2:00pm– 6:00pm

Exhibitor Setup (optional)
The Delegate Lounge is not officially open at this point; however, the Registration Area within the hall is open on Tuesday afternoon for Orchestra Leadership Academy seminar participants. If you arrive and set up on Tuesday, you are more than welcome to try and catch them as they register.

7:00am – 10:00am

Exhibitor Setup

7:00am – 1:00pm

Exhibitor Hours
The Exhibit Hall/Delegate Lounge is open to delegates; however, no scheduled free times in the Delegate Lounge occur on Wednesday. You may want to try and schedule appointments with orchestra personnel at some points throughout the day. There is moderate registration traffic on Wednesday, and you can determine what course of action would most benefit you.

1:00pm – 6:30pm

Orchestras on the Hill (Capacity is limited! Register now to participate!)

The Delegate Lounge closes for a Legislative Briefing followed by an afternoon of Congressional meetings on Capitol Hill. You are invited to “Make the Case for Orchestras.” The policy decisions made in Washington, D.C. impact orchestras back home. No matter your role or affiliation, this day is for everyone. Prepare for your meetings at a briefing then meet with members of Congress, and attend a Hill reception.

7:15pm

National Friends of the League Donor Appreciation Dinner
Sponsored by Steinway & Sons
(invitation only)

9:00pm – 11:00pm

Exhibitor/Manager After Hours Reception - New!

Replacing the exhibitor/manager reception from year’s past, this post-dinner reception in the Delegate Lounge allows all invitees to enjoy a leisurely dinner before coming back for an evening of after hours’ festivities. This is a wonderful time to meet and greet managers, conductors, and artistic administrators.

8:15am – 9:30am

Opening Session/Keynote Address

The Delegate Lounge/Exhibit Area isn’t open at this time, giving you the freedom to attend our Opening Session. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee delivers this year’s Opening Session Keynote Address on why he chose to focus on the arts during his chairmanship of the Education Commission of the States.

Opening Session sponsored by Classical Movements Inc.

9:30am – 5:00pm

Exhibit Hours

See below for specifics on what is going on during these hours.

9:30am – 11:00am

Opening Forums

The Delegate Lounge/Exhibit Area is open at this time, but the majority of delegates will be attending one of two large sessions that will be running simultaneously. Traffic will be light and you may be better served in participating in one of these sessions:

Making the Case
Question: What will persuade a prospective donor, convince a key policymaker, earn the community’s trust, and win the hearts of your audience? Answer: Knowing your facts, and communicating them in a compelling way. Learn why four leading public figures are advocates for music, and how each make the case from a different perspective: economic, education, artistry, and community impact. Receive a new collection of our best statistics, arguments, and quotes about American orchestras, and take home effective strategies to make the case for your orchestra at home. Speakers

Don’t Mess with My Concerts
We know that each audience member attends concerts with different expectations and degrees of sophistication. But what do we know about our audience, really? And how do we apply what we do know about them to the concert experience? We’ll explain – and challenge – some assumptions that have, until now, influenced orchestras’ approaches to concerts, and examine some new approaches as well. Speakers

11:00am – 3:45pm

2:15pm-3:30pm

Scheduled Free Time in the Delegate Lounge
The following delegates are scheduled for free time in the Delegate Lounge/Exhibit Area. Stick around to meet with them, or make other appointments if you want to meet with other delegates.

11:15am-12:30pm
Conductors, Marketing Directors with operating budgets below 5.2 million, Sales Directors

12:30pm-2:15pm
The Delegate Lounge/Exhibit Area is open during the lunch period. Several lunch options will be made available at the Concourse Deli (located just outside the hall) and all attendees (not otherwise occupied) will be encouraged to visit the Delegate Lounge at this time.

2:15pm-3:30pm
Community Relations Personnel, Education Personnel, Operations Managers.

Artistic Administrator Meeting with Artist Managers
Should Artists Do More Than Perform?
James Undercofler, director and dean, Eastman School of Music, will lead a discussion on the role musicians can and should play in today’s society.

3:45pm – 5:00pm

Orchestra Toolbox Sessions

There is not scheduled free time in the Delegate Lounge/Exhibit Area for delegates, but expect some light traffic at this time. You may also attend one of six Orchestra Toolbox Sessions:

Pops Roundtables
Do you present pops, or represent a pops artist? Attend Pops Roundtables – everything you need to know about pops including pops family concerts, the role of the guest artist, pops marketing and repertoire, presenting without an orchestra, and summer pops.  Speakers

The Best Defense: A Guide for Orchestra Advocates
You have the power to create meaningful relationships with policymakers – at all levels. Want that state arts agency budget and those tax-exempt benefits kept intact? Work in coalitions and form personal connections. Build a foundation of local, state, and federal government support now, so when it’s time for those critical votes, your policymakers know what to do. Speakers

In Tune With the Public Trust
Now, more than ever, it’s important to develop a transparent culture on issues such as financial record-keeping and human resource policies. The IRS is stepping up its enforcement of nonprofit accountability requirements, and Congress is considering tougher laws. Orchestras depend on support from the public, and must operate ethically and effectively to maintain the public’s trust. Learn what your orchestra board and staff need to do to satisfy new requirements and keep the public’s trust.  Speakers

The Rise and Fall of Classical Music in America
Joseph Horowitz, author of Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall, discusses his sweeping narrative. When did classical music in America ascend? And perhaps more importantly, when – or did – it fall? Find out at this session. Speakers

Strengthening Roots, Branching Out: Orchestra Residencies Across America
What makes a successful orchestra residency? Why might you implement one as a form of community engagement? Take a look at the National Symphony Orchestra’s American Residencies, the Oregon Symphony’s Community Music Partnerships, and the quartet residency of the Western Piedmont Symphony, and take home strategies to make your orchestra’s residency possible, powerful, and sustainable. Speakers

Be a Winner
What makes a successful volunteer audience development, service, and education project? Silver Ribbon winners present their award-winning projects, selected from the 2005 Gold Book: A Sourcebook of Successful Fund-Raising, Education, Audience Development, Service and Membership Projects. Speakers

5:00pm – 6:15pm

Buses to the Kennedy Center

Buses to the Kennedy Center will leave from the T Street entrance on the Terrace Level (one floor below the lobby) of the Hilton Washington.

7:00pm

National Symphony Orchestra Concert*

The National Symphony Orchestra performs under Leonard Slatkin at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Concert Hall. Guest artists include Mark O'Connor and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin.

9:00pm

Tune Up Party

A wonderful networking event, hosted by the National Symphony Orchestra.
Tune-Up Party hosted by the National Symphony Orchestra

11:00pm

Gone, But Not Forgotten

Enjoy a chat with orchestra veterans – those risqué, devil-may-care, caution-to-the-wind, impresarios – as they reveal all they couldn’t say…on the job.

8:00am-12:00pm
1:45pm-4:30pm

Exhibit Hours
See below for specifics on what is going on during these hours.

9:00am - 12:00pm

Scheduled Free Time in the Delegate Lounge
The following delegates are scheduled for free time in the Delegate Lounge/Exhibit Area. Stick around to meet with them, or make other appointments if you want to meet with other delegates.

9:00am-10:15am
Artistic Administrators; Marketing Directors with operating budgets above 13.8 million; Public Relations Personnel; Executive Directors with operating budgets between 1.7 million and 5.2 million.

10:30am-11:45am
Executive Directors with operating budgets between $450,000 and 1.7 million; Executive Directors with operating budgets above 13.8 million; Development Directors with operating budgets above 13.8 million.

12:00pm - 1:30pm

Conference Luncheon*

Drawing from his recent book, The Four Pillars of High Performance, Paul Light will explore strategies for attaining maximum effectiveness in a future of unprecedented change and uncertainty. Light is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service, Robert Wagner School of Public Service, New York University.

Sponsored by: Clarion Associates, Inc., IMG Artists, Artsmarketing Services Inc.

1:45pm – 4:15pm

Scheduled Free Time in the Delegate Lounge

The following delegates are scheduled for free time in the Delegate Lounge/Exhibit Area. Stick around to meet with them, or make other appointments if you want to meet with other delegates.

1:45pm-3:00pm
Executive Directors with operating budgets below $450,000; Orchestra Trustees; Youth Orchestras

3:15pm-4:15pm
Executive Directors with operating budgets from 5.2 to 13.8 million; Marketing Managers with operating budgets from 5.2 to 13.8 million; Development Directors with operating budgets below 13.8 million; General Managers

4:30pm – 6:45pm

Awards Celebration and Reception

Celebrate the field's achievements at the Awards Celebration and Reception with emcee Marvin Hamlisch. We'll award the League/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, the MetLife Awards for Excellence in Community Engagement, the Bank of America Awards for Excellence in Orchestra Education, The Volunteer Council Gold Ribbon Awards, and the Helen M. Thompson Award. You will also hear remarks by NEA Chairman Dana Gioia, and performances by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, led by director Lieutenant Colonel Michael Colburn.

Reception sponsored by ASCAP

4:30pm - 8:00pm

Exhibit Hall Breakdown

The Conference decorator will be available starting from 3:00pm if you choose to break down early, but remember that scheduled free time in the Delegate Lounge for constituents runs through 4:30pm. All exhibits must be broken down no later than 8:00pm.

8:00pm

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Concert*+

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs under Yuri Temirkanov at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore with guest artist Vadim Repin, violin.

Buses will leave promptly at 6:00 pm from the T Street entrance on the Terrace Level (one floor below the lobby) of the Hilton Washington.

8:00pm

National Philharmonic Performance-Demonstration*+

Experience a concert hall as you never have before. The National Philharmonic under Maestro Piotr Gajewski, design team members from Kirkegaard Associates and Theatre Projects Consultants, and architects William Rawn Associates and Grimm & Parker demonstrate the visible and invisible features of the design responsible for making the new Music Center at Strathmore a concert hall for the 21st century.

To get to the Music Center at Strathmore, take the Metro from the Dupont Circle Station to the Strathmore/Grosvenor station, (8 stops on the Red Line towards Shady Grove) and walk to the Music Center through a covered skyway. This trip will take approximately 45 minutes from door to door including a ten minute walk down Connecticut Ave. to the Dupont Circle Station. Round trip tickets may be purchased at the Metro station for $4.50.

8:00pm

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Concert*+

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs under Yuri Temirkanov at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore with guest artist Vadim Repin, violin.

To get to the Music Center at Strathmore, take the Metro from the Dupont Circle Station to the Strathmore/Grosvenor station, (8 stops on the Red Line towards Shady Grove) and walk to the Music Center through a covered skyway. This trip will take approximately 45 minutes from door to door including a ten minute walk down Connecticut Ave. to the Dupont Circle Station. Round trip tickets may be purchased at the Metro station for $4.50.