In July 2011, I began to lay the foundation of the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra (TFO) in Branson, Missouri, and we completed our fourth successful concert season in June 2015. The
TFO is a two-week classical music festival in Branson, Missouri that thrives on experimentation—both programmatically and institutionally—and community building through music. I wanted to
create something that is satisfying for musicians and accessible to modern audiences. This is its mission: The Taneycomo Festival Orchestra is a nonprofit organization that provides a free
two-week concert series of classical music in Branson, Missouri. We seek to break the 19th century tradition that attending a symphony concert is a formal and elitist event by providing an
accessible and casual series of concerts and educational programs while continuing to preserve these great works of art in our destination city. Come as you are and enjoy the beautiful
music! I embarked on this adventure with little administrative experience. However, I had a strong background in clarinet performance and music composition, a great network of friends and
colleagues, and determination to bring my dream to fruition. In laying the TFO's foundation, I completed almost every administrative task on my own. I filed all of the legal documents
(Articles of Incorporation, Employee Identification Number, and 501(c)(3)) successfully and without any legal aid. In the first year, I also recruited thirty-five musicians to perform in
the orchestra and programmed eight concerts (two orchestral, six chamber) for the two-week series. In 2015, we had one hundred musicians and gave fourteen concerts (four orchestral, nine
chamber, one big band) over the course of our two-week series. Our programming is diverse and includes standard repertoire, contemporary repertoire, commissioned repertoire, children's
programming, and jazz. Our venues are eclectic and include schools, hotels, cafés, bars, shops, churches, and homes. We save a lot of money while simultaneously engaging the community by
placing each of our traveling musicians with host families and providing the orchestra with nightly dinner parties at various community members' homes. The Festival continues to grow and
is immersed deeper into the community each year. After our fourth season, community members have remarked that the TFO is no longer a luxury but a necessity. This paper is a concise guide
to music festival creation for performers. It discusses the path that I took to create the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra and reveals the successes and failures of the process. I started the
Taneycomo Festival Orchestra to make classical music more accessible, enjoyable, and relevant to a modern, rural community. The events created under these circumstances are often
high-quality musical experiences that are fun for audiences. I also aspired to separate music festival creation from traditional institutional structure. If a performer takes a similar
path and wishes to create such an organization, he or she will have little to no familiarity with the traditional or nontraditional institutional structures. My unique perspective offers a
multidisciplinary approach to music festival foundation. Most of this paper is structured around a narrative about my experiences in running TFO, but also refers to many valuable resources
to aid the beginning arts administrator in the creation and management of a music festival. / A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music. / Fall Semester 2015. / November 13, 2015. / Branson, Festival, Music, Nonprofit, Orchestra, Taneycomo / Includes bibliographical references. / Deborah Bish, Professor Directing Treatise; Steven Kelly, University Representative; Eva Amsler, Committee Member; Anne Hodges, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_291381 |
| Contributors | Sanders, Larkin Elizabeth (authoraut), Bish, Deborah, 1971- (professor directing treatise), Kelly, Steven N. (university representative), Amsler, Eva (committee member), Hodges, Anne R. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Music (degree granting college), College of Music (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (193 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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