Let’s go on tour!
Yes, it is always exciting to be in the hall and hear
your favourite piece of music performed by the NAC
Orchestra. You feel the close connection between the
musicians and the maestro and, if you’re lucky, you may
even feel an intimate bond to the composer who wrote the
work. But before planning a concert, or even more so, a
tour of the orchestra, many elements have to be taken
into consideration and numerous hours of preparatory work
are required. From the general manager to the musical
director to the communications department to the
assistants, everyone has role to play in that symphony of
a thousand – as performed by a small, dedicated
team.
Who does what?
Rather than listing every position within the National
Arts Centre Orchestra administration, we will concentrate
on a few key players, even though everybody’s work is
essential for an orchestra to run smoothly. For more
information on music roles, see essay about "Career
Choices".
Music Director: The Music Director is
the main conductor of the Orchestra, but that is not all!
He plans the programs with the Manager of Artistic
Planning to create a season that is balanced and both
entertaining for the audience and musically challenging
for the musicians. Since Canadian repertoire is also
important for the NACO, he has to maintain close contact
with contemporary composers, read their scores, exchange
ideas with them, even commission a work in some
cases.
Managing Director: Running a symphony
orchestra is a complex operation. The Managing Director
is administrative head of the Orchestra, and is
responsible for its organization and fiscal health
(always a perilous situation in the arts). He/she must
have a long-term view of the future for the Orchestra and
its well-being, growth and security.
Manager of Artistic Planning: This
manager works more or less as a second Music Director. He
or she plans seasons and programming with the Music
Director and staff members, negotiates contracts with
conductors and guest soloists through their respective
agents, and arranges travel and accommodation for guest
artists while in Ottawa.
Manager of Finance and Administration:
Money is always scarce in the arts world. The financial
coordinator has to make sure that the budget serves the
orchestra’s best interests at all times. It is a
balancing act to anticipate revenue and expenses, so a
good Manager is important to the survival of an
orchestra.
Chief Executive Officer of the NAC
Foundation: Ticket sales are important but they
are never sufficient to sustain any arts organization.
Extra funding is raised through benefit concerts, balls,
auctions, and private donations. The Development team
will also reach out to the business community for
partnerships and sponsorships.interests at all
times.
Director of Marketing: Even if the
musicians perform brilliantly, there is no assurance that
halls will be full at all times. The public has to be
made aware of the upcoming concerts, through ads in
newspapers or on TV, posters, articles in the paper, in
magazines and press release features on guest soloists.
The Marketing department will hire the program
annotators, the graphic artists to design ads and produce
the season’s brochure as well as coordinate activities
with the New Media department (in this day and age, an
orchestra’s website is essential).
Director of Communications: The
Communications Department will serve as liaison with the
public through the press and other media to promote
awareness of the Orchestra throughout the world and
increase its visibility. They will also work with program
annotators.
Director of Music Education: As music
education has all but vanished from most public schools,
education has become an increasingly important role for
today’s orchestras, whether through Youth Concerts,
pedagogical material (such as what you are now using),
visits of musicians to schools or master classes given by
orchestra members and guest artists, musical
organizations are assuming a greater responsibility for
investing a love for music in future generations.
Orchestra Manager: The Orchestra Manager manages the day-to-day operation of the orchestra in all aspects, from scheduling rehearsals to booking stage times to overseeing orchestra personnel. He is responsible for the implementation of the collective bargaining agreement between the NAC and the musicians of the Orchestra through it union. The OM is also responsible for the planning of the Orchestra’s tours. Going on tour requires much coordination among the orchestra’s various departments. The Orchestra Manager organizes everything from scheduling to hotel reservations and flights for up to 80 people, to safe transport of the orchestra’s instruments and equipment from city to city. He has to be resourceful and inventive in dealing with the unexpected that can occur when any large artistic organization performs on the road.
Plan a tour of the NAC Orchestra (Grades 11 and up)
So you think it is all fun and games to go on a tour of
seven Canadian cities? Let’s prove it! To make this
project work, you will need to divide the class in
various teams. To simplify your work a little, we picked
the departments you will be working for and highlighted
some of the work you’ll have to do. The NAC
Orchestra will visit Vancouver, Yellowknife,
Calgary, Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal, Quebec City and
Halifax
1- Music direction:
- You will have to choose repertoire that you find appropriate to go on tour. The program should last not more than two hours, with a 25-minute intermission.
- Most orchestras will bring two or three different programs on tour (the third often being a mix of the first two). You can feature two different soloists depending on the segment of the tour.
- Here is a list of works to inspire you. Generally
speaking, a concert has three main elements: an overture
or a short work (it could be by a Canadian composer, for
example) followed by a concerto (or a work featuring a
singer) then, after intermission, a symphony. Start by
finding out which pieces feature a soloist. Get an idea
of what these works sound like and see what you think
would work best.
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, “New World”
Haydn: Symphony No. 101, “The Clock”
Louie: Bringing the Tiger Down from the Mountain II
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”
Morawetz: Overture to a Fairy Tale
Mozart: Overture to Cosi fan tutte
Schafer: Adieu Robert Schumann
Schubert: Rondo in A major for Violin and Strings
Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 2
*If you pick a Violin Concerto, Maestro Zukerman
could perform it.
2- Tour planning
- You have seven cities to book on your tour and the orchestra must complete the tour in twelve days, due to financial reasons.
-
Be careful to make travel arrangements that maximise rehearsal time and don’t leave the musicians overly tired. (For example, don’t fly back and forth all over the continent if you can plan otherwise.) Remember that instruments have to be transported also and they are fragile.
-
Find out which hall would be the best in each city.
- Plan the detailed concerts and rehearsals schedule. Remember that musicians don’t want to perform eight hours on the same day and to take travel time into consideration.
3- Communications & Marketing (two teams could work on this)
- Put out a poster for the tour. Include the name of the orchestra, the soloist, the city and the date. Try to make it eye-catching so that it makes people who see it want to buy a ticket
- Do an ad for the local paper. Information should be clear and concise. The size of type and choice of font are important.
- Write a press release that will tell the journalists about the NAC Orchestra, the soloists and the works performed. Remember journalism’s 5 Ws: What? Who? When? Where? Why?
- You are the press relations agent. How could you make this tour interesting for the journalists? Give him/her ideas of stories to be told. Think of unusual angles.
- Program booklet: Audience members like it when they know something about what’s being performed. Plan the program page (list of works with details of movements) and write short program notes about each performed work. You could also include a bio of the soloist and the conductor (Pinchas Zukerman).
- Website: It’s always nice for an audience to be able to keep up to date with an orchestra’s activities, especially on tour. Think of articles that could be included on the website: profiles of musicians, fun details about touring life, information about composers, a map to watch where the orchestra goes, a follow-up on education initiatives, etc.
4- Education:
- It’s important to reach the young public. Think of activities that could be interesting in each city. You could invite students to attend a rehearsal, have NAC Orchestra musicians visit a daycare, have a master class with the guest soloist or with orchestra members, organise a “meet the composer” event, or arrange a get-together between music students and orchestra members. Events can be different in each city.
- Plan and produce a student guide that features the tour program. You could have an interview with Pinchas Zukerman, tips on how to conduct an orchestra, information about the repertoire, games that use the material featured. Make it fun. Incorporate some visual material to make it look more exciting. You could also include a CD with excerpts of the program.
