Can a Wikiorchestra succeed? Dare we try? And, Business Plan started.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Hello dear people. I’ve started the business plan tonight. I will forward you a copy of it if you ask for one and I’d like comments. As you read, think about what we can do to differentiate ourselves from the crowd. Here in Miami, so many orchestras have gone down in flames that people are a little gun shy about supporting anything with the word “orchestra” in it. But I remain convinced that we can succeed by keeping our mission taut, budget lean and mean and our production values high, and by high I mean at the level expected in New York or Vienna. We have the talent to do it, that is for sure.

As for the question “Can a wikiorchestra succeed” I think the answer is a resounding yes. What is a wikiorchestra? You all know about wikipedia, where people have created an open source encyclopedia. There is some governance, of course, but the whole endeavor is largely self-created and self-governing, like craigslist. I think we can run an orchestra this way to some extent. Ideas on marketing, programming, outreach and almost everything else that is relevant to the operation of an orchestra can only enhance our product. But how to avoid territorial battles and Guarneri Quartet like arguments about artistic matters etc? If we can keep our focus on making our group relevant and valuable to our customers - patrons and students - everything else will be secondary. I was so inspired by the example of the Tafelmusik Orchestra in Toronto. When they held a free concert for which there were tickets required, there were lines literally around the block and people turned away. I am convinced that this was because the people of Toronto saw Tafelmusik as their orchestra. I dare say that the TSO would not have the same queues. If we can manage to do the same there is no question we will succeed. The magic is with you. At Tafel all of the musicians make whatever contributions they can on stage as orchestra members, soloists and chamber musicians. Our group will do all of those things and also make contributions to education or whatever else they have a passion for. If you have a passion for accounting, great. For cooking, great. Whatever. We all have hidden skills. Time to pull them out. We need them and want them.

Tomorrow Steve and I meet with Creative Children’s Therapy. We’ll let you know how it goes and what comes of it. All the best. And thanks for everything you do.