Sound Systems: The Future of the Orchestra

orange background with small circles lined up on a string, with the text "Sound Systems The Future of the Orchestra"
orange background with small circles lined up on a string, with the text "Sound Systems The Future of the Orchestra"

What is the future of the orchestra? Classical music institutions across the United States are facing challenges of relevance, access, representation, and sustainability. Can we reimagine orchestras as vibrant spaces for connection, shared learning, and exploring new modes of creative expression, without compromising their role as purveyors of rich aesthetic experiences? How can these institutions be truly responsive to the needs of their communities, and truly in service to the people around them?  

Sound Systems features original speculative fiction stories and visual art, alongside essays from musicians, music educators, arts leaders, activists, and scholars, including thinkers from the fields of civil engineering, learning science, and public health. Contributors consider possible futures for U.S. orchestras through four lenses, each of which brings into focus different social functions, goals, and resources: Orchestra as Game, Orchestra as Infrastructure, Orchestra as Network, and Orchestra as Public Good. 

Sound Systems is free to download, read, and share. It was supported by grants from the Sphinx Organization and the Flinn Foundation.

Stories by: Ernest Hogan, Karen Lord, Amy K. Nichols, Deji Bryce Olukotun

Essays by: William Cheng, Mikhail V. Chester, Ashley Lauren Frith, Christopher Jenkins, Loki Karuna, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, Punya Mishra, Jesse Rosen, Robert H. Simonds, Evan S. Tobias, Lisa Villarroel

Artist: Shachi Kale

Editors: Alex Laing, Joey Eschrich, and Ed Finn

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Illustrations

The art for Sound Systems was created by Shachi Kale. Click on the images below to view full-size, higher-resolution versions.

An illustration combining sheet music with a layered set of horizontally layered natural scenes: a sky with clouds, trees, a ground layer with bugs and amphibians, and a water layer with fish.
Illustration of a natural scene blended with sheet music. The scene, which contains sky, trees, ground, and water elements, is torn into scraps like paper. From the borders of the illustration, five hands emerge as if to reassemble the torn pieces.
Illustration of a violin superimposed over a crowd of people. Around the edges of the violin, buildings sprout, like a skyline. From the crowd in the background, rainbow strands of light emanate, and form a heart that rings the violin.
Illustration of a circular planet, with visual motifs reminiscent of circuitry, and an eye, inside the circle. From the edge of the circle grow 9 trees of different shapes and colors. The trunk of each tree resembles a real or fictional musical instrument.
A colorful, visually dense composition organized around a circle outlined in white. The circle may or may not resemble an eye, and its interior, as well as the space around it, are filled with colorful marks and patterns in shades of green, yellow, red, and purple.

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