Leadership Ensemble Orpheus: A Conductor-less Orchestra

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Leadership EnsembleOrpheus A Conductor-less
Orchestra
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Introduction

• New York based orchestra established in 1974
• Founded by Julian Fifer
• Consists of 27 members
• Famous for implementing a leaderless orchestra
• Orpheus name for Greek god who created music
  so powerful, stones rose and followed him

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Agenda

• Motivation
• Decision Making
• Leadership
• Team Cohesion and Structure
• Conclusion

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Motivation

• Success
• The Early Stages
• Job Satisfaction
• Problems
• Solution

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Motivation

• Musicians More talent greater career options
• No matter how successful, most resort to teaching
• Members of Orpheus unsatisfied in conventional
  orchestras under the control of a conductor

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The Early Stages

• Motivation undermined by having to follow
  conductors strict rules
• Success is defined as how you can follow other
  orchestras members actions
• The climate in most conductor-led orchestras is
  appalling

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The Early Stages

• The aspect of making good music is relinquished
• Must be self-motivated due to steep competition
• Much time devoted to studying music individuals
  invest much pride and ego in career

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The Early Stages

• Self-expression in music more difficult if
  orchestra conductor-led
• Individuality proves relatively useless in
  conventional orchestras as conductor tells you
  what to do
• Formal training is only required for entry into
  orchestra

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Job Satisfaction

• Widespread discontent among symphony musicians in
  4 countries
• Musicians believe that their talent is
  underrepresented in an orchestra
• One Orpheus member said, You must be careful not
  to let symphony job conflict with making music.

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Problems

• Conductor control leads to lack of communication
  between musicians
• Overall spirit lost due to strict control of
  conductor
• Members not inspired to work as a team

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Solution

• Create an orchestra based on a new philosophy
• Julian Fifer selected musicians who could handle
  and give criticism to fellow musicians
• Create an atmosphere where individual spirits and
  enthusiasm determined orchestra outcome

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Solution

• No particular method was implemented to gain
  ideas for pieces of music
• Every member contributes ideas for each piece of
  music
• This encouraged members to use their talents and
  training to determine overall success

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Decision Making

• Unanimous Decisions
• Core Groups
• Concert Master

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Unanimous Decision Making

• All 27 members participated
• Strong willed musicians
• Why this is a problem

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Core Groups

• Formulate interpretations
• Same preparations as a conductor
• Each presents to ensemble
• Rotate regularly

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Concert Master

• Team Captain vs. Coach
• Responsibilities
• Influence
• Rotation
• Executive Committee

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Leadership

• Leadership and feedback
• Teamwork leads to trust
• Every musician is a leader

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Leadership

• Each musician in Orpheus willsit in the
  audience to hear how each piece sounds to a
  concertgoer
• Without a conductor each member must play the
  role of leader
• Personal feedback from colleagues is vital

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Teamwork Leadership

• Teams in Orpheus rely on individual members
  having a common objective
• Each team shares common values leading to a high
  degree of respect among all members
• Highly cohesive team with defined roles,
  accountability and trust
• Stage 2 Organization

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Teamwork Leadership

• Core-group in Orpheus changes regularly
• Each member responsible for leadership training
• Leaders are constantly dealing with change in
  groups
• Responsible for envisioning, energizing and
  enabling new members in orchestra
• Personal development among members This
  experience has allowed me to discover strengths
  that I didnt know I had.

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Team Cohesion and Structure

• Practical Considerations
• Team Cohesion
• Drawbacks
• Benefits

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Practical Considerations

• No director, or full-time members
• Members must take on freelance opportunities
• Bassoonist Frank Morelli Only provides 10 of
  his yearly income, but artistically, it may be
  the most rewarding work hes ever done.

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Team Cohesion

• Substitutes to cover for unavailable members
• The whole must be the same, in spite of the
  rotating identities of the parts
• One member from each instrument section fluent in
  Orpheus leadership process must perform at each
  concert

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Team Cohesion

• Orchestra has a dozen regular substitutes
• An extended family of musicians
• Substitutes must contribute their opinions
• Hearing fresh, new ideas is always good.

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Team Cohesion

• A high degree of interaction among members
• Somewhat difficult entry
• Both in terms of skill and artistic philosophy
• A common external challenge
• Upcoming performances

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Team Cohesion

• Longevity leads to familiarity, not only with
  your job, but with your co-workers
• Familiarity leads to predictability
• You can anticipate one anothers every move.

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Drawbacks

• The pressure to achieve cohesion quickly
• The time it takes to organize a structure that
  works
• Divergent philosophies may lead to conflict among
  team members

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Benefits

• Flexibility
• Collaboration free exchange of ideas
• An essential formation of trust
• Artistic freedom and self-expression
• Higher levels of job satisfaction

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Conclusion

• Motivation
• Greater involvement leads to greater job
  satisfaction
• Decision Making
• Dividing into core groups leads to teamwork and
  trust

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Conclusion

• Leadership
• Collaborative due to common objective and shared
  values
• Team Cohesion
• Cohesion results from new ideas contributed by
  rotating members
• There are benefits and drawbacks success depends
  on situation

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Questions