Orchestra Management Fellowship Program

Polly Kahn, Vice President for Learning and Leadership Development at the League of American Orchestras, asked Polyphonic to post information about the upcoming February 1st deadline for applications for their prestigious Orchestra Management Fellowship program.
The Orchestra Management Fellowship program is the League’s premier leadership training program, and is designed to launch executive careers in American orchestra management. Fellows receive valuable work experience while undertaking a series of residencies with orchestras of various sizes, participate in leadership seminars, and receive a comprehensive overview of the classical music industry. Since 1981, more than 175 Fellows have graduated from the program and many hold prestigious executive leadership positions in America’s orchestras.
Fellows must commit to a one-year program, running from June 2013 to June 2014, and must be able to relocate for their orchestra residency assignments.The fellowship includes a stipend of $40,000.
Over the 30+ years of the Fellowship program, many professional performing musicians have transitioned to the executive side of the orchestra business via the Orchestra Management Fellowship program. Both Fellows for the current year (2012-2013), Eska Laskus and Agnieszka Rakhmatullaev, are also professional violinists. For complete information about the application process for the  Orchestra Management Fellowship program, click here.
For musicians interested in exploring this route, I also recommend the League’s Essentials of Orchestra Management course, which is intended for people committed to a career serving American orchestras with less than three years of experience on the administrative side. The course takes 30 people a year; via competitive application. According to Polly Kahn, “A third of our attendees are working musicians. Some are also fulfilling an administrative role, and others are musicians who are in a career-transition moment – their active life as performers may be ending and they are expanding their knowledge base and interaction with others. Close to 20% of our faculty are active musicians, including composers.”
While the deadline for this “Orchestra Boot Camp” experience has passed for 2013, you can get more information about the program by clicking here.