I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Joe Loehnis ‘06, who is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. During his time at Lawrence, he majored in Cello Performance and was the captain of our golf team, also being the only golfer in LU’s history to be named to the All-American Team. Not only was he a successful golfer, but he was an outstanding musician. At the age of 16, he auditioned for the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra and got in, being the youngest person to this day to be awarded a tenure position there. He has also held positions in three other orchestras as a featured soloist.
After graduation, Joe became a professional golfer for a few years, placing in the top three in several tournaments. When I asked him about how he got into arts administration, he had an interesting story about being in line for groceries in Florida, where he was competing at the time. He heard someone in front of him talking about how there were no cello teachers in the area. This was when Joe approached them and eventually started his own private cello studio, starting with 10 students and maxing out at 75. With this ambition, and with no formal business background, he became the Executive Director at The First Tee, a non profit focusing on education and health for youth through golf. After great success there, Joe was looking for a change. After working with a recruiter, they said to him, “I found your next job. You’re going to be a CEO.”
This of course was how he wound up at the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, a musical non-profit currently worth several million. Every year, the organization puts on six weeks of free and outside music making in Madison, WI, entitled Concerts on the Square. Annually, over 50,000 people show up. No one knows the value of live music more than musicians, with the CEO stating that the experience is “like a breath of fresh air”.
When asked about what makes a good arts administrator, Joe had many things to say. Energy was a huge one. Positive personalities mixed with raw hunger and ambition is like the magic music-business potion. Not only do you need to have tenacity, but also genuine passion. Curiosity is also crucial. Coming at arts administration from the lens of a musician is a huge leg up in the industry. Joe has also described the arts as a whole as being ‘resilient and relevant’. Honestly, us aspiring arts administrators need to be like the arts.
Another piece of advice Loehnis gave was to “jump in the deep end with the piranhas”. The business industry is very cutthroat. You have to take risks! Having a strong background in not only music, but business is huge. You would be surprised at the amount of people working in arts administration that, like Joe, just fell into it. Having a solid understanding of the industry is so important.
In addition, Loehnis said to use your network! “We all bleed blue”, he said in reference to Lawrentians. Meeting other people who went through the same music theory sequence is an automatic bond. Use the Lawrence community to your benefit. Find alumni who are doing what you want to do, and pick their brain. Trust me, I didn’t expect to uncover this much information from Joe Loehnis, but I am so happy I did.
Lastly, Joe talked about how important experience is. Not necessarily working at Carnegie Hall or a huge business corporation, but having “sticky” experience. Showing that you work hard is evident when your resume has years of experience at the same company, and you’ve moved up a few times. It shows you want to grow. And learn. And improve! Strong references can easily be more valuable than money.
Obviously, CEO Joe Loehnis said many things that really stood out to me in our conversation. My favorite, and my closer, is probably what he said in reference to reaching out to your network: “Get the meeting. Get the coffee. Listen 70% and talk 30%.”
Lauren Chance is a current sophomore at Lawrence University double majoring in Business and Entrepreneurship and Music, also minoring in Spanish. As a Career Peer Educator (NES, VPA), an Admissions Student Ambassador, and an EPIC Orientation Leader and Peer Mentor, she has a passion for helping others. Lauren aspires to work in arts administration focusing on marketing or event management. Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn.
