Our Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Strategies (IDEAS)
Guided by our vision and values, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts is committed to creating an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible culture.
IDEAS—Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Strategies—is the foundation for everything we do. We strive to listen intently, unite purposefully, and respond profoundly to the world around us by harnessing the transformative power of the arts. Using a data-informed approach to evaluate our efforts and measure effectiveness, we will ensure lasting change.
The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts weaves IDEAS throughout performances, campus activations, and organizational goals. To foster an inclusive environment, we continue to build upon our commitment and make measurable progress in the following six focus areas:
Deepening Our Commitment to the Community
Deepening Our Commitment to the Community
To support our deepened connection to our community, we offer expansive arts and arts education programming, find partners to drive audience cultural diversity, create sustained relationships with artists of color, women, and the LGBTQAI+ community, and shift from symbolic to more impactful engagements—like the historic renaming of Marian Anderson Hall.
Leading with a community first approach, our education and community engagement programs are intently focused on providing free arts programming and arts education to our Philadelphia community.
Bringing diverse programming to our stages is possible through partnerships with innovative performers and productions.
Improve Overall Accessibility Conditions across All Venues
Improve Overall Accessibility Conditions across All Venues
In addition to ensuring our venues our safe, inclusive and welcoming, we aim to cultivate a sense of belonging for all people who engage with our spaces. We are sensory and disability inclusive and devoted to providing personalized support to our patrons to ensure their experience in our buildings is exceptional.
Some of our accessibility features include gender-neutral restrooms, accessible seating, assisted listening devices, sensory kits, large print programs, first aid stations, captioning, ASL interpretation, and audio description for select performances.
We are also invest time and resource to make our historic buildings more accessible, with the goal of promising every aspect of our physical, virtual, and online presence is welcoming to all patrons, staff, and audiences.
Recruitment and Retention: Diverse Board, Musicians, and Staff
Recruitment and Retention: Diverse Board, Musicians, and Staff
To best serve our community, we seek authentic representation of our Philadelphia community within our team and on our stages to include individuals from diverse backgrounds, including various genders, ages, sexual orientations, geographical locations, cultures, religions, disabilities, and veteran statuses.
We view our team as co-creators of the inclusive culture we desire to build, where all staff members and musicians feel valued, respected, and safe, supported, and poised for personal and professional growth.
Share our Vision of IDEAS Locally, Nationally, and Internationally
Share our Vision of IDEAS Locally, Nationally, and Internationally
We are humbled to serve as a leader in the performing arts industry, as we work to unite and inspire our community through the performing arts and arts education.
The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts is dedicated to connecting communities through artistic expression and meaningful conversation. From collaboration with local artists and community organizations to global travel and cross-cultural partnerships, we desire to positively reach the widest possible audience through our IDEAS commitment.
Vendor Diversity
Vendor Diversity
Our business relationships with vendors, suppliers, and partners are paramount to serving our communities with exceptional performances and experiences. We actively seek to support consistent economic inclusion of small, local, and underrepresented businesses by providing equal opportunity and access to all vendors. Collaborating with diverse vendors who have share to commitment our values ensure our venues are dynamic, welcoming, and inclusive.
Leadership and Commitment
Fully supported by top leadership—Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, President and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky, and Board Chair Ralph Muller—The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts is committed to integrating our core values into everything we do.
In the realm of the performing arts, visibility matters. It’s not just about what the audience sees, but about how diverse representation ignites dreams and aspirations for those who can finally visualize themselves in the spotlight.
In 2018, we strengthened our commitment diversity, equity, and inclusion by establishing IDEAS as a fundamental principle of our organization. Valuable input from diverse staff, musician, artist, and community partner voices underscored our belief that the adoption of IDEAS not only allows us to sustain our legacy of excellence but to also help achieve a full cultural transformation in the process.
The Philadelphia Orchestra appointed Doris Parent Chief of IDEAS in October of 2020, becoming one of the first US orchestras to add this important position to the senior leadership team.
In June 2024, we became the first major concert venue in the world to honor the late performer and trailblazer Marian Anderson by rededicating Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts as Marian Anderson Hall, home of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Marian Anderson Hall is a permanent monument to its namesake’s artistry and achievements, a reflection of our commitment to continue forging a bright, inclusive future she helped to engender, one in which the arts are for everyone.
Convening Community
With over 12,000 performances and an annual reach of 1.2 million patrons, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts is intentional about the artists and stories we present on stage.
The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts is deeply committed to providing our local and global community with music and education programs, promoting Health and wellness, championing music Education, eliminating barriers to Accessing the arts, and maximizing impact in the Philadelphia community through Resources.
Expanding Access
To ensure The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts is open, welcoming, and accessible to all, we have thoughtfully considered the ways we can improve our digital and in-person experiences. Review our Accessibility page for a full list of how we can provide an accessible experience.
IDEAS Impact
The driving force behind our sustained commitment to IDEAS is the desire to continually improve our performances, programming, venues, and reach. Our annual IDEAS impact reports explore progress and stories that reflect who we are and the goals we aspire to reach. We continually assess our IDEAS approach and organizational priorities to ensure the impact of our decisions are transformative and programming inspirational.
2022–23 IDEAS Impact Report
The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts shares the transformative power of the performing arts and arts education with the widest possible audience.
