Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Executive Director Scott Harrison
(Cybelle Codish)
LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SCOTT HARRISON NAMED TO
ADVISORY BOARD OF
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SCOTT HARRISON NAMED TO
ADVISORY BOARD OF
NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR AUDITION SUPPORT
Organization’s Long-Term Goal Is to Increase Diversity in American Orchestras
Mirrors LACO’s Similar Efforts
Los
Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) Executive Director Scott Harrison, a
passionate advocate for diversity in the arts, has been named to the
Advisory Board of the National Alliance for Audition Support (NAAS). The
organization’s long-term goal is to increase diversity in American
orchestras, a mission that closely mirrors LACO’s Los Angeles Orchestra
Fellowship for top-tier string musicians from underrepresented
communities, which addresses that lack of diversity. Harrison joins
several other key industry leaders in an advisory capacity to develop a
national, comprehensive approach to overcoming barriers.
“I
am honored to serve on NAAS’ Advisory Board to help further its vital
mission of transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts
on a national level,” says Harrison. “Its customized array of support,
including mentoring, audition preparation, financial support and
audition previews aligns with the Los Angeles Orchestra Fellowship, a
partnership with LACO, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and USC
Thornton School of Music launched last fall.”
LACO’s
Los Angeles Orchestra Fellowship is the West Coast’s first
comprehensive fellowship program for top-tier string musicians from
underrepresented communities to address the lack of diversity within
American orchestras, in which less than 5% of the workforce is African
American, Hispanic or Native American. It is funded in part by the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor
Mark Ridley-Thomas, the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda
Solis and AFM Local 47.
NAAS,
also launched last year, was established by the League of American
Orchestras, The Sphinx Organization, and New World Symphony to offer a
holistic and personalized array of support to Black and Latinx musicians
to develop audition skills, increase participation in auditions and,
ultimately, increase representation in orchestras. It is supported by a
four-year $1.8 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation along
with additional financial and programmatic contributions from America’s
orchestras.
Harrison,
since joining LACO as Executive Director in 2015, continues to expand
upon the Orchestra’s commitment to artistic and community impact through
an unwavering commitment to transformative music-making, cultural
conversation and partnership with organizations of shared values across
Los Angeles. He has served on the diversity
subcommittee of the LA County Arts Commission’s Cultural Equity and
Inclusion Task Force, Los Angeles’ nation-leading commitment to building
a more inclusive and equitable arts and culture ecosystem. During his
tenure, he has also strengthened relationships with the leading
institutions across the region, including the Center for the Art of
Performance at UCLA, USC Thornton School of Music, Glendale Arts, Younes
and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, Colburn School and
Huntington Library. Harrison joined with board leadership to develop a
strategic framework for impact across four pillars — concerts,
accessibility and diversity, learning and creating, and innovation and
entrepreneurship – that continues to foster a creative spirit of
programming and decision-making within the organization while helping to
grow the earned revenue base and philanthropic support. He has
championed LACO world premieres or commissions by Ellen Reid, Sarah
Gibson, Derrick Spiva Jr, Juan Pablo Contreras and Pierre Jalbert, among
others, and helped oversee the search and appointment of the
Orchestra’s sixth music director, Jaime Martín, who begins his tenure in
the 2019-20 season.
Harrison
came to LACO after serving as vice president of advancement and
external relations at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, raising $18
million annually while developing strategies to build the DSO’s local
and global reputation. Having previously worked for the Indianapolis,
New Jersey, Boston and Dallas symphony orchestras, Harrison holds
degrees in bassoon and political science from Northwestern University –
where he was recently elected to the political science department’s
Alumni Hall of Fame – and Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School
of the Arts. Deeply committed to music education as a right and a
fervent believer in the power of cultural diplomacy, he serves as a
founding board member of BLUME Haiti, an organization that works with
Haitian and International partners to develop leadership skills in young
musicians and create opportunities for social and civic change through
music. In March 2017, he helped implement the inaugural National
Orchestra Institute in Haiti alongside musicians from the Utah Symphony,
which will now be held for the third time in March 2019. He also serves
as a professional advisor to Chicago-based Fifth House Ensemble and has
lectured and presented for the League of American Orchestras, Arts
Midwest, Tessitura Network, Association of California Symphony
Orchestras, Wayne State University and Spanish Association of Symphony
Orchestras. Harrison is a graduate of National Arts Strategies Chief
Executive Program: Community and Culture, which brought together 50 arts
executives from 34 states and 18 countries who are working to lead
change in their organizations, communities and the global cultural
field.
Los
Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) ranks among the world’s top musical
ensembles. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, the Orchestra is
known as a champion of contemporary composers, with eight ASCAP Awards
for Adventurous Programming, as well as a preeminent interpreter of
historical masterworks. Headquartered in the heart of the country's
cultural capital, LACO has been proclaimed “America’s finest chamber
orchestra” (Public Radio International), “LA’s most unintimidating
chamber music experience” (Los Angeles magazine), “resplendent” (Los Angeles Times)
and “one of the world's great chamber orchestras"(KUSC Classical FM).
Performing throughout greater Los Angeles, the Orchestra presents
orchestral, Baroque and chamber concerts, as well as salon evenings in
private spaces and unique experiences that explore classical music's
cutting-edge sounds. LACO's long history of educational outreach
encompasses programs integral to its mission of nurturing future
musicians and composers as well as inspiring a love of classical music.
Jaime Martín, praised as "a visionary conductor, discerning and
meticulous" (Platea Magazine), is LACO’s Music Director Designate and takes the podium as Music Director in the 2019-20 season.
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