Considering the Fellowship? (part 4: triple prong)

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When we last left off, I had decided that orchestra management was going to be my career. It was then that a sea of questions began to persistently haunt me.

• What is the best way to break into the industry?
• How have other people done it?
• Should I consider a graduate program in Arts Management?
• How many people in the field have these advanced degrees?
• What is this Fellowship and how can I benefit from it?
• Am I even qualified to apply for the Fellowship? Do I have enough experience?
• Should I apply to grad school, the Fellowship, or look for entry level jobs?

Eventually, I would find many answers to all of these questions but in the meantime, I focused the most on the last question and developed a personalized “three-pronged” approach to entering the field.

Prong One: the Fellowship.
By then it was obvious to me that this program was a “holy grail” of sorts for young professionals with high ambitions in the industry. In my opinion, the Fellowship would be a logical career upgrade for at least the first several years of my professional life and having not even graduated yet, that point was far off. This prong seemed to be the best choice but also the least likely (or so I thought) because of my lack of full time experience.

Prong Two: grad school.
If I did not have the experience to become a Fellow, the next step in my mind was to work toward a graduate degree in arts administration. I figured that having an advanced degree would enhance my competitiveness in the market. Plus, hands on experience with orchestras were core components of the programs I researched. This prong meant gaining higher level experience while working toward a degree. However, I quickly found that even most grad schools wanted new students to already have a few years of full time experience.

There are dozens of arts management graduate programs in the states but I specifically wanted to attend a school where I could simultaneously earn an MBA. This course included studying up for the GMAT. After countless hours of independent research, I had finally settled on applying to three schools that offer such dual degrees and one that did not. These schools were Southern Methodist University (Dallas), University of Wisconsin (Madison), University of Cincinnati and Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh, not dual degree).

Prong Three: take a job…any job!
Well, not just any job. If my first two prongs failed, I was prepared to stalk the League’s career website and send out a fleet of resumes for entry level positions. Seeing how it was currently my most well versed area, I focused on marketing positions. Of the three prongs, finding an entry level job seemed to be the most probable.

So that was my plan, I simultaneously pursued all three prongs. I had decided that the opportunity cost of passing up the Fellowship was greater than that of turning down grad school which was in turn greater than declining a job offer. Another way of stating it would be to say that it is much easier to find a job than to be accepted into grad school than to be offered the Fellowship. The plan was simple enough but it also meant a heck of a lot of hard work.

The more I knew about each of my options, the better. I ate up just about every opportunity to learn more about each of my schools of interest in addition to the Fellowship and the field in general. This meant independent research and plenty of it.

I will pick up from here in the next part of the series. In the meantime, stay tuned for some updates on my time so far with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

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Considering the Fellowship? (part 3: the early days)

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A love for music lives at the core of many of my life decisions. When I was considering what to study in college, I knew that music had to be a significant component. I also knew two other things: professional performance was NOT my forte and I wanted to explore the world of management/business (in some ways, I was a leader of the band nerds back in high school). So I decided to compromise and pursue a degree in music business. I had no clue what “music business” truly meant but hey, I was following my passion.

The summer after my freshman year, I took on a seasonal summer job with the Chicago Symphony calling patrons that had not yet renewed their subscriptions. This job, one step up from cold call telemarketing, was less than glamorous but I got my first look into the world of arts management, and it was good. Now that I had whet my palette, it was time to seriously consider orchestra management as a career.

Over the next few summers, I spent many hours as a marketing and public relations intern with both the Ravinia Festival and Chicago Symphony. Plus, I worked with the board and general manager of the local Marion Philharmonic during the school year. Through these experiences, I learned one crucial fact. This is what I wanted to dedicate the rest of my professional life to.

My goal was (and still is) simple. I believed that my love for music, accompanied by proper training and lots of hard work, could positively impact the arts world over the course of a lifelong career. I wanted to maximize this impact but didn’t really know what tools were available. Then I heard about the League.

My introduction to the League occurred when Anna Ross, Director of Education and Operations at the Fort Wayne Philharmonic appeared as a guest speaker in my music business class sophomore year. Mostly, she spoke about the organizational structure most orchestras follow but towards the end of her presentation, she briefly mentioned the League as a source of more information. A few months later, my interest was further sparked when I spontaneously met someone who had been a Fellowship finalist back in the 90’s. He told me all about the program as well as the League’s career website.

With about two years left before graduation (I added a minor and went 5 years), I signed up for a student professional membership with the League which gave me access to their career website, careers.symphony.org. Then, I began to develop a three-pronged approach to starting my career.

I’ll pick up here next blog…

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Considering the Fellowship? (part 2: Fellowship facts & background)

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Thanks for checking back in. Before I start with my story, I thought it might be helpful to begin with some background info and facts about the American Symphony Orchestra League's Orchestra Management Fellowship Program.

The American Symphony Orchestra League is a national organization that serves hundreds of orchestras around the nation (and about 32 internationally) by providing support to the leaders of the industry in the form of services. They sponsor and host everything from conferences to workshops to seminars to training programs and beyond. (For a more detailed look at what they do, check out their website at www.symphony.org.) The Orchestra Management Fellowship is one of their staple training programs.

Who is the Fellowship designed for?
The Fellowship program is designed for young professionals in the field of orchestra management with a strong desire to lead the industry over the years to come. Since the program began in 1980-1981, 151 men and women of diverse ages, experience levels, and nationalities have "graduated" and the majority of alumni are currently working directly with orchestras or in some related non-profit industry (I count well over 100). The number of participating Fellows per year has fluctuated over the past twenty years. There have been as many as eight and as few as three (this year), but over the past few years, five has become the general standard. To the best of my knowledge, this is likely to continue.

What is it?
Many fields of business (and individual companies) both in the for-profit and non-profit industries have them: executive training programs for promising future talent. In the world of orchestra management, the Fellowship program is it. The program focuses on providing Fellows first-hand experience and leadership training from top industry professionals. These professionals, primarily senior staff and executive directors of host assignment orchestras, act as mentors to the Fellows. In addition to working directly with these folks, Fellows also receive a good deal of leadership training through a series of three leadership seminars headed by John McCann.

Back in the day, alumni were expected to rise to executive director positions at an accelerated pace but nowadays, the League realizes the need for top leaders all across the organization and that pressure has eased quite a bit. So, although the year is designed from the “big picture” perspective of an executive director, it is not uncommon for alumni to settle in individual departments directly after they “graduate” and well into their careers.

When does it take place?
Currently, this yearlong program runs from June to June. The year is broken up into a series of four major assignments. The first takes place over the summer with the second lasting from Sep. to Dec. The third is relatively short and finishes around the end of March and the final assignment picks up from there and runs until June. The year is pretty continuous and only about two weeks of vacation time (after the first and second assignments) are allotted.

Where will it take place?
All over the country...count on it. Each of my assignments takes place in a different area of the country although consecutive assignments in the same metropolitan area have occurred in the past. Almost immediately after being selected, Fellows are asked to list their preferred locations. However, not every city is represented and not every orchestra would necessarily serve their needs best. Therefore, these requests cannot always be honored (they were not in my case). In addition to the four assignments, recent classes of Fellows have had two to three additional trips. These trips include a two week stay in New York City (to meet industry leaders and attend the second of three leadership seminars) and either one or two trips to the League's National Conference at the beginning and end of the year.

Why consider?
Excellent question. This program is not for everyone. It carries with it very large pros and very large potential cons.

Pros:

• This is a great way to gain a ton of hands-on experience with multiple organizations in practically every nook and cranny of the orchestral structure. Assignments can be catered toward your individual needs.
• The networking. It is truly amazing how many industry leaders Fellows either get to meet or work with over the course of the year. “The Fellowship is what you make of it.” Added personal initiative will go a very long way in this category.
• Being a “Fellow” is a lifelong experience. As you read this, a new alumni network is being developed for “graduates” of the program. It will work much like a college alumni network in providing various types of support throughout the course of a Fellow’s career. You can check out the formation of this network at www.fellowsforum.org.
• The Fellowship has a good reputation for selecting and training top talent. Having it on your resume is a definite plus.

Cons:

• Picking up one’s life and relocating several times over the course of a year is not easy. This includes being prepared to find and finance a new place to live every few months. Some lucky Fellows get housing provided for by their host orchestras, some do not (like me so far).
• The $25,000 stipend can also be a large hurdle for many. In particular, I am referring to those who already have a spouse, children and mortgage to manage. Currently the stipend will remain the same for at least the next year.
• All of the traveling can take an emotional toll on you. This has been especially true for Fellows with spouses and/or children.
• This program is the real deal. If a dispassionate individual only flirting with the idea of a serious career in orchestra management applies and is accepted. It is likely that he/she will be very unsatisfied with their experience.

Alright I think that covers most of the basics of the Fellowship. If you have not already, you can check out more info at the League’s site here. They have added a great deal of useful information regarding the Fellowship this year. I highly suggest looking at the schedule, frequently asked questions, and signing up for an informational interview to learn more. Also, as the site mentions, you can contact the program director Hilary Field. Hilary is an amazing woman and I know that she would be glad to field (pun totally intended) any questions. Also, as always, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at jtsai@tsailog.com with follow up questions or comments.

Next time, I will start with my personal Fellowship story in part 3. Stay tuned…

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Considering the Fellowship? (part 1: introduction to the series)

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As many of you know and are perhaps anticipating, today's blog marks the first in a multipart series detailing my relationship with and take on the American Symphony Orchestra League's Orchestra Management Fellowship. There are probably a thousand ways I could write about the program and after a decent amount of thought, I have decided to let some of the facts surface as part of a true life story, my story.

Why am I doing this you may ask? Well the answer is pretty straightforward. Back when I started researching the Fellowship, I had a ton of questions and did not know exactly where to turn (I'll mention these questions later). It seemed as though the program was surrounded by a dark mist of mystery. During those days, I did my best to reach out, find connections, and fill that void with solid facts. I am writing this series to aid in this demystification process for anyone that might find themselves where I used to be. I will say it now for the first time and you will hear it over and over but if you ever want more info on anything you read (or don't read for that matter), please do not hesitate to e-mail me at jtsai@tsailog.com. Dozens of managers (non-Fellow and Fellow alike) helped me in this way and it is my privilege to pass the torch.

One more note before I start. There are those in the industry that believe that the Fellowship is a positive force and there are those that are adamantly against it. At this point, I would fall pretty heavily in the first clan. Realizing that it is practically impossible for anyone to be 100% unbiased against anything; I promise to do my best to remain true to my experiences in telling this story with the smallest degree of bias as possible. It is not my intent to "sell" the Fellowship to you in any way. In fact, I wholly expect several people to think to themselves, "Gee, I don't think the Fellowship is right for me."

One more housekeeping note: Over the next few entries, you will find that I will need to occasionally break away from the story to give some background info and facts that would not naturally surface in the narrative. I will make these instances extremely obvious by switching to italics whenever I stray.

I think that is enough of an intro for now. Check back soon for part 2: Fellowship facts & background.

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Long time, no blog

Hey hey everyone! I’m back from some long awaited time off between my Aspen assignment and my new position out here in sunny LA with the LA Chamber Orchestra. In case you have not noticed, the bio has been updated with a brand new picture of me at a LA Philharmonic concert with bluegrass group Nickel Creek which took place at the famous and jaw dropping Hollywood Bowl last Saturday.

I am relaxed, have a new place to stay, and am all ready to start my first day of work in T-minus 8 hours. Working with the LACO should prove to be quite different than my former Aspen days. One big thing I am looking forward to is a more steady work schedule as well as regular nightly internet access in my apartment. This means that soon and very soon I will have more time to focus on some long overdue tsailog updates (photo galleries…cool javascript effects…that kind of thing) as well as more frequent blogging.

Speaking of blogs, make sure to check back soon within the next few days as I begin my multipart series titled, “Considering the Fellowship?” This series is targeted toward those that are…well…considering the Fellowship. Pretty self explanatory eh?

So, thanks for checking in, see you soon, and wish me luck out here in LA LA Land!