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Investigating the Role of Australian Orchestral Musicians in Artistic Decision- Making Processes: Two Case Studies Sarah Louise May Lewis Bachelor of Music (Honours)

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Investigating the Role of Australian Orchestral Musicians in Artistic Decision- Making Processes: Two Case Studies Sarah Louise May Lewis Bachelor of Music (Honours) Investigating the role of Australian Orchestral Musicians in artistic decision- making processes: Two case studies Sarah Louise May Lewis Bachelor of Music (Honours) A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2018 School of Music Abstract Musicians, as artistic beings, have an intrinsic need for creative fulfillment. This need is personal and comprises many elements. For orchestral musicians, creative fulfillment may be achieved simply by their involvement in a role which is in essence a creative genre. It may be achieved by working alongside and collaborating with like-minded people. It may also occur as the result of having the opportunity to contribute to the artistic decision-making processes of their organisation. Research demonstrates, however, the creative needs of orchestral musicians are not always being met. Orchestral musicians report dissatisfaction, due to a lack of opportunity to influence their orchestras’ artistic decision-making processes. They claim they are underutilised as decision makers or co- collaborators in artistic processes. Previous research on this topic has mostly been conducted with orchestras outside of Australia. There is little research regarding Australian orchestras. This project aims to fill this gap. Accordingly, the aim of this project is to investigate the current and prospective involvement of Australian orchestral musicians in orchestral artistic decision-making processes. Musicians’ involvement in three key areas of orchestral organisations are examined: artistic planning, the rehearsal setting, and professional development, chamber, and education programs. Musicians’ experiences and perceptions of individual creative fulfillment within the workplace are discussed according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Participants are musicians from two contrasting organisations: an Australian state symphony orchestra (governed), and an Australian conductorless chamber orchestra (self-governed approach). The project follows a convergent parallel mixed methods design, collating data from questionnaires and interviews. Results of the combined data indicate that the majority of the symphony orchestra musician participants are creatively unfulfilled, with organisational hierarchies hindering their opportunity to exert influence on artistic planning. In comparison, the conductorless chamber orchestra musician participants report a lack of creative fulfillment within the rehearsal setting, due to orchestral leaders driving interpretative decisions, and mixed opinions on rehearsal methods. This research provides Australian orchestral organisations an insight into the creative needs of their employees, and the organisational procedures that could be implemented to support musicians feeling valued in their careers for the mutual benefit of the organisation. ii Declaration by Author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co-authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. iii Publications Included in this Thesis No publications included. Submitted Manuscripts Included in this Thesis No manuscripts submitted for publication. Other Publications During Candidature No other publications. Contributions by Others to the Thesis This thesis has been professionally edited by Dr. Julie McCredden, from Insight Analysis and The University of Queensland. Dr. McCredden provided input regarding the formatting, sentence structure, brevity, grammar, and punctuation of the thesis. Statement of Parts of the Thesis Submitted to Qualify for the Award of Another Degree No works submitted towards another degree have been included in this thesis. iv Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects Ethics approval letter is provided in Appendix D. Project Number: SoM-ETH16-05/SL Name of Responsible Panel: School of Music Ethical Review Panel Name of School of Music Ethics Review Coordinator: Dr. Liam Viney Dated: 16th February, 2017 v Acknowledgements I would first like to acknowledge my principal advisor, Dr. Mary Broughton, for her excellent and inspiring academic guidance and support. I would also like to acknowledge my associate advisor, Dr. Michael O’Loghlin, whose assistance in the early stages of the project were much appreciated. Thank you to Dr. Julie McCredden, for her professional editing services. Dr. McCredden provided input regarding the formatting, sentence structure, brevity, grammar, and punctuation of the thesis. I would like to thank the Australian orchestral organisations that participated in this research project. I particularly acknowledge the gatekeepers of the orchestral organisations, who kindly assisted in the process of recruiting orchestral musicians as participants, and who made me feel welcome in their workplace environments. I also thank those orchestral musicians who provided valuable data to the project. In particular, I thank the interview participants for giving their own time to work with me. Their knowledge, ideas, and perspectives on orchestral organisations were thought-provoking and insightful, making the interview sessions the highlight of the research project. I would like to thank my closest friends, all of whom were patient, understanding, and cheering me on from the side-lines. Thank you to my family, specifically my parents. I am grateful for your support throughout my career so far. To my Dad, I thank you for your patience, care and tolerance. To my Mum, I thank you for sacrificing so much, in order to help me reach my potential. Thank you for being my pillar of strength, and for offering ongoing love and encouragement. Lastly, I thank my dog Lochie, who has been the most wonderful company any research student could possibly have on a (nearly) daily basis. vi Financial Support This research was supported by a University of Queensland HDR Student Scholarship of $750, for assistance in collecting research data. Keywords artistic decision-making, creative fulfillment, orchestral musicians, orchestral management, hierarchy of needs, workplace culture, employee engagement, artistic planning, rehearsal, professional development Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 190409, Musicology and Ethnomusicology, 70% ANZSRC code: 190407, Music Performance, 30% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 1904, Performing Arts and Creative Writing, 100% vii Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables xii List of Abbreviations xiv Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1 Background of the Research Project 1 1.1.1 Orchestral musician involvement in artistic decision-making processes 2 1.1.2 Musicians’ creative fulfillment: Humanistic psychology and self-actualisation 4 1.2 Key Terms for the Research Project 5 1.3 Aim and Research Questions of the Research Project 6 1.4 Approach of the Research Project 7 1.5 Significance of and Justification for the Research Project 7 1.6 Intended Audience for the Research Project Outcomes 8 1.7 Structure of the Thesis 8 Chapter Two: Literature Review 10 2.1 Preamble 10 2.2 Introduction to Leadership and Artistic Decision-Making Processes in Music Ensembles 10 2.3 The Organisational Structures and Procedures of Twenty-First Century Orchestras 12 2.3.1 Defining the orchestra 12 2.3.2 The governance of orchestras 12 2.3.3 The symphony orchestras’ organisational structures and procedures, and artistic decision-making processes 14 2.3.4 The chamber orchestras’ organisational structures and procedures, and artistic decision-making processes 16 2.4 The Role of Symphony Orchestral Musicians and Conductorless Chamber Orchestral Musicians in Artistic Decision-Making Processes 19 2.4.1 Artistic decision-making processes in orchestras 19 2.4.2 The orchestral musicians’ role in artistic planning 20 2.4.3 The orchestral musicians’ role in the orchestral rehearsal 22 2.4.4 The conductors’ role in the orchestral rehearsal 23 2.4.5 Additional roles and opportunities for musician involvement in artistic decision-making processes 26 viii 2.5 Twenty-First
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