metlife foundation national arts forum series

Past Forums

Arts & Business Council Inc.
New York, New York

The Orpheus Process as Business Model:
A Case Study on How Business Can Learn from the Arts
03/01/2002

Moderator: Harvey Seifter
Former Executive Director, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Panelists:

• Howard Glassroth
  Marketing Consultant
• J. Richard Hackman
  Cahners-Rabb Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology,Harvard University
• Keith Hennessy
  Chief Operating Officer, Investment Banking Division, and Managing Director, Morgan Stanley

“The Orpheus Process as Business Model” examined a management model, pioneered by New York’s criticallyacclaimed Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, which holds tremendous potential for corporate environments, as well as other nonprofit groups. An increasing number of artists and arts organizations are being engaged by businesses to provide a wide range of services, from highlevel executive education and leadership development to more basic HR training such as diversity awareness and entertainment oriented roles, such as enlivening corporate presentations. Orpheus, under its then Executive Director Harvey Seifter, has become a model in this arena.

A Collaborative Approach
For thirty years, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has succeeded by dispensing with the traditional model of ensemble players led by a conductor. Instead, as described by Seifter, leadership is shared as orchestra members collaborate on matters of repertoire, interpretation, rehearsal, and personnel, ensuring that each player has a stake in artistic decisions. Although individual members may hold strong views, through discussion and compromise, a consensus is reached. Glassroth noted that by empowering all of its members, the Orpheus model brings the musician or “worker” closer to the audience or “consumer,” making it possible to respond more rapidly to consumer needs and desires. Hackman continued by describing how giving members ownership of their organization encourages them to remain in their positions, providing them with rotating responsibilities that increase motivation and bring stability to the orchestra. Paradoxically, Hackman remarked that out of argument and disagreement over artistic issues come greater harmony and respect.

The Benefits of the Orpheus Model
Noting business innovations such as rotating leadership, Hennessey commended the Orpheus’ model of involving as many people as possible in the decision-making process. While the Orpheus board and staff (particularly those with specialized skills such as finance) play an important role in overseeing the administration of the orchestra, musicians also serve on committees dealing with non-performance matters and are represented on the board of directors. Also, without a well-known conductor in position, Orpheus must be creative in its focus on new repertory, the use of “name” soloists, commissions by younger composers, and audience development. Any organization, no matter its size, can adopt a philosophy of shared leadership, encouraging its employees – be they musicians or corporate middle managers – to feel that they are an integral part of the decision-making process. Given the recent national media attention surrounding the deceptive business practices of major corporations, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s model of shared and rotating leadership is one to be considered seriously.

[Editor’s Note: Leadership Ensemble, a book co-authored by Harvey Seifter on the application of the Orpheus Process to corporate management settings, has been published by New York Times Books, and is available for purchase at the Arts & Business Council’s online bookstore: www.artsandbusiness.org/bookstore.]