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Music Leaders identify and act on opportunities to integrate music into their community in unique and creative ways. The Institute broadly defines music leadership as a commitment to advance music through one’s professional or non-professional career.

For most, leadership actions occur as a series of re-occurring episodes over a lifetime. Of course, music leaders are not just those who start community music schools, finance new opera companies or endow performance spaces. Small acts of leadership can have a similar impact. Organizing a letter writing campaign to a local arts council in support of new performance spaces, starting a blog that draws attention to musically underserved communities, effectively speaking about the importance of music education to local school board, teaching music to those without access or raising money for new band instruments are all leadership activities. Realizing that leadership happens everyday highlights how important training a new generation of music leaders will be in a rapidly changing world.

Training America’s music leaders is a task the Institute fully embraces. Yet the mission of the Institute goes beyond this goal. CILEM seeks to empower tomorrow’s music students. By helping Institute participants envision how their education, talent and desire can positively affect themselves and communities alike, they can develop and apply the skills necessary to act in a leaderfull manner.
Music schools produce the professional musicians and teachers of the next generation. Yet this training does little to prepare these students for the realities of life as a professional musician. With so many young musicians wanting a career in music and not enough jobs available, many students abandon their education – and their dreams.

CILEM contextualizes music training by drawing on the experience, education and temperament of participants to help them envision a musical career that integrates prior learning and personal goals; it is a holistic and authentic effort. Music students need to have an entrepreneurship education and the advocacy skills that can prepare them to develop a career and become the nation’s next music leaders. These new leaders not only provide for themselves financially, they have significant potential to impact communities economically, socially and artistically through their career.