Facilitator(s): Brian Baxter, Executive Director, Quad City Symphony Orchestra; Caitlin Lingle Bishop, Director of Marketing, Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Chelsea Sammons, Director of Education and Community Engagement, Quad City Symphony Orchestra

Explore how orchestras can evolve to be more inclusive, youth-focused, and community-centric, all while ensuring financial sustainability. Through a multi-pronged approach to audience development, emphasizing inclusivity, youth engagement, and robust community partnerships, discuss how orchestral music can be accessible to all, especially underserved and diverse populations.

Highlighting the Quad City Symphony Orchestra’s youth-centric initiatives, from Students @ Symphony, which invites school music groups to Masterworks performances, to the formation of the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Concert Club, discover how to nurture the next generation of orchestra enthusiasts and reinforce your community-centric entity, bringing people together through music. Discuss strategies that can help you deepen community ties, cultivate future subscribers, and ensure enduring relevance and growth.