LPO Musicians According to LPO bylaws, a musician shall be a member of the corporation (corporate member) if:1.1.1 the Personnel Committee of the corporation (see section 5.3 below) has recommended to the Orchestra Personnel Manager that the person be offered a contract (in accordance with the Operating Rules and Procedures of the corporation) as a full-time musician for the orchestra for the current season or, in the case of tenured persons, for an indefinite number of seasons; and1.1.2 the person’s compensation is based on a share.
Board of Trustees According to LPO bylaws, the community trustees (non-musician trustees) shall include up to twenty-six fixed-term trustees elected by members of the corporation after having been nominated in accordance with the bylaws, any lifetime trustees, plus, as ex officio members, the chairs of each LPO Advocacy Council chapter, the president of the LPO Volunteers, and the president of Prelude.
The LPO musicians who serve on the Board of Trustees also comprise the Musicians’ Committee. The Musicians’ Committee elects one of its members to be the President of the Orchestra. The President of the Orchestra is the president of the corporation as recorded with the Secretary of State of Louisiana. The Musicians’ Committee role in advancing and protecting the interests of musicians as employees of the LPO is distinct from the responsibilities of those same musician committee members when serving as Musician Trustee members of the Board.
The Artistic Programming Committee is responsible for planning the LPO’s repertoire. The committee shall consist of eleven members as follows: the Orchestra Librarian, an ex-officio, non-voting member; the Music Director, an ex-officio, voting member; the Chief Executive Officer, an ex-officio, non-voting member; the Director of Production, an ex-officio, non-voting member; the Director of Artistic Programming, an ex-officio, non-voting member; and six elected members of the corporation as voting members of the committee.
The purpose of the Education Committee is to work collaboratively with education, development, and production staff in the creation of educational initiatives including those designed to elicit external funding, in the planning of programs to implement those initiatives, and in the assessment of the effectiveness of these programs.
The purpose of the Personnel Committee is to ensure that the musicians performing in the orchestra are of the highest artistic quality and that personnel policies are applied in a fair and consistent manner. Specifically, the Personnel Committee oversees the processes set forth in the Operating Rules related to auditions, contracts, tenure, leave requests, and discipline for full-time musicians; and contracting for substitute and extra musicians.
Board Committees
Board Committees are comprised of both trustees and LPO musicians, plus staff liasons.
The Artistic Leadership Committee provides a forum for sharing information on a confidential basis between Corporate Members and Community Trustees regarding the LPO’s artistic leadership staffing structure and individual artistic leadership personnel (For example, the Music Director, Principal Conductor, Principal Guest Conductor, Resident Conductor, etc…).
The Finance Committee’s duties shall consist of: advising the Treasurer, the Assistant Treasurer, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Board of Trustees on the financial operations of the LPO, including the establishment of budgets, the management of funds including investments, cash flow and cash balances, the control of expenditures, and the forecasting of receipts; reviewing and commenting on the procedures being used to safeguard the funds of the LPO and the arrangements being used for the audit and accounting of all financial matters; communicating to the Board of Trustees no later than March 15th of each year its recommendation as to the maximum number of full-time orchestra members for the following season.
The Human Resources Committee’s duties shall consist of: reviewing annually the Human Resources Policy Handbooks of the LPO and recommending changes to the Board of Trustees; providing counsel, as requested by the Personnel Committee, Chief Executive Officer, or any grievance committee convened in accordance with the Human Resources Policy Handbooks of the LPO, prior to the implementation of any decision adverse to a member of the Corporation or the administrative staff; making recommendations to the Personnel Committee and Chief Executive Officer on matters of Human Resources procedure.
The Presidents’ Committee acts for the Board of Trustees when circumstances make it impractical to convene a meeting or obtain a quorum of the full Board of Trustees. In this role, the members of the Presidents’ Committee stand in a fiduciary relation to the Corporation, and shall discharge the duties of their position in good faith, and with that diligence, care, judgment, and skill which an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances in like positions.
The Patron and Institutional Development Committee’s duties shall consist of: crafting policies for Board consideration that support the development of a comprehensive patron-centric model for audience development and philanthropy that effectively fulfills the LPO’s mission; creating an annual plan to guide the fundraising activities of each member of the Board of Trustees; developing metrics for, and undertaking an annual evaluation of, the LPO’s audience development and philanthropy programs; advising the Chief Executive Officer, Director of Marketing and Communications, and Director of Philanthropy on audience development and philanthropic campaigns, initiatives, and budget goals.
The Program Development Committee’s duties shall consist of: providing oversight of LPO programming as a governing responsibility of the Board of Trustees. The Program Development Committee’s role is one of determining a framework for LPO programming. As such, the specific content of individual programs, concerts, and events planned within the approved framework is entirely under the purview of the Artistic Programming and Education Committees (pending budget approval by the Finance Committee and Board of Trustees); crafting policies for Board of Trustees consideration that support the development of a comprehensive spectrum of artistic, education, and community engagement programs that effectively fulfill the LPO’s mission; developing metrics for, and undertaking an annual evaluation of, the LPO’s artistic, education, and community engagement programs; considering proposals from the Artistic Programming and Education Committees for the establishment, revision, and cessation of the LPO’s artistic, education, and community engagement programs.
The Trusteeship Committee of the Board of Trustees has the responsibility for seeking persons to serve as Community Trustees, planning for succession of and nominating candidates for officers positions set forth in section 8 above other than the President of the Orchestra, conducting Board self-evaluation, and evaluating Board leadership.
Sub Committees and Task Forces
Sub Committees and Task Forces make recommendations in how to improve specific, targeted areas.
The Diversity and Inclusion Task Force makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on how to improve the LPO’s diversity in the areas of trusteeship, administration, musician employment, and audience development.