{"id":45395,"date":"2025-10-16T13:22:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/?p=45395"},"modified":"2025-10-16T13:22:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:22:48","slug":"power-of-inclusion-lansing-symphony-orchestra-communication-starts-at-the-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/power-of-inclusion-lansing-symphony-orchestra-communication-starts-at-the-top\/","title":{"rendered":"Power of Inclusion &#8211; Lansing Symphony Orchestra: Communication Starts at the Top"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Elinore Morin, Assistant Principal Viola of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra (LSO), recalls that the orchestra unionized in 2004 \u201cbecause management was not listening. Suggestions were falling on deaf ears.\u201d The orchestra went through a series of executives before landing on Courtney Millbrook. \u201cCourtney was a breath of fresh air. The board has turned over, too. Now everything is about communication. Because we have dialogue, we can say more\u2014and Courtney does too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fifteen years on, the LSO has evolved a notably welcoming culture for musicians. A forthcoming strategic plan has a section devoted to \u201cartistic vibrancy,\u201d which recognizes the importance of people feeling included, fostering retention. Millbrook also credits Finance and Operations Director Karen Dichoza for working closely with the musicians and ensuring their communication with management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It starts with the audition process, which aims to be highly transparent and provide auditioning musicians with congenial warm-up space and a comfortable, low-stress experience. \u201cWe get compliments for the way musicians feel respected in the audition,\u201d says Morin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Morin calls Music Director Tim Muffitt highly collegial. \u201cHe lets us play,\u201d she says, in contrast to prior conductors so intent on nuance that musicians felt constrained. \u201cAnd he knows everyone\u2019s name,\u201d she adds. \u201cHe makes a point of greeting new members of the orchestra individually during their first concert cycle.\u201d That contributes to the positive feeling on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When an important announcement comes out\u2014for instance, Muffitt\u2019s imminent retirement\u2014Millbrook makes sure the musicians hear it first. And every musician has a head shot and bio on the LSO website. They are all seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Musicians have input on chamber music programming, and those contracted for fewer orchestra services get priority for chamber performances. Morin notes that the contemporary music series often entails unusual combinations of instruments, bringing musicians together with colleagues they might not usually work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Onstage dress code can be challenging for nonbinary musicians, so LSO has done away with traditional white tie and tails versus long gowns. But Morin notes that the shift to all-black outfits of one\u2019s own design is as much generational as gender-based. The most important thing is a culture where people are comfortable asking about their options and expressing their preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-coral-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/power-of-inclusion-charlotte-symphony-orchestra-focus-on-a-welcoming-culture\/\">Previous: Charlotte Symphony Orchestra: Focus on a Welcoming Culture<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-coral-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/power-of-inclusion-detroit-symphony-orchestra-inclusion-drives-a-turnaround\/\">Next: Detroit Symphony Orchestra: Inclusion Drives a Turnaround<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-coral-background-color has-background has-text-align-left wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/catalyst-guide-the-power-of-inclusion\/\">Return to the full guide<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"1\"><em>Photo: The Lansing Symphony Orchestra\u2019s upcoming strategic framework recognizes the importance of making people feel included, to both retention and artistic vibrancy. Here, Assistant Principal Violist Elinore Morin embraces violist Linda Gregorian on the occasion&nbsp;of her retirement after more than 40 years of service. Photo courtesy of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The LSO has evolved a notably welcoming culture for musicians. A forthcoming strategic plan has a section devoted to \u201cartistic vibrancy,\u201d which recognizes the importance of people feeling included, fostering retention.<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":45489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn","format-guide","topic-equity-diversity-inclusion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Power of Inclusion - Lansing Symphony Orchestra: Communication Starts at the Top - americanorchestras.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/power-of-inclusion-lansing-symphony-orchestra-communication-starts-at-the-top\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Power of Inclusion - Lansing Symphony Orchestra: Communication Starts at the Top - americanorchestras.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The LSO has evolved a notably welcoming culture for musicians. A forthcoming strategic plan has a section devoted to \u201cartistic vibrancy,\u201d which recognizes the importance of people feeling included, fostering retention.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/power-of-inclusion-lansing-symphony-orchestra-communication-starts-at-the-top\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"americanorchestras.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/orchleague\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-16T13:22:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-16T13:22:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1025_LEAGUE_CAT_GUIDE_2025_1800x675_5_LANSING.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joanna Bettelheim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@orchleague\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@orchleague\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joanna Bettelheim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/power-of-inclusion-lansing-symphony-orchestra-communication-starts-at-the-top\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/power-of-inclusion-lansing-symphony-orchestra-communication-starts-at-the-top\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joanna Bettelheim\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americanorchestras.org\/#\/schema\/person\/141366fc8ad5dbeeddd66de957dbcd87\"},\"headline\":\"Power of Inclusion &#8211; 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