The orpheus chamber orchestra is known for being the first, really successful orchestra that does not play with a conductor. The leadership duties within the orchestra are distributed among all the members rather than just from one central person standing in the middle of the orchestra. And as made it very unique. It's kind of that concept of shared leadership in rehearsal and in concert, fans out into all the other aspects of the organization,. including the way it's run, meetings a and the the government structure of the Orchestra.
Our ears perk up when we hear about different systems practicing self-management. That was the case with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, a Grammy-award winning group that rehearses and performs without a formal conductor. Instead, the orchestra decentralizes power and leadership among its members, who rotate in between positions and treat each other as equals. Collaborative decision-making; multi-filled roles; shared ownership; clear feedback agreements—Orpheus embodies the very practices we love to talk about.
In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans ask James Wilson, a cellist with Orpheus and one of the ensemble’s three artistic directors, and Alexander Scheirle, Orpheus’s executive director, about the group’s democratic underpinnings and how it’s experimented with emergence for more than 50 years.
Learn more about Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at orpheusnyc.org.
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