Build consensus whenever possible. The leadership of an orchestra’s musicians is by the conductor. The conductor is pretty much a dictator in a lot of senses because everyone has to do the same thing at the same time.
But a really good conductor is one who will involve the musicians in their own artistic expression and enable them to contribute to the creation of the musical performance in a way that they feel they’re contributing something additional to just following the baton. I would love to think I’ve learned lessons from that, thinking that leadership has to afford everybody the opportunity to make their own music, so to speak.
HOW TO REACH: Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, (317) 262-1100 or www.indianapolissymphony.org
