Agree to dislodge from hierarchy
We have accepted that business as usual is when the conductor dictates things and the musicians do as they are told. The conductor should have the answer to every question and the solution to every problem. The musicians are to execute instructions, without question.
Musicians are assessed and rewarded by how compliant they are to the conductor's instructions and desires - even when it goes against their own thoughts, when it is technically uncomfortable, or when it doesn't make sense.
While musicians can certainly have ideas of their own, they learn to keep it to themselves. If they share those ideas, they risk being publicly dismissed or coming across as challenging authority. So instead, they remain in their rightful place in the hierarchy and stay silent. And the conductor feels obligated to exert power to keep their place above the musicians.
We are stifled by all of this. The leader feels immense pressure and the musicians feel suppressed. Both parties feel an obligation to maintain their place in the hierarchy. Why? Just because we've done it that way?
We don't realize these aspects of traditional hierarchy lead to disillusionment and resentment that are the basis of many, if not all, of the conflicts we see in orchestras and opera companies.
I think a lot about how we can disrupt this hierarchy.
My approach has been advocating for leaders to reconsider their position in this hierarchy - to relinquish control, to let go of having to be right all the time, to share artistic authority with the musicians, to be an advocate more than a dictator.
I actually neglected to see that the musicians also have to be willing to reconsider their position in the hierarchy too. Otherwise, it simply won't work!
The musicians have to be willing to be empowered, to have ideas and feel brave to share them, to risk being wrong sometimes and OK with that, to come up with solutions, to take control and ownership. I can imagine how this must be a huge hurdle for musicians who have lived their whole lives not doing those things. Just because the chains are taken off doesn't mean the roaming free is immediate and easy.
What I'm realizing is that both conductor and musician must agree to reconsider their positions in the hierarchy. Both parties must be willing to change to equalize power in the absence of hierarchy. That means everyone will be in uncomfortable positions - until it becomes more comfortable. Discomfort: that's a prerequisite for change.
That's where I think we can start - to agree that this is the change we want to see. The change of reconsidering our place in the hierarchy. Our willingness to be dislodged. We have to all want this change, conductors and musicians alike. Only then are we in a position to talk about how we move forward.
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