Carmel Symphony Orchestra – Courtesy of CSO. Used with permission.
It’s safe to assume that Anne Marie Chastain, newly appointed Carmel Symphony Orchestra executive director has her dream job. “Music has always been a part of my life and my family’s life. I have a degree from IU Jacobs School of music in clarinet performance, and a master’s in arts administration, plus I worked for other orchestras so when this position opened, I was thrilled.” said Chastain, who was hired by the CSO as a marketing and development consultant in June and appointed executive director, Aug. 29.
I met with Chastain, an enthusiastic, passionate spokesperson for the CSO, at Café Patachou at 49th & Pennsylvania for the following extensive interview, weeks ago, but decided to delay publishing this story until now. At the time, Chastain hinted that a major change might be on the horizon for her organization, so I thought it best to wait to see what unfolded. As it turns out, it was the departure of CSO Artistic Director, Janna Hymes, that Chastain alluded to, but the conductor’s resignation was not revealed until it was officially announced in a Oct. 7 press release. That same night I attended CSO’s opening night concert, led by guest conductor David Commanday. To read my review, which relates to many of Chastain’s comments in this article, click here.
Anne Marie Chastain, executive director of Carmel Symphony Orchestra. Courtesy of CSO. Used with permission.
“I love performing and worked very hard when I was at IU, but it is hard to make a living as a musician, and it is very competitive.” said the Chicago native. “I wanted to continue in music but also wanted to enjoy life and eventually get into the business side. A friend of mine told me about the arts administration program at IU, which was a perfect fit. At the time I was the executive director of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra while I was attending school,” she noted, adding “Later I had an internship with the ISO. My dream was to be executive, but you must travel around the country for those opportunities. Then I fell in love and got married and settled here. So, when the position opened and I landed it, I was overjoyed. I am amazed that I get to work with such an accomplished group. There were many candidates for my position, from all over the world, including China. It was competitive to make it through the final round.
Wondering if her status as an artist gives her advantage in managing an orchestra, I asked Chastain if it made a difference. “When I studied my instrument, I worked so hard. I was using every aspect of my mind and talent to learn my art form and when I stopped performing and entered the business world, I did the same thing. I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to create a product and a business that makes sense and has a certain elegance to it. In the arts we are looking for expression and harmony and I think you can have that in a business.” she stressed, adding “You express your values. You are of service and help the artist you work with and serve the community by offering something beautiful. Whether it is developing an action plan or making decisions about structure —whatever it is I am doing, my goal in mind is to produce an artistic product that is successful, creative and innovative and use all my creative skills to do so.” proclaimed Chastain.
When I asked Chastain what her short-term goals are she said “I am working on rebranding the orchestra. I feel we have a premiere level of opportunity performing in The Palladium, with top musicians from the area and the region. We have grown artistically and now need to catch up on the staff side, especially in our marketing and development areas. My goal in the next 90 days is to get us on track with an updated brand, a new way of doing business and a new way of presenting ourselves to the community.”
Reinforcing her intention to make the CSO a cultural attraction Chastain emphasized “The orchestra had been part of the Carmel cultural experience for nearly 50 years, but it hasn’t been promoted properly. I am excited to build support for a top-quality symphony orchestra in Hamilton County. The metro region is very large, and we have space for multiple arts organizations. Carmel takes a lot of pride in its artistic product. which is the economic design of the city. The arts are its economic and tourism driver. The CSO has an opportunity to be on forefront. People are continuously moving to Hamilton County. It’s quality of life and the arts available in the area that play a large part in that migration. Many cities have sports teams which are big drivers For Carmel, the arts are the hook. The Palladium is designed to host a symphony orchestra. The acoustics were built with a symphony in mind.”
As far as how she intends to market the CSO more effectively Chastain said, “One of the core marketing messages with our audience is ‘Listen Live, Listen Often.’ The more often you attend a performing arts event, the deeper your experience is. The more you lean in, the more connected you are the more engaged you are. It is so much more powerful to come regularly than come once a year. It is not enough to attend a symphony concert occasionally, but to come often. That is why we encourage subscriptions.
A believer in the phrase “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats, Chastain said “Symphony music can be intimidating if you don’t come that often or know that much about it. Getting people to come for the first time is very powerful and is a big win but just coming once is not going to transform anyone’s life or transform our organization. When we are successful in helping our audiences feel more comfortable with classical and symphonic music and come more often the rising tide helps everyone. When you love classical music, you want to check out other groups, so I am sure our audiences will go to Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra or Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concerts or hear small ensembles. We want to have a metro area where people are passionate about the arts, and they support multiple arts organizations.”
“Every organization has its own personality, has its own following based on the region. For some in Hamilton County it is a long way to travel to downtown Indy. If they are passionate and love classical music, however, they will make the effort. We could become a part of instilling that passion and developing that mindset. It is small minded to think that you can only have one major arts institution of any genre. It’s heathy for region to have multiple performing arts organizations.” stated Chastain.
Curious as whether her status as musician provides her special insight as an administrator; I asked Chastain about her approach to supervising artists. “If the leadership doesn’t have a passion for the art form. they may not understand the needs of artists. The nuance of having a background in music is an asset for interacting with musicians. I was one of them back in the day. In the business world, people don’t always understand artists. They can seem emotional. I am emotional, but effective when he comes to conducting business” asserted Chastain.
When it comes to her long-term agenda Chastain said “I have a lot of them, but the core goal is to build the best quality. I intend to hire musicians on a more stable basis, institute better recruitment polices and provide better compensation. Most importantly, I want to keep them happy and on board. Artistic excellence is a priority, but I would also love to see us more present in the community, either in schools or music programs. I would even like to take small groups of musicians to Carmel restaurants and just out and about so people are exposed to the music.”
In regard to issues of inclusiveness and representation, I asked Chastain about her own sensibilities. to which she replied “If you look at our programs, we have had incredible diversity over the past few seasons. We had very good turn out from members of minority communities. One of my goals from a marketing perspective is to do a better job of helping people attending for the first time, feel welcomed and comfortable with the experience, and then getting them to return to the hall, sooner than later. Retention is very important.”
And what about classical music in general? What makes it so special? “Classical music is beautiful and washes over you. It is such a formidable experience and I feel our marketing and communications have fallen short. Making us appear approachable is a priority that I think we can do better. I hope that people will just come out and hear the orchestra because once you are there, the experience is so emotional, and it takes you to a different place. There is so much going on in our culture where there are a lot of mental health issues, post COVID, lots of divisiveness, youth issues and fractured families. The arts are so important to help us find balance and connection, so the symphony orchestra experience is an opportunity to come together. The music tells an emotional story and gives you an opportunity to recover We have all gone through so much he past three years. We have moved on outwardly but on the inside, there is still trauma present. Many families were completely transformed during pandemic. Coming to hear expressive music is a way to feel our feelings.” declared Chastain.
“Historically, orchestral music was a social event of the community. It was a more informal process in years past. During the 20th century. symphony orchestras became more rigid and intimidating. I would like us to return to a time when we are a little bit more relaxed. If you go to the symphony you are going to see people wearing everything and dressed in cargo pants and sandals. It is not about what you are wearing. When you come to CSO it is very common to see people in tennis shoes and wearing jeans. The evening can be whatever you want it to be. If you want to go out on a date, and get dressed up, you can do that and feel like you fit in but if want to dress casually you are going to see other people dressed like that and feel comfortable. Nobody is going to judge you based on how you look. Everybody is there to hear a great concert.” declared Chastain.
For information about Carmel Symphony Orchestra’s 2023-2024 season visit carmelsymphony.org or thecenterpresents.org.
