Leading an Orchestra

        So You Want to Lead an Orchestra. Peter Drucker calls orchestras an example of an organization design that will become in-creasingly popular in the 21st century, in that they employ skilled and talented people, joined together as a team to create products and services. Drucker may hear what he wants to hear. Others say orchestras are autocratic. The conductor dictates what is played and how it is played. Rather than basking in the glow of orchestral teamwork, jokes like the following are common among orchestra members: Q. Why do so many people take an instant dislike to the viola? A. It saves time. Job descriptions for orchestras look simple: Play the music. (Q. How is lightning like a key-boardist’s fingers? A. Neither strikes the same place twice.) Violins play violin parts; trumpets play trumpet parts. Yet one study reported that job satisfaction for orchestra members ranks below that of prison guards. However, orchestra members were more satisfied than operating room nurses and hockey players. Exhibit 1 (below) shows the pay structure for a regional chamber orchestra. (Q. How can you make a clarinet sound like a French horn? A. Play all the wrong notes.) The pay covers six full orchestra concerts, one Caroling by Candlelight event, three Sunday Chamber Series concerts, several Arts in Education elementary school concerts, two engagements for a flute quartet, and one Ring in the Holidays brass event as well as the regularly scheduled rehearsals. (Q. How can you tell when a trombonist is playing out of tune? A. When the slide is moving.) 1. Describe the orchestra’s pay structure in terms of levels, differentials, and job- or person-based approach. 2. Discuss what factors may explain the structure. Why does violinist I receive more than the oboist and trombonist? Why does the principal trumpet player earn more than the prin-cipal cellist and principal clarinetist but less than the principal viola and principal flute players? What explains these differences? Does the relative supply versus the demand for violinists compare to the supply versus the demand for trombonists? Is it that violins play more notes? 3. What is the pay differential between the principal viola and next highest paid viola? What about between the principal trumpet and the next highest paid trumpet? Why these differentials be-tween the principal and other? Why aren’t they larger? Smaller? Why is the differential between trumpet players different than between the viola players? 4. How well do equity and tournament models apply? Do custom and tradition play any role? What about institutional theory?   EXHIBIT 1 Orchestra Compensation Schedule Instrument/Fee Violin, Concertmaster $6,970 Principal Bass and Conductor 5,070 Principal Viola 5,036 Principal Flute 4,337 Principal Trumpet 4,233 Principal Cello 4,181 Principal Clarinet 4,146 Trumpet 3,638 Principal Oboe 3,615 Principal Violin II 3,488 Principal Horn 3,390 Keyboard I 3,361 Cello 3,228 Principal Percussion 3,049 Violin I 2,899 Cello 2,882 Principal Bassoon 2,824 Violin I 2,685   Instrument /Fee Violin I $2,483 Violin I 2,483 Violin I 2,483 Violin II 2,483 Violin II 2,483 Viola 2,483 Violin II 1,975 Viola 2,212 Oboe 2,206 Trombone 2,137 Viola 2,033 Violin II/Viola 1,784 Cello 1,634 Clarinet 1,548 Horn 1,548 Flute 1,455 Keyboard II 1,392 Bassoon 1,265 Violin II 1,178