Summerville Orchestra Musician Experience

Volunteer musicians are the backbone of a community orchestra. How might we ensure their happiness and satisfaction as the orchestra continues to grow?

I was elected Musician's President of the Summerville Orchestra for its 20th season from 2023-2024. As a UXer, I approached my presidency with the goal of improving the musician experience and setting up processes to ensure the experience remains great for years to come.

As Musician President, I led a team of 4 Musician Officers (Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Musician's Advocate) while working closely with 4 Summerville Orchestra staff members and 7 Board members.

Challenges

The world of classical music is stereotyped as "elitist"– its patrons are usually older, wealthy, and white. On the contrary, our musicians are much more diverse with ages spanning 7 decades and demographics more closely matching our community. This creates a tension between the Board (who match patron demographics) and the Musician Officers (who match musician demographics).

The Board and musicians also fundamentally have different goals. The Board wants to fill seats and sell tickets, while the volunteer musicians are in it purely for the joy of making music together. The Summerville Orchestra has rapidly expanded in the past few seasons, more than doubling its budget and adding a variety of chamber performances in addition to its subscription concert series. With so many new commitments, musicians are at risk of burning out. There is also the issue of quality. A community orchestra, by definition, should do its best to accommodate all musicians who are interested in joining. However, a better sounding orchestra sells more tickets.

Disputes between orchestra governance and its musicians are unfortunately a common occurrence across the country. Patronage is declining and budgets are tight. Though the Board and musicians have different goals, they must work together because neither can exist without the other. My job as Musician's President was to understand these nuanced issues while representing the voices of the musicians as I liaise with the Board.

A photo taken shortly before a concert from the point of view of Amy Schuck, principal flute of the Summerville Orchestra

A photo of some musician onboarding materials, including a musician handbook, onboarding survey, and name cards

Process

I approached this position with my UX hat, and centered my process around the musician as the user.

I created a framework to gather musician feedback
I conducted user research via a survey
I reported findings to the Board & Staff and conducted a brainstorming workshop to identify improvements
I documented this process so it can be replicated, and musician satisfaction can be tracked over time

Musician Belonging framework

I chose to center on Belonging as the proxy for measuring musician happiness. “Belonging,” at its core, is loosely defined as feeling like you fit in as a member of a group. As humans, we feel a fundamental need to belong. We evolved to live in groups, to rely on each other, and to cooperate with one another. As a result, we feel the urge to belong, just like how we feel hunger or thirst.

It is well established that having a sense of belonging comes with many benefits, such as:

Better retention
Better satisfaction
Less stress and burnout
More positive emotions, which may improve well-being

Conversely, not having a sense of belonging is associated with negative outcomes. A study analyzing emails showed new employees who do not switch from “I” to “we” pronouns during the first six months at their jobs are also more likely to leave.

Making Belonging measurable and actionable

Using desk research, I identified 5 cultural factors that provide the foundation for a framework to benchmark and improve Musician Belonging. For each factor, I created a benchmarking survey question to measure that aspect of Belonging over time. This data does not give an absolute measure of Belonging, but when viewed over time provides insight into how musician sentiment is changing. For example, if there is a significant downward trend, this could indicate problems that need to be addressed in orchestra governance.

Cultural factor	Benchmark survey question	Actionable improvements
Being seen Musicians do not feel “invisible.”	When I speak up, my orchestra peers and leads hear and acknowledge my opinion. (5pt likert, agree / disagree)	Feature individual musicians in marketing materials such as emails and programs Orchestra leaders know each musician by name
Being accepted ‍Musicians feel accepted by the rest of the orchestra.	I don’t need to change who I am to feel accepted by my orchestra peers and leads. (5pt likert, agree / disagree)	Give new members a warm welcome at the first rehearsal Assign new members an orchestra buddy to help them onboard into the orchestra Send new members a personalized welcome email containing everything they need to know Provide Summerville Orchestra swag for musicians Host exclusive events for musicians
Being respected ‍Musicians feel like their skills and ideas are valued by the orchestra.	The orchestra respects my opinion, even when it differs from the rest of the group. (5pt likert, agree / disagree)	Acknowledge and reply to all ideas and concerns brought up by musicians Encourage orchestra leaders to acknowledge when someone does a great job Award musicians at the end of the year
Being safe ‍Musicians feel physically and psychologically safe (taking risks, asking “dumb” questions, making mistakes).	I feel safe taking risks or making mistakes in the orchestra. (5pt likert, agree / disagree)	Ensure physical security is present at events to protect musicians and their property Audit our policies and make sure they are inclusive of all statuses, including age, physical or mental ability, gender expression, orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, parental status, etc. Provide accommodations for musicians who need them Encourage orchestra leaders to demonstrate vulnerability, such as acknowledging which parts are hard for them or opening up their practice sessions
Being supported ‍Musicians feel like the orchestra supports them, personally and musically.	When I’m struggling, I can lean on my orchestra peers or leads for support. (5pt likert, agree / disagree)	Ensure musicians always have everything they need in order for them to practice to the best of their ability Provide professional development opportunities to musicians who want it Encourage musicians to take breaks if we notice burnout

I also implemented a plan to survey musicians twice a year to collect feedback regarding orchestra governance and other dimensions of their musician experience, such as burnout and music choice. Each survey will include the same Belonging benchmarking questions, which provides a consistent measure over time.

Brainstorming improvements

To foster a culture of transparency, I compiled the results of the survey into a report for all musicians, Staff, and Board. After presenting these results at a board meeting, I gathered the Staff and Musician Officers for a brainstorming workshop to address the concerns identified in the survey.

A screenshot of the musician survey results report.

A screenshot of the deck I used to run the staff and officer brainstorming workshop.

It was the first time that the Summerville Orchestra conducted such a thorough survey, and the feedback drove meaningful improvements in the musician experience. For example, a quick win stemming from the survey was adding tables and chairs to the green room during concert weekends. A simple adjustment to the space was all it took to promote socialization, connection, and an increased sense of belonging during a stressful concert cycle.