# League of American Orchestras Groups



## JRFuerst (Apr 2, 2010)

Hello,

I have searched and searched for actual criteria of how the League of American Orchestras actually determines which group an orchestra is a member of, and cannot find anything in writing. My guess is it is based on revenue and/or expenses from the season before, or something financially related like that. 

I do know from their website that group 8 is for college, international, and youth orchestras. 

Does anyone know of an actual breakdown that shows the criteria for each tier? 

Thanks!

Jason


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

JRFuerst said:


> I have searched and searched for actual criteria of how the League of American Orchestras actually determines which group an orchestra is a member of, and cannot find anything in writing. My guess is it is based on revenue and/or expenses from the season before, or something financially related like that.
> I do know from their website that group 8 is for college, international, and youth orchestras.
> Does anyone know of an actual breakdown that shows the criteria for each tier?
> Jason


This used to be the American Symphony Orchestra League - each year, their magazine - <<Symphony>> would provide a very thorough list of all member groups, and their classification....
I think their were categories 1-8 - Level 1 being the biggest major orchestras Chicago, NYPO, Boston, etc, level 2, 3 were fully professional orchestras, and then descending in order through the other categories - metropolitan, regional, community, university...
Yes, "ranking" was based on a number of factors - budget, length of season, number of concerts were the major factors...other features considered were summer season, Pops series, chamber series, etc....
I used to get those every year, since my Mom was a member of an orchestra BoD....she'd always give me a copy...

Have you checked out the website thoroughly?? https://americanorchestras.org/

You may have to be a member to access the information you seek...
The AF of M [American Federation of Musicians - the union] has all of the collective bargaining agreement terms at their website, but you have to be a member to access it. Pay Scale is a pretty good indicator of an orchestra's status - tho the covid pandemic has wreaked havoc on the industry [hopefully, temporary, and things will get back on track]


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

One local group I play with has an annual budget of less than $50,000. Goes for conductor (of course), music, hall rental, advertising. And they're a member of the League, which likely will let any orchestra be a member as long as they can pay the annual dues. For small, regional orchestras the Association of California Symphony Orchestras is much more valuable.


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## JRFuerst (Apr 2, 2010)

Thank you both for your replies. Much appreciated!


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