Join us for a half-day event showcasing technology offerings in the areas of marketing, data management and CRM, ticketing, online program notes, audience engagement apps, in-hall concert technologies, 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 Hall, with presentations in adjoining rooms. See the schedule of presentations.

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

Location: Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts

Round trip transportation will be provided from the Marriott Marquis Houston.

Speaker(s): Gabriela Lena Frank, Composer-in-Residence, The Philadelphia Orchestra; Lee Koonce, Former President and Artistic Director, Gateways Music Festival; John Mangum, Executive Director/CEO, Margaret Alkek Williams Chair, Houston Symphony; Juraj Valčuha, Music Director, Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair, Houston Symphony; Michael Webster, Artistic Director, Houston Youth Symphony; and Simon Woods, President and CEO, League of American Orchestras

The Opening Session will showcase the Houston Youth Symphony conducted by Artistic Director Michael Webster performing Grammy winner Jessie Montgomery's Soul Force and Silvestre Revueltas's Sensemayá.

We’ll also hear a keynote address from Gabriela Lena Frank, winner of a Latin Grammy and nominee for Grammys as both composer and pianist. She is currently serving as Composer-in-Residence with The Philadelphia Orchestra and is a former Composer-in-Residence with the Houston Symphony.

Another highlight of the opening will be the presentation of the Gold Baton Award, the League’s highest honor, to Lee Koonce. Lee has served as President and Artistic Director of Gateways Music Festival, Executive Director of Ballet Hispanico in New York City, Executive Director of Third Street Music School Settlement, and Director of Community Relations for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Akustiks, HGA Architects, and Schuler Shook have generously co-sponsored the Opening Session at the League's Conference.

Speaker(s): Dr. Durell Cooper, Founder and CEO, Cultural Innovation Group; Douglas Hagerman, Board Chair, League of American Orchestras; and Donna Walker-Kuhne, President, Walker International Communications Group, Inc

Friday afternoon’s general session will lead off with the League’s Annual Meeting, followed by an interactive session led by Donna Walker-Kuhne and Dr. Durell Cooper on the creation of strategies that integrate community engagement, inclusion, and marketing into new holistic approaches to audience development. It will cover the need to have courageous conversations with internal and external stakeholders, the importance of building safe spaces for communities in our halls, emerging approaches to audience and revenue growth, and bringing adjacent organizational disciplines such as artistic planning, marketing, and community engagement together to work ambitiously toward newly aligned goals.

Orchestra teams are encouraged to sit together. Re-Envisioning Audiences will include group discussions, collaborative activities, and Q&As. We will conclude with a summary of key takeaways, distilling the insights shared and providing actionable points for participants to implement in their audience engagement efforts. This session promises to be an enriching experience, offering valuable insights and practical strategies for organizations seeking to build the inclusive audience of the future.

This session is made possible by a generous grant from The Wallace Foundation.

Speaker(s): Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, Founder and Director, Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM)

The Conference will conclude with a luncheon featuring Resilient Sounds, a Houston Symphony project—in partnership with Rice University, University of Houston, and Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston—celebrating the determination and hope of Houston’s refugee communities.

We’ll also hear from Dr. Ahmad Naser Sarmast, Founding Director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), which fled Taliban-occupied Kabul for Lisbon, where the entire school community was not only granted asylum but also invited to resettle and rebuild.

No additional cost. The Closing Luncheon is included in your Conference registration!

The Closing Luncheon has been generously co-sponsored by Threshold Acoustics and YPTC (Your Part Time Controller).