The Philadelphia-based ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir wove social justice issues into its original mission. With its start coinciding with the social revolutions of the 1970s, the choir performs works by and about women and became the first and longest-running feminist choir in the nation. However, recent social movements prompted the choir to question its internal structures to become more gender inclusive.

 This case explores the relatively opaque industry phenomenon of secondary composing.  The case involves an unseasoned secondary composer’s contract and responsibilities writing music for a primetime television show.

This study highlights key moments in the group’s early history and focuses on serious internal questions about its effort to respect the Balinese tradition while exploring new horizons with gamelan music.

Explore how this free music academy removes barriers to high quality music education in Rochester, NY while operating within a governance structure consisting of cultural, educational, and governmental partners

This study examines the initial idea, development, and marketing of an online AP® Music Theory course, concluding with questions regarding the expansion of a community music division’s online initiative.

Witness the development of an advisory council at the Regina Symphony Orchestra, specially established to build trust and meaningful engagement through music with a large Indigenous community in southern Saskatchewan.

Discover the history of the Los Angeles-based professional ensemble Tonality, a diverse group of singers committed to presenting issues of social justice through the choral art. Recommend a strategy for touring in light of the organization’s bold mission.

Bang on a Can is a premier contemporary classical music organization reflecting expansive musical tastes. Develop ways of broadening its audience with a multi-day, multi-location concert series.

Explore major challenges in the history of the Nashville Symphony and observe the trust built between administration and musicians through an open culture of communication.

Examine the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra’s involvement with Native American communities and propose steps for expanding community programming amid internal conversations on equity, diversity, and inclusion.  In partnership with League of American Orchestras

 

Immerse in the Chicago-based chamber music group’s culture of collaboration and education, while witnessing the pros and cons of artist booking agents.

Peer into the operations of the largest presenter of early music workshops in North America, assisting with pressing questions about accommodating families.

Survey the progression toward a major capital project at Mount Royal Conservatory.

Jazz St. Louis is the third-largest not-for-profit jazz institution of its kind in the United States. Suggest improvements to its programming and structure in light of its mission.

Recommend marketing ideas for an organization committed to social justice issues in art.

Experience first principles of negotiation in the context of a pops orchestra’s quest for a home base.

This case study explores the DSO’s organizational changes over time, focusing on decision-making relative to financial planning and organizational planning, community relationships, and programming initiatives.

Track the impact of a one-time bridge funding gift that turned around the San Francisco Symphony.

Investigate the impact of scientific research on community outreach initiatives of Arizona’s only full-time professional orchestra. In partnership with League of American Orchestras

Observe innovative approaches to programming with the International Beethoven Project and develop strategies for dealing with negative press.

Examine the scope of educational programming and analyze audience survey data from Chanticleer, one of the world’s premier choral ensembles.

Understand and apply basic concepts of cultural humility as it concerns Buffalo String Works, a music academy that serves refugee and immigrant families.

Explore the effectiveness of fundraising initiatives for student scholarships and community interaction at Luzerne Music Center and brainstorm how this organization can effectively raise additional funds for a capital campaign without reducing yearly operating income.

Explore how stakeholders at the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, with a history of musician-led governance, weigh decisions that involve balancing artistic and personnel decisions with budget sustainability and organization health.

Lara Downes is an artist who aims to use her talent and experience for social good. Learn of her journey and propose ways to strengthen a promising partnership with a children’s rights advocate and expand the global reach of this program.

Review the financials of Kinnara Ensemble, a project-based choir started by graduates of Westminster Choir College. Learn how they operate, the issues they face with hiring local and national talent, as well as their current concerns with stabilizing revenue.

CelloBello.com is an online educational resource, started by Paul Katz, for both amateur and professional cellists. Review partnerships, organizational changes, as well as basic audience analytics for the website, while exploring how to support the costs of expansion.

Understand the process of succession planning for the executive and artistic director of Art of Élan, a San Diego presenter of chamber music concerts.

Witness the unexpected public response and management decisions faced by the rebranding of Artis—Naples, an interdisciplinary arts center in Southwest Florida.

Develop a marketing plan to expand the audience of the MostArts festival, an annual piano competition in the small town of Alfred, New York.

Participate in effort to diversify its programming and reach new audiences in the case of Philadelphia-based Astral Artists, which mentors classical musicians early in their performing careers.

Propose initiatives for soundSCAPE, an annual contemporary art music festival in Italy, which welcomes student composers and performers each summer into a collaborative artistic environment.

Evaluate the success of an inaugural convention focused on growing and sustaining minority representation in the field of classical music.

Readers will evaluate two funding scenarios that are being considered by the SSC leadership team to ensure the long-term prosperity and future growth of the program.

Consider a territorial release for licensing the recorded works of a leading composer to France and French territories, where the music is doing exceptionally well.

The reader is asked to devise a set of recommendations for hiring new staff members, considering the challenges associated with employing artists and non-artists in administrative positions.

Create an expansion plan that details the actions needed to establish a new university chapter of Musical Mentors and to examine the implications of its commitment to instructor autonomy.

Examine the rostering personnel system developed by Break of Reality, a cross-genre chamber quartet.

Visit perspectives on the recording industry and musicians navigating the new landscape heavily impacted by digital service providers.

Examine a contract dispute between the management and unionized players one of the largest orchestras in New England.

Examine plans to fund and build the new state- of-the-art home of The New World Symphony in the midst of an economic recession.

Examine how an experimental arts festival continues to focus on the local community in the face of increasing national interest and outside funding.

Trace the inception and growth of University Musical Society’s Renegade, a program of performances at the University of Michigan, which features provocative artistic works.

Profile contrasting artist residency agreements in Eighth Blackbird’s portfolio–one with a university and the other with a museum of contemporary art.

Explore the philosophy behind Groupmuse, who provide high-caliber chamber music concerts in intimate settings, and the rationale to expand the organization into additional markets.

The Weill Music Institute (WMI) is the educational arm of Carnegie Hall.  Examine the structure and growth of one program, Link Up, as well as preparation for growing another, Musical Explorers.

Follow the first and largest successful merger of a professional orchestra with an existing community music school in the United States from the genesis through early challenges.

Follow the role of process surrounding foundation giving for San Francisco Girls Chorus, a performing arts organization and a school of music.

How does an arts organization that prides itself on eschewing traditional venues react when given the chance to settle in a space of its own ?

Learn about the role and strategies of advocacy for the arts in education while following the long journey toward passage of state level legislation in support of public arts education.