Leaders on (and off) Stage

Orchestral principals are outstanding performers who have trained for decades to reach the exceptional standards required to play and lead their sections in professional orchestras. They are masters of their instruments. Orchestral life involves intense periods of back-to-back work, irregular schedules and sky-high performance expectations with minimum rehearsal time, all of which is compounded by a blurring of the lines between what constitutes work and play.

Jane Booth (for over 25 years a principal clarinettist in leading UK and European orchestras, and now Leader of the Guildhall Coaching Associates at Guildhall School of Music & Drama), and Trudy Wright (former Director and Head of Orchestral Tours & Projects at Harrison Parrott, one of Europe’s leading music agencies, now a personal/professional development coach and Guildhall Coaching Associate) explore how the lifestyle of an orchestral principal plays out in the daily interactions, trials and tribulations of this most unpredictable of careers, and explain how their work led to the establishment of a non-musical leadership skills professional training programme for orchestral principals, Leaders on (and off) Stage.

The training of orchestral musicians seldom includes preparation for the non-musical aspect of leading a section of extremely talented individuals, nor how to excel as part of a high-performance team. How does a Principal player advocate as a spokesperson for their section to the conductor with confidence? What are some of the skills needed to diplomatically solve a disagreement?

In the course of our work as professional coaches teaching coaching and leadership skills across the Education, Arts and Business sectors, we instinctively felt that the kinds of training we were sharing could be adapted to the needs of performing musicians to create a more positive culture, enhance well-being and reduce stress. Drawing on decades of experience working with international orchestras and with the benefit of our Guildhall School-funded research, we first surveyed the UK orchestral sector - with the prior agreement and full support of the orchestra managements and Musicians Union - inviting principal players and section players to share their experiences of leadership in an orchestral setting.

We received responses from 23 section players and 15 principal players across 10 different UK orchestras (from chamber through to opera orchestras). Our research findings told us that principal players, especially string players, with up to 15 individuals in a section, often felt overwhelmed in terms of their responsibilities and duties both on and off the stage. Some of the things principal players liked least about their role included; 'Expectations of perfection from others and a feeling of isolation', 'Personnel Issues', 'Politics and meetings and emails all the time.' Yet those responsibilities and duties were mostly assumed and rarely detailed in a job description or set out formally.

Furthermore, the responses from section players only reinforced principal players’ instinctive sense of there being a very long list of unspoken expectations from their section colleagues. Just a few of these examples included, 'Interest in section players, listening musically and other, sense of humour, reliability and fairness', '…- making sure of bus times.. –', 'The ability to hear ideas and concerns and pass them on as appropriate', 'Musical Guidance. Passion. Odd bit of encouragement. Positive criticism'. Our research revealed that the combination of musical and non-musical leadership requirements placed upon principal players could be overwhelming. The data, when seen in black and white, came as a jolt. Having said this, principal players were unanimous in feeling highly competent to execute their musical leadership skills. It was the non-musical leadership demands of the role which drained them because they did not feel sufficiently upskilled to carry them out as effectively and efficiently as they would like.

Two responses summed it up well:

'I’m a very very cautious person when it comes to the politics of sections as I never want to be upset or upset others as my playing might pay the price. That’s what matters to me most at the end of the day. Politics don’t matter when you’re playing all alone in the Royal Festival Hall!'

'It is apparent that to be a principal player you need to be a fabulous musician but leadership skills are not taught and do not always come naturally.'

These findings inspired us to devise a non-musical leadership training programme specifically tailored to the needs of professional orchestral musicians. The findings also helped to craft the content for our musician-led training programme and have continued to inspire us to pursue further research in the light of our learning. Our next research project looks at how orchestral institutions might define principal player roles and responsibilities more effectively, refining existing approaches to player management and leadership.

We ran a pilot Leaders on Stage course in November 2020, and since then have run periodic ‘surgeries’ for participants. The next course runs from October through to December this year and will be delivered on Zoom, with six sessions across six weeks. Participants may choose between a Monday evening or Thursday morning for each session, providing a choice for principals who are now, thankfully, managing busy diaries again. For more information and to book a place, go to Guildhall School’s website. We’ve had some fantastic feedback from participants:

"'Leaders on Stage’ was an eye opener. It helped structure my thoughts around what excellent orchestral leadership is. …. It gave me a variety of tools to help deal with sticky situations, from interpersonal relations to fostering a better overall working atmosphere. It also showed me that issues I grapple with are by no means mine alone, and this was the first time I ever had the chance to air some of these with others in similar positions!'

We’ve also delivered a shorter workshop for orchestras in the UK and Canada, The Art & Science of Difficult Conversations, two half-days, online, involving both principal and section players from the same orchestra. Feedback was very positive:

'This is a wonderful workshop for any orchestral musicians... It gives tried and tested tools to approach difficult conversations, it raises awareness, understanding and ability, and enhances group-dynamics no end.'

Participants involved in these workshops have committed to embed and grow their new skills to bring cultural change to their orchestras. Guildhall Coaching Associates’ vision is to evaluate the all-important mid to longer-term impact of our training offer to principal players and to underpin that work by developing an established ‘community of best practice’ within the sector. Despite the many challenges the sector faces as we re-emerge from the destruction wreaked by the pandemic, our orchestras continue to have a global reputation for excellence, innovation and creativity. We hope our work will contribute to supporting the best to become even better.

Leaders on (and off) Stage runs on Zoom from 25 October or 28 October, with participants committing to one 3.5 hour long session per week for six weeks.

The Art & Science of Difficult Conversations runs with flexible starting dates or as bespoke training for oganisations with specific needs and challenges.

Find out more here.