At the Grand Rapids Symphony

It’s been a long time since my last post, and for that I apologize profusely. When our time at Aspen came to a close, I said goodbye to my fellow Fellows as we went our separate ways.

Just a word about travels throughout the Fellowship year: downloading a few audiobooks onto your iPod makes the drive pass more quickly, especially the endless trek on I-70 across Kansas. Companionship also helps. I made the trip with my betta fish named Cup (pictured above in his traveling tank and his permanent home). Cup has been with me for an improbable two years, so I’m glad he can keep me company during this crazy year away from familiar friends and family. I think he enjoyed listening to Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” as much as I did.

I am now settled at the Grand Rapids Symphony, working closely with orchestra president Melia Tourangeau. My lead projects include writing several grant proposals, organizing a guest artist master class series, and researching orchestras’ summer seasons in anticipation the GRS’s move to a new venue in the summer of 2008.

I spend a lot of time observing and participating in meetings: senior staff, artistic planning, board, executive committee, development, production, marketing, etc. I’ve made a point to organize my notes from these meetings to keep a record of lessons learned and questions to ask. Within twenty-four hours, I type my notes and replay the meeting in my head as I try to notice trends in management style, conflict resolution, and institutional opinion. Wow, that sounds so nerdy. It’s such a unique opportunity to be thrown into an administration with no preconceived notions of the organization. Melia and the rest of the staff give me a great deal of access to meetings of all kinds, and I feel so fortunate to be in an environment where I can learn so much.