The Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra
-Michael Luxner-
A College-Community Orchestra Partnership that Works
History
Decatur, Illinois, a downstate manufacturing and agricultural center of about 90,000, has a documented history of community symphonic activity dating from 1914. Millikin University, a small private undergraduate institution with a thriving School of Music of 320 majors, has had a curricular orchestra since shortly after its founding in 1901.
Attempts at orchestral town/gown cooperation marked most of the last century and took various forms. In the 1930’s, Jose Echaniz, Artist-in-Residence at Millikin, assumed the podium of the Decatur Symphony, but alienated the volunteer musicians (many of whom were veterans of the silent-film era theatre orchestra) by insisting on classical repertoire, and the Symphony folded. The name “Millikin-Decatur Symphony” dates from the late 1940’s, when Millikin began inviting townspeople into the University orchestra.
The current structure was formalized with the founding of the Symphony Orchestra Guild of Decatur in 1974. The Guild is an independent non-profit organization which supports the orchestra as governed by Millikin University, through funding, audience building, and broad-based activities in music education.
Organizational Structure—Key Elements
- The orchestra is a program of the Millikin University School of Music. The Music Director/Conductor is a full-time member of the faculty (1/2 load).
- The orchestra is curricular, fulfilling the large-ensemble requirement for Millikin students of orchestral stringed instruments, and open to wind/brass/percussion students through placement by performance faculty who serve as principals.
- Guild support, through an annual grant to the University and its own activities, “professionalizes” the orchestra and its image:
- All non-student players are paid a per-service rate at parity with the fully professional orchestras in the region.
- Nationally known guest artists
- High quality program books and publications
- Elegant receptions and social events
Orchestra Operation
- The ensemble comprises students and professionals in roughly equal numbers.
- The principal of each section is the University teacher of that instrument.
- Each stand of strings has one free-lance professional and one student.
- Wind/brass/percussion sections are chosen by faculty principals from the studios.
- Personnel management, working conditions, and library operations follow standards and practices typical of a fully professional per-service orchestra.
Who does what?
- The orchestra budget, controlled by the Music Director, pays musician’s wages and travel, soloists’ fees, music purchase and rental, memberships (ASOL, etc), miscellaneous production expenses, and student assistants.
- Infrastructure costs are absorbed by the overall operating budgets of the School of Music, College of Fine Arts, and/or University: office, phone, shipping, library storage, insurance, press releases, concert recordings, and most significantly, the concert hall and its operating systems and staffs—box office, tech, front of house.
- The Symphony Guild sells season tickets, publishes the program book, and sponsors receptions.
Symphony Guild Education Programs
- Supports the local Youth Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with Millikin and the Decatur Public School District
- Funds audition-based scholarships for private lessons and summer programs
- Sponsors professional chamber ensemble residencies in schools
Curricular Benefits
- Students rehearse and perform demanding repertoire under professional conditions, alongside their teachers.
- Compacted rehearsal cycles for MDSO concerts leave ample time to maintain a second ensemble, comprising students only and operating concurrently, which rehearses and performs separate repertoire and occasionally tours.
“Best of Both Worlds”
- “Professional” orchestra resources and opportunities: American Symphony Orchestra League, grant eligibility, collaboration with major artists, broadcast concerts, and other media exposure.
- “Student” orchestra resources and opportunities: Concerto/Aria Competition (student soloists on MDSO concerts), collaboration with student choral ensembles and opera and theatre departments, and the bottom line: integrity in programming, free of market-driven “competition for the entertainment dollar.”
For more information: Michael Luxner
Millikin University
1184 West Main Street
Decatur, IL 62522
(217) 424-3774
mluxner@mail.millikin.edu
Job Opening: Director of Orchestral Studies Univ. of Oregon
Director of Orchestral Studies, Conducting, Director of the University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra
Tenure-track assistant or associate professor (full time, 9-months), salary commensurate with training and experience. Responsibilities will include serving as music director and conductor of the university symphony orchestra (including program selection, scheduling, and administering; teaching of conducting and leading the master’s-level orchestral conducting program; establishing and maintaining active working relationships with state and regional string teachers and high school orchestra directors). AA/EO/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity. We seek candidates who share our commitment to diversity. See full description, including qualifications and application procedures, at http://hr.uoregon.edu/jobs or http://www.music.uoregon.edu. Review of applications begin September 30, 2011.