Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (lpomusic.com)

 Formed in 1991, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is the only full-time musician-governed and collaboratively operated orchestra in the United States and the only full-time professional orchestra in the state of Louisiana. Now approaching the beginning of its 31st season, the LPO is a Group 3 orchestra with a pre-pandemic budget of $5.5 million serving an annual audience of approximately 60,000 in one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the nation.

LPO offerings have included a full 36-week season with more than 100 performances, including classics, light classics, pops, education, family, park, and community engagement concerts in New Orleans and across a multi-parish area. The LPO’s education and community engagement work encompasses partnerships with K-12 educational institutions, Louisiana universities, and communities in a twelve-parish area as part of its mission to transform people and communities through music.

The LPO has a tri-partite organizational governance structure comprised of 67 musicians, a full-time administrative staff of 17, and a Board of Trustees composed of 43 members (12 musicians, 26 community members, and five voting ex-officio representatives) who are elected by the musicians.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the orchestra has continued many of its pre-pandemic activities, while also creating exciting new initiatives in order to expand visibility in the City of New Orleans and surrounding region. With the assistance of federal PPP support, continued incentive support from Louisiana Economic Development, and generous contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations, we have continued to perform regularly during our 2020-21 season, including a 26-week subscriber/member series of two virtual concert programs, Orpheum Sessions and Suite Sundays, and several outdoor in-person chamber programs, including Music in the Museums and Subscriber Serenades. Our educational programs, Soul Strings and Music for Life, have also continued during this unprecedented pandemic era (see our website for additional details). The LPO is actively planning a future that maintains our governance structure, pre-pandemic performance schedule, and multiple educational activities while also expanding the diversity of our programming to reach a broader, more inclusive audience.