Department: 

Artistic  

Reports To:  

President and CEO   
 

Classification: Exempt
 

Status: Regular, Full-time
 

Direct Reports:  2

Indirect Reports: 3

Salary Range: $185,000 to $200,000 annually  

Position Summary 

Working in conjunction with the Music Director and President and CEO, the Vice President of Artistic Planning will help inform and shape the Minnesota Orchestra’s expansive artistic and strategic vision for the future. This role will be involved in all elements of the artistic profile of the Orchestra, from fostering relationships with guest artists and conductors, to commissioning, touring, and media planning. This role will work closely with orchestra musicians and will be additive to the collaborative institutional culture of the Minnesota Orchestra.

About the Minnesota Orchestra: 

The Minnesota Orchestra is a Grammy Award-winning orchestra known for acclaimed performances in Minnesota and around the world, a storied history of recordings and radio broadcasts, innovative educational engagement programs and a commitment to new orchestral music. Founded by Emil Oberhoffer in 1903 as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, the organization was the eighth major orchestra established in the United States. In 1911, it began a series of children's concerts under the sponsorship of the Young People's Symphony Concert Association (YPSCA), which continues to this day. Early in the 1920s, the orchestra was one of the first to be heard on recordings and on the radio, playing a nationally broadcast concert with guest conductor Bruno Walter in 1923. In 1968, the orchestra changed its name to the Minnesota Orchestra (or Minnesota Orchestral Association). 

Today the Orchestra performs a wide variety of music including nearly 175 concerts in a typical year, primarily at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis, the organization’s home since 1974. The Orchestra is led by Music Director Thomas Søndergård and has historically toured regularly throughout Minnesota, nationally and abroad. The Minnesota Orchestra has an annual budget of $42.6M and ended FY2024 with net assets of $185.5M. The organization employs over 150 FT employees and over 100 PT staff and is supported and governed by an 80+ member Board of Directors. In 2024-25, 237,875 guests attended in-person concerts; with audio streaming, digital concerts, TV and radio broadcasts included that number reached more than 2.5 million people.    

Minnesota Orchestra Values: 

We believe every employee is essential to the success of the organization and critical to accomplishing our mission to enrich, inspire and serve our community.
Our working relationships are based on respect for each other as individuals, confidence in one another, and a genuine desire to actively listen and collaborate with each other.
We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization that honors and reflects the community we serve, welcomes, and instills diversity across our organization, and nurtures an equitable and inclusive culture. 

Essential Functions and Day-to-Day Work

• Develop and manage relationships with conductors, solo artists, and composers, as well as their agents, managers, and publishers. The successful candidate will have established relationships with leading international artists as well as the ability to recognize and cultivate young and emerging talents.
• Prepare and analyze financial information, with success in managing expenditures and negotiating performance fees and contracts.
• Work with both unionized and non-unionized staff. 
• Develop and implement programmatic initiatives and educational opportunities for a wide range of audience members.
• Engage with major donors and collaborate with the development team to optimize special artistic funding opportunities. 
• Collaborate across the organization (e.g., Artistic Advisory Committee, Minnesota Orchestra Members Committee, Education, Community Engagement, Orchestra and Production, Marketing, Orchestra Personnel, Development, and Finance) to deliver artistically impactful and well curated seasons.

Work Environment and Physical and Mental Demands

The Minnesota Orchestra is primarily a place-based organization, offering hybrid schedules that require some in-person, on-site work. Permission is required for applicants and current employees seeking to reside outside of the Twin Cities metropolitan area or more than 60 miles from Orchestra Hall. While working on site at Orchestra Hall or the administrative offices, work is performed in an open office environment with moderate noise levels in a cubical desk configuration and in a performing art building on stage, in a lobby or other location within the facility, and occasionally in an outdoor environment for outdoor concerts, or other activities.  While performing the duties of this position, incumbents may be required to do all or some of the following, with or without accommodation:

• Sit or stand at a desk, counter, or other work surface 

• Talk and/or hear spoken words, music, or other sounds 

• Use hands or fingers to handle or touch objects around them

• Review documents, monitors, or displays with potentially small print 

• Operate a computer, phone and other common office tools or controls

• Mentally focus on tasks and apply sound reasoning and judgement

• Work in or attend meetings or other events in any of the Orchestra locations or other sites as necessary

• Lift/move objects (such as files, packages, props, or office equipment) or ensure objects are lifted/moved that may weigh up to 15 lbs.

The typical workdays and hours for the organization are Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm with the possibility of extended evening, weekend or holiday hours.  In this exempt position, work is expected to be delivered within established deadlines and quality standards without regard to the typical working days or hours as noted above with some autonomy to determine attendance at a performance or other events.

Perks & Benefits 

Our benefit programs are more than just insurance plans. To us, they demonstrate a commitment to our employees and their families that we care about who they are and their health and wellbeing.  

Health Benefits Offerings 

Generous employer contributions to medical plans 

Dental and vision plans 

Health Savings Account (HSA) employer funding each pay period 

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) 

Employee Assistance Program 

Life and AD&D  

Short- and Long-Term Disability 

Time Off Benefits 

Generous PTO accrual 

Generous sick leave accrual 

Volunteering Time Off 

13 organizational holidays 

Financial 

401(k) Plan with two ways to earn organizational contributions 

Perks 

MetroPass  

Parking Garage Discounts 

Complimentary and Discounted Tickets  

Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance, Music Theory, Music Education or related field, or the equivalent amount of training and hands-on experience sufficient to perform the essential functions of the position
• 10 years of senior leadership experience which includes a minimum of 5 years in a similar VP/Director role 
• Extensive knowledge of classical and other genres of music  
• Demonstrated aptitude for analyzing community engagement, programmatic initiative, and other artistic data collection  
• Demonstrated ability to manage confidential and sensitive information, possess a high degree of personal integrity and sound judgment 
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines with excellent attention to detail
• Demonstrated strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively present ideas and deliverables to internal stakeholders, external suppliers, vendors, or other entities
• Demonstrated enthusiasm for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion principles and an active interest in incorporating such practices across the organization.
• Availability to participate in donor engagement events, including concerts, receptions, dinners, lunches, and fundraising events
• Willingness to work in a very fast-paced environment 
• Familiarity with a shared governance model, or openness to learning this form of participation  
• Flexibility and courage in testing new ideas and taking risks 
• Comfort with and adaptability to new technologies 
• A tolerance for ambiguity 

Technology/Equipment

• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of artistic planning software such as Arts Vision or other related software  

• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of MS Office suite, especially Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Minnesota Orchestral Association is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable discrimination laws. We recruit, hire, train and promote all persons without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, creed, status with regard to public assistance or any other non-job related characteristic.