The mission is the message: Analyzing the connection between mission statements and engagement programs in U.S. orchestras

The goal of this research is to determine how U.S. Orchestras could use Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to combat issues of social inequity both within their organization and within the communities in which they reside. The business model of non-profit U.S. orchestras requires that organizations change strategies and mission over time to effectively serve people in their ever-changing communities. The murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in May of 2020 spurred several U.S. orchestras to re-evaluate their engagement strategies to better connect with their communities via socially inclusive practices. The research presented in this thesis offers data-driven strategies for community engagement in U.S. orchestras with the hope that orchestras can integrate meaningful engagement into their business model. This research combines the literature of mission statements and the literature of CSR to reveal a two-pronged approach to community engagement: external outreach and internal regulations. External outreach represents traditional outreach strategies (i.e. orchestras in community concerts). Internal regulations differ in that orchestras design internal policies and procedures within the business model to welcome diversity into the organization. (e.g. advisory councils and fellowships). CSR analysis was applied to ninety-seven orchestral engagement departments to determine program impact as either transactional, transitional, or transformational. Findings revealed that traditional orchestral engagement forms a ‘pipeline’ from transactional to transitional but fails to create significant transformational engagement. The author of this paper proposes a new model of pipeline engagement based off the for U.S. orchestras: The Sonata-Allegro Methods of Engagement. (S.A.M.E.)