Connect and collaborate with fellow Inclusive Stages coalition members at our final in-person summer convening in Atlanta, GA. This convening will provide an opportunity to share insights, strengthen connections, and advance collective goals. A significant portion of the day will be dedicated to working group sessions, providing focused time to make meaningful progress on coalition-wide priorities. A detailed agenda will be shared directly with coalition members.

Please note: This event is open to Inclusive Stages Coalition Members only.

This convening is made possible by a generous grant from the Sakana Foundation.

Pickup and Dropoff from the Hyatt Regency Atlanta

Explore Atlanta with your orchestra colleagues! Join us for a relaxed tour aboard a comfortable, air-conditioned coach, reserved just for League Conference delegates. A friendly local guide shares the city’s history and culture as you enjoy a guided tour inside Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and Ebenezer Baptist Church. In addition, you’ll stroll the Atlanta Beltline to Krog Street Market, then take a snack break at Ponce City Market (snacks not included). Along the way, you’ll also pass the stately Buckhead mansions, Centennial Olympic Park attractions, and other landmarks, with plenty of photo stops and no need to navigate or park.

Lunch is not included on this tour, so a heavier breakfast or grabbing a bite before boarding the bus is encouraged.

Underwritten by Nine Muses Travel

Cost: $35

The Education and Community Engagement (EdCE) constituency will meet in Atlanta to learn together while building and strengthening connections to each other.

Topics are currently in development with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s EdCE team. The meeting typically includes a mix of learning about the host orchestra’s programming and partnerships as well as a range of perspectives from the broader constituency on a selected topic. An agenda will be posted in the coming months.

Please note: the Education and Community Engagement (EdCE) Half-Day meeting is designed for and open to professionals from member orchestras who specialize in this work. If you have any questions, please contact nlee@americanorchestras.org. Space may be limited and therefore priority will be given to registrants from the EdCE constituency. The registration fee covers costs for light refreshments.

Cost: $85 Early Bird | $95 Regular 

Speakers: Judy Cortez, Certified Conflict Management Professional, Transformation WRX, Myla Hite, Certified Conflict Management Professional (SHRM-SCP), Transformation WRX

Your most successful negotiation likely required more than exchanging proposals across the bargaining table—it needed strategic preparation, effective decision-making, productive relationships, and the ability to manage conflict before it undermined your progress.

In this Pre-Conference Seminar, explore techniques to collaboratively negotiate, build trust, and create durable agreements through the principles and practices of negotiating for mutual gains.

Learn how to:

• Prepare effectively for negotiations by clarifying interests and objectives

• Create an authorizing environment that supports informed and timely decision-making

• Apply Mutual Gains principles to identify opportunities for joint problem solving

• Recognize and address adversarial bargaining dynamics before they become entrenched

• Evaluate bargaining proposals through a sustainability and strategic planning lens

• Use mediation techniques to facilitate dialogue, manage conflict, and overcome impasse

• Employ practical bargaining tools that improve outcomes and strengthen relationships

Take away strategies for achieving agreements that support organizational health, artistic excellence, and constructive labor-management relationships.

Cost: $340 League Member | $425 Not-Yet-Member 

Speaker: Glenda Hicks, Founder & CEO, 501c Impact!

Many orchestra boards have no shortage of people willing to serve. The challenge is finding and engaging the right people: those who understand that board membership is about more than preserving tradition. Great board members bring diverse perspectives, critical thinking, community connections, and a commitment to governance beyond financial contributions. These key leaders can help orchestras stay relevant, sustainable, and responsive to evolving community expectations.

In this highly interactive workshop, you'll unpack a structured nine-step board recruitment framework grounded in nonprofit governance best practices and change management principles. Through peer learning, discussion, and practical exercises, examine assumptions about board service and composition and explore strategies for attracting members whose skills and connections support long-term success.

Leave with practical tools and frameworks to bring back to your board, sparking meaningful conversations about recruitment, board culture, and governance effectiveness.

Cost: $340 League Member | $425 Not-Yet-Member 

Speakers: John Kieser, Arts and Media Consultant, JDJK Consulting; Leonie Bartels, Market Access and Professionalization Lead, IMZ Academy; Peter Maniura, Director and Digital Strategist, IMZ Academy

Orchestras are creating more video content than ever—for marketing, social media, fundraising, touring, education, sponsorship, and audience engagement. But too often, a video is commissioned before the most important question has been answered: what exactly do we need this video to accomplish?

Explore how orchestras can use video more strategically and effectively in this interactive workshop. Beginning with “purpose before production,” examine how different objectives and audiences require different approaches to storytelling, format, length, production, and distribution. Look at what makes a video compelling, how to commission and work effectively with creative professionals, and how to evaluate whether a video actually achieved its purpose. Through case studies and hands-on exercises, discover practical frameworks and tools you can use right away at your own orchestra.

Cost: $340 League Member | $425 Not-Yet-Member 

Come along for a "team" outing with fellow Conference attendees and spend the evening of June 1 at Truist Park, when the Atlanta Braves host the Colorado Rockies. First pitch is at 7:15pm.

Orchestras and ballclubs both depend on perfect timing, a deep bench, and a crowd who loves every tradition. Come see how the Braves handle it, then compare notes at the seventh-inning stretch.

Tickets are $35 each. Transportation is on your own. If you’d like to share a ride, meet in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency at 6:15pm and split a car with fellow attendees.

Space is limited, so reserve your ticket by April 15, along with your Conference registration.

Cost: $35

Join us for a half-day event showcasing technology offerings built for orchestras and the performing arts in areas such as marketing and digital advertising, data management and CRM, ticketing, dynamic pricing and revenue analysis, audience engagement apps, website management, accounting and finance, and more. Get to know the companies behind these offerings, learn how your peers are innovating with technology, and pick up tips and tricks for creative ways to take better advantage of the tools you have.

The Tech Fair will take place in the Exhibit Area, with presentations in adjoining rooms. Once confirmed, the schedule of presentations will be posted at https://leagueconference.org/tech-fair.

If you are interested in being part of the Tech Fair, please be in touch with Steve Alter at salter@americanorchestras.org.

No additional cost. The Tech Fair is included in your Conference registration!

Enjoy educational content curated specifically for orchestra board members, along with time for peer discussions and networking opportunities. In response to feedback, this year's Orchestra Board Member Forum has been consolidated into one day to support your busy schedule.

Learn more about the Orchestra Board Member Forum.

Cost: $85 Early Bird | $95 Regular
This rate includes a working lunch and morning networking coffee break. Must be combined with a one-day or full Conference registration.  

Enjoy a special 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: Atlanta Symphony Hall
Transportation will be provided and is included in the cost of your concert ticket.

Concert tickets can be added on to your Conference registration until May 5, 2027. After that date, please purchase directly from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

About This Concert

Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann leads a thundering program of music by Russian composers, including Alexander Borodin’s irresistible, galloping Polovtsian Dances; Sergei Rachmaninoff’s electrifying Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, featuring ASO Artist-in-Residence Anna Geniushene on piano; and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s fateful Symphony No. 4.

This program also showcases the renowned Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.