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): Myla Hite, TransformationWRX and former federal Mediator; and Xavier Merizalde, TransformationWRX and former federal Mediator

Seasoned 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 bargaining committee structures

• Work proactively together on strategic objectives

• Create strategies for conducting productive contract negotiations

• Provide insights that will apply to resolving grievances at the earliest stage of your grievance procedure

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

Note that this session was originally scheduled as a member-only Pre-Conference Seminar with the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service. League members can continue to register at the deeply discounted rate of $45, which covers food and beverage costs, through the Conference Early Bird Deadline of April 24.

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: Blue Iguana (165 S West Temple. For elevator access to the restaurant, please call 801-593-8900.)

Enjoy a special lunchtime gathering with fellow members of the ALAANA Affinity Group, designed to foster connections and meaningful conversations to support orchestra leaders, administrators, and musicians who 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 via this form; please be sure to be logged in to your member account. You will be redirected to your profile page after submitting the form. If you need help with your login, contact Member Services at member@americanorchestras.org. You can also contact Sam Andrew at sandrew@americanorchestras.org if you have any questions about the affinity group.

Location: Maurice Abravanel Hall

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

Hear the Utah Symphony led by Music Director Emeritus 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’s 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.