The Education and Community Engagement (EdCE) Half-Day Meeting is a dedicated time for professionals from member orchestras who specialize in this work to learn together, building and strengthening constituency connections in a focused session before the League's National Conference begins.

Full details to come; exact start and end times are subject to change with an optional constituency dinner to follow. If you have any questions, please contact nlee@americanorchestras.org. Space may be limited and therefore priority will be given to EdCE registrants.

Cost: $75 Early Bird (by April 24); $85 Regular

Speaker(s): Rachel Lev, Commissioner, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service; Xavier Merizalde, Commissioner, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service; Stephen Millen, Commissioner, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service; and Jimmy Valentine, Commissioner, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service

Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS) mediators will share best practices for developing mutually beneficial relationships between orchestra managements and musicians and for resolving conflicts when they occur. Key takeaways will be how to:

• Develop collaborative orchestra committee structures

• Resolve grievances at the earliest stage of your grievance procedure

• Work proactively together on strategic objectives

• Create strategies for conducting productive contract negotiations

Cost: $45 League Member

Speaker(s): Simon Woods, President and CEO, League of American Orchestras

Every orchestra needs to be intentional about what it believes in and where it is headed. Strategic planning is a vital organizational process that brings people together, aligns stakeholders around a common purpose, guides strategy, and provides a backbone for public messaging.

League President and CEO Simon Woods will demystify a topic that tends to inspire apprehension and anxiety, helping participants to run planning processes that are ambitious, clear, and collaborative, and generate positive energy across the organization. Key topics will include mission statements, research, types of planning processes, workflows and sequencing, and communications. Participants will leave with a practical and actionable toolkit to help them plan effectively and release the power of collective thinking in their organizations.

Cost: $310 League Member / $385 Not-Yet-Member

Location: TBA

Round trip transportation will be provided from the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City.

Experience the beauty and uniqueness of Utah coupled with fantastic music, nature, and great company. After a short, gentle hike/nature walk and dinner outdoors, we will be treated to an immersive performance by multi-instrumentalist and composer Clarice Assad (represented by Cadenza Artists) and several other musicians, surrounded by natural beauty. Clarice is known for interactive work that urges audience engagement and—sometimes—participation, and this experience will not disappoint in featuring those unique elements.

Location to be announced soon. Dinner will be provided.

Cost: $45

Enjoy a special lunchtime gathering with fellow members of the ALAANA Affinity Group, designed to foster connections and meaningful conversations. This event brings together individuals at all levels of responsibility in their organization who self-identify as people of African, Latinx, Asian, Arab/Middle Eastern, or Native American descent (ALAANA). If you are not already part of the ALAANA Affinity Group, opt in at the end of this demographic survey. Lunch will be provided for ALAANA members who register.

Location: Maurice Abravanel Hall

Concert tickets can be added on to your Conference registration [link to reg form] until May 16, 2025. After that date, please purchase directly from the Utah Symphony.

Hear the Utah Symphony led by Music Director Thierry Fischer on Thursday, June 12 at Maurice Abravanel Hall, one of the nation’s premiere concert venues. Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang will make her Utah Symphony debut with the Korngold Violin Concerto on a program bookended by Mexican composers past and present. Revueltas’ Noche de encantamiento warns of the dangers of cultural clashes, while Gabriela Ortiz’ Téenek leaves us with the message that a hopeful future lies in recognizing each other’s respective identities and differences—and weaving them together creates something stronger than the sum of the parts. 

The Conference Tune-Up Party will follow.