions I received were to limit
the social networking time to 5 to 30 minutes a day and no more----

Thanks

dead name badge

posted by liz Mahler via jim holt:

did liz "lose" her badge? yes.
did jim "find" it? yes.

Next

live from the bottom lounge. mmmm... bottom lounge.

RE: Churn Revisited

Hi Liz here again -

The Churn Revisited is a follow-up to the Churn study from the last
conference. This presentation will be up on the League site next week- this
information is not to be missed! The presentation shares some initial
findings from offers sent out based on the research on single ticket buying
habits and behavior-- I found it this insight helpful,and exciting to test
in my marketplace -

Liz

Frantic

Post by Alan Jordan

That's the word that first comes to mind to describe the pace of this
conference. And I don't mean that in a bad way but, honestly, it's been
non-stop since 7:30AM, and I have about 20 minutes until my next appointment.

So, why is this? From what I've experienced, people seem more interested in
getting information, making connections, sharing experiences, and finding
solutions. What I haven't seen as much are the war stories. Perhaps, we
all have had enough of our own war stories in the past twelve months that the
"venting" is just too painful—or unproductive. In any event, there's
drive here in Chicago. The people with whom I've interacted see the
challenges and are ready to take them on.

A long-time colleague remarked about how humorous it was that no one was
willing to admit how tough things are. In my mind, that's a given. We all
know it's "the worst of times." And there's a lot that we cannot
control or fix. So our focus should be on what we can fix. (First
"take-home:" get, "Polarity Management" by Barry Johnson. It
addresses just this topic. Thanks Andrew!)

Other notables today:

1) Beyond the Score—very interesting and enlightening presentation. Glad
the Civic still had enough chops left to play the whole New World in the
second half.

2) Churn and churn busters—THE buzz word and topic. Be prepared to hear
more on this for years.

3) "Being non-profit does not mean being stupid." (Actually, a quote
from yesterday, but so true! We don't need excuses like that. When this
economic mess is done, wouldn't it be nice to hear the phrase, "you should
run your business more like the Symphony!?"

4) Henry, the accolades today were wonderful but still do not convey how much
our field owes you! I add my thanks to everyone else's.

Off to my next meeting.

# # #

Peer-to-Peer Presentation

Posted by Jason Nicholson:
I gave my Peer-to-Peer presentation just now. I believe it went well. The people at my table were responsive and asked great questions. I hoped they got something out of it. I love talking about the BATS!

Presentations and Concerts

Posted by Jason Nicholson:

All I can say is WOW! The people I've met so far have been wonderful and what I have learned from them is invaluable.

The Chicago Symphony's performance last night was simply amazing. I don't think they are human because they don't make a mistake, yet the color and dynamics show everything only a human can possess. I know Chicago is proud of the gem they have here.

Blog entry

John Thomas Dodson:

 

Beyond the Score was extraordinary this morning - a model of imagination. I remembered thinking that there must be a number of orchestras rethinking their capacities for audience engagement as it took place. At least I hoped it did. In a Discovery Channel world, this is one of the fruitful ways forward for the field. Strangely, it was so well done that I had one private worry: I hoped that all of the marvelous technical achievements wouldn't discourage the smaller budget groups from pursuing this idea. There is a LOT that can be done in this vein - even without the vast resources we experienced today. As an aside, kudos to Sir Mark Elder, who completely entered into the project and brought his artistry to the young musicians of the Chicago Civic.... I can't imagine that they would ever forget such an event.

 

I heard a wonderful question today in one of the conductor/artist administrator sessions: "Are you doing anything NEW or just making incremental cuts to survive these times?" The question didn't come from the podium - perhaps it should have - but it really captured the challenge of these economic realities. We can't just cut, wait and survive. We have to create and re-imagine ourselves. I loved that moment: a quiet, thoughtful challenge to all of us.

 

Off to Peer-to-Peer Roundtables. I had better hurry...I'm presenting one of them. More later.