10/23/2014 Orpheus Orchestra

The Orpheus Orchestra is unique. It is a full functioning, Grammy winning, 28 base member orchestra,
formed in 1972. (Khodyakov, 2007) Orpheus’ membership is comprised of world class musicians,
some noted for their solo efforts. What makes the Orpheus Orchestra unique is the fact that it practices
and performs without a conductor, making it in some ways when compared with other orchestras,
leaderless. But the Orpheus Orchestra has many leaders; in fact all its members are leaders. They each
contribute to the creativity and innovation of the musical performances and through rotating leadership
for coordination of practices and by sub groups that focus on piece delivery, the groups organizational
structure promotes a form of trust and control that is intertwined, ultimately producing an exceptional
output, and nurturing members whose creativity is not stifled and unlike most orchestras, have high
satisfaction in their jobs.
There are many lessons that large business organizations such as Kraft that can learn from the
governance structure in place for the Orpheus Orchestra. Large corporations are constantly looking for
ways to light a creative spark in their teams, to be more innovative and more productive. We learned
how Electrolux did this in our last case study, by creating cross functional development teams. The
structure in the Orpheus Orchestra also promotes creativity. Often organizations exercise control over
their employees to ensure that operations run smoothly, goals are reached efficiently, and employees
cooperate with managers and each other. (Khodyakov, 2007) Hierarchical control often stifles
creativity, fosters dissatisfaction, and de-motivates employees which may negatively influence the
quality of the final product in creative organizations. (Khodyakov, 2007) The structure of Orpheus
promotes open and honest communication, increased accountability for decisions, and leveraging
mistakes to learn for the future. All of these can benefit the teamwork at any organization.
The Orpheus Orchestra is not without the utilization of the role of a leader. In typical conductor led
orchestras, the concertmaster is equivalent to that of a team captain. In Orpheus, the concertmaster is
similar to a player-coach on a sports team. (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2011) The
concertmaster, which is a rotating position from concert to concert and from piece to piece, leads the core
group which is responsible for the coordination of rehearsals, establishing the artistic framework and
developing the musical framework. The concertmaster manages debates amongst members as to the
style of playing, suggesting resolutions, and making sure that decisions are taken and that the group can
move on. (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2011) The concertmaster is also responsible for
presenting the agreed upon playing style to the full orchestra. By rotating this leadership position,
everyone gets the experience of being a leader. It also promotes open and honest communication
amongst the members. Being familiar in moderating and helping to resolve debates increases the
comfort level of being able to speak up when the individual is in the opposite role for a different piece
and contributing to the creativity. This fosters a high level of trust between the members of the group.
Reliance on trust can be viewed as an indication of organizational willingness to embrace uncertainty and
to be vulnerable to the behavior of its employees, who are expected, but not fully constrained, to perform
actions that are beneficial for all members of the organization. (Khodyakov, 2007) By observing
Orpheus in action, one can see components of trust being displayed, such as the presence of open
communication between orchestra members, civility of interaction, ability to listen to and follow other
musicians, willingness to take initiative and express personal opinions, readiness to be personally
accountable for decisions and actions, openness to considering alternatives, and admitting mistakes.
(Khodyakov, 2007)
In addition to the role of the concertmaster, Orpheus also utilizes rotating core groups, seating position
rotation, and a culture of self control as substitutes for an overall leader. The core groups are responsible
for focusing on a single piece, and as mentioned earlier decide the musical interpretation of the piece.
Within each group of instruments, the lead chair role is rotated after each piece. By doing this all
members experience the role of leader and follower. Furthermore, the climate of Orpheus is one where
each musician is expected to display self control in their behavior, meaning that each member will
present their opinions, but if consensus is not in their favor, they back off after explaining their view, and
accept the group view. This allows for faster resolution, resolution that normally be directed by the
http://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/print/Orpheus-Orchestra/25714 1/2
10/23/2014 Orpheus Orchestra

conductor.

http://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/print/Orpheus-Orchestra/25714 2/2