My Future Goals as an Arts Administrator

As someone who sees themselves in the music nonprofit world in the next 1-10 years (hopefully!), there are plenty of opportunities to integrate new and innovative ideas into my work. Many people on the street might say that classical music is a dying art form, but myself and many other future arts administrators are trying to change that.

The music nonprofit world is very large and there are many different parts of it I can go into, but my goal is to one day work for an orchestra. As many of the audiences of classical music performances are overwhelmingly older white people, many arts administrators are trying to come up with new and creative ways of bringing in a younger crowd to their concerts. How can we make classical music more interesting and accessible to millenials and the younger generations? Does it begin with changing the programming to be more appealing for a younger crowd? Or does it start with community outreach from a young age? There are so many more questions like these that arts administrators are trying to answer.

My internship from last summer was with the American Symphony Orchestra and the adjoining master’s program orchestra called The Orchestra Now, otherwise known as TON (pronounced like tone). TON is a very innovative organization and is described on their website as “a unique pre-professional orchestra and master’s degree program designed to prepare musicians for the challenges facing the modern symphony orchestra.” Their programs are engaging for diverse audiences and the musicians give introductions about the music on-stage and interact with patrons during intermissions. TON is the only pre-professional orchestra with an accompanying master’s program in the world. I think organizations like this one show a glimpse of what orchestras will be like in the future.

(The Orchestra Now with conductor Leon Botstein)

A long-term professional goal of mine is to create or work for an organization like TON, as I don’t think symphony orchestras will continue to spark the interest of the rising generations (much to my dismay, I will always love the Boston Symphony Orchestra). I think a large problem starts with kids not learning to play an instrument from a young age. I saw a fact online, it may or may not be entirely true, but it said “20% of kids learn to play music, 70% of adults wish they had.”

Even if this fact isn’t 100% accurate, I think there is some truth to it. Learning how to play an instrument teaches you much more than just the instrument; it teaches you discipline and changes how you think about things. From personal experience of playing the violin from age 6 up until now as a senior in college, I feel like having the violin in my life for so long has taught me a lot about myself and how I learn and understand things. I think creating a program that teaches children instruments at a young age is one of the first of many steps of introducing classical music into the lives of the younger generations.

I wish I could think of more personal or professional goals for myself but like many other college students about to graduate, my future is unclear at this point. As a musician, I have also considered the idea of teaching violin to children. I had the same violin teacher from when I started at six years old until I graduated high school and he gave me a love for music from a very young age, and I would love to be able to do the same for others. Even learning to appreciate classical music from a young age can make the world of a difference in the future of music organizations. I hope that one day I will be able to start something, I don’t know what yet, that will improve the lives of the younger generations.