Akropolis Quintet Inc
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The problem we address is access to high quality contemporary music. Our organization makes our award-winning, contemporary chamber music accessible through several in-person and digital programs which take place locally in metro Detroit, MI, and nationwide. Lack of access to high quality contemporary music reinforces other associated access issues, such as access to the highest quality education, public amenities, and overall quality of life. For the people we interact with, their newfound access to our organization's programs can be an inlet for them into other meaningful art, expression, and opportunity.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Together We Sound Festival
Created by the seven-time national prize-winning chamber ensemble, the Akropolis Reed Quintet, Together We Sound is a one-of-a-kind contemporary music festival that includes 3 lunchtime workplace concerts, 6 K-12 school presentations, 1 side-by-side student concert with an Akropolis concerto, 2 pop-up events in public spaces, and 3 evening concerts at neighborhood venues featuring world premieres by Akropolis in collaboration with local and national artists. By forging connections between Detroit’s artists, community members, and youth, Together We Sound uses new music to bring people together.
Akropolis Mastermind
Akropolis Mastermind is a one-week, fully online music business intensive for 10 emerging music performers around the United States. Akropolis invites 5 guest speakers to contribute to a multi-faceted workshop from which the participants leave with a concrete road map for the next steps in the careers. Aiming to create new leaders in the field of music and the arts, Akropolis Mastermind is constructed such that each participant leaves with takeaways 100% applicable to their unique environments and challenges. More details at www.akropolisquintet.org/mastermind.
Music Composition Residency at 3 Detroit High Schools
Each year, from September through May, we conduct a residency at Cass Tech, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Detroit School of Arts high schools in Detroit. Within ~20 workshops per school per year, students learn music composition basics, develop a working relationship with Akropolis musicians, develop and reflect upon their creative process, and leave the residency having created a new music composition for Akropolis, which we perform and record for the students.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We aim to make world class contemporary chamber music at the highest level, and to make that music accessible to a variety of diverse populations throughout the United States. We aim to create new works of art by diverse composers, and to perform and record those works to as to build more legitimacy for our genre, the reed quintet. Then, we aim to create programs that disseminate these new musical works of art, in person and digitally, to diverse populations. These programs include our Together We Sound festival in Detroit, MI; our annual yearlong residency at 3 Detroit high schools, our nationwide touring programs and K-12 workshops; our collegiate workshops and Mastermind entrepreneurship boot c and our virtual presentations including our Web Premiere series, sheet music catalog, and full length albums.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategies center upon sustainable programming leading to a sustainable organization. Sustainable programming means that the program is positioned to create excellent art that fulfills the Akropolis musicians, fueling satisfaction and legitimacy. This must be at the center of all programming. Then, we innovate programming that accomplishes this while bringing the artistic creation directly to the population we are impacting, such as with our workplace concert series. We ensure that the new musical works we perform reflect society today in meaningful ways, such as a new work we commissioned in 2019 that commented on mobility and the environment in Detroit by collaborating with a Detroit scrap metal artist and a well-known national composer to create a new piece of music for Akropolis an a rideable percussion bicycle. We performed the piece on Detroit's bike paths, and it has been adapted into a touring program. Because artistic excellence is at the center of these projects, they can fuel additional projects, which impact more people and create more financial sustainability for our organization.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Akropolis is a world class performing ensemble. We have won 7 national chamber music prizes including a Fischoff Gold Medal and Fischoff Educator Award. We have received 3 consecutive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, released 3 CDs to national acclaim, and we have toured extensively, including major venues and series. We have significant cash reserves and 100% employee retention for the past 11 years. We partner extensively with nonprofits and for-profits in Detroit to ensure our programming reaches as many people as possible in a way most accessible to them. Our budget has grown 500% since we incorporated as a nonprofit in 2015. We are the state of Michigan's leading nonprofit music ensemble, and we have an extremely nimble organizational structure: the 5 quintet members comprise our staff, along with two volunteer interns, and we have very little overhead.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Over our first 5 years as a nonprofit (relative to our founding in 2009), we have made significant progress toward creating world-class contemporary chamber music and delivering accessible programming for diverse adults and youth nationwide.
First, we have increased our capacity significantly, growing our budget 500% over the past 5 years, fully employing two quintet members as full-time staff, and adding significant partnerships in the areas of funding and programming. We have increased our individual giving base each year, and each year we have added new sponsors and granters.
Artistically, we are just completing (May 2021 our largest performing season yet with 50 full-length concerts and over 75 K-12 presentations. We have performed on leading series like the Oneppo Series at Yale University, the Flagler Series in Palm Beach, Chamber Music Northwest, and many more.
We have collaborated with leading artists including Shara Nova, Juan Martinez, BodyVox Dance, and more.
We have premiered more than 70 new musical works, including 20 from Detroit students, and we have reached more than 6,000 Detroiters through our Together We Sound festival.
What's next: We are currently launching the first year of Akropolis Mastermind, an online, weeklong workshop for emerging contemporary artists. We are approaching the 3rd year of our residency at 3 Detroit high schools. During the 20-21 season we will conduct a 2-week residency with BodyVox Dance and this fall will be releasing our 4th album, containing music by 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist, Michael Gilbertson. We will release significant digital content because of the COVID-19 outbreak, including a web premiere evening and soiree event featuring Jeff Scott's "Homage to Paradise Valley," and a music video release of "Portraits" by Grammy-nominated Pascal Le Boeuf.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Akropolis Quintet Inc
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Susan Booth
Eastern Michigan University
Term: 2016 - 2021
Susan Booth
Eastern Michigan University
Mark Clague
University of Michigan
Stephanee Strasburg
Sphinx Organization
Zack Bissell
Living Arts
Scott Landry
Retired, CEO YMCA Metro Detroit
Matt Landry
Akropolis Quintet, Inc.
Kari Landry
Akropolis Quintet, Inc.
Andrew Koeppe
Akropolis Quintet, Inc.
Timothy Gocklin
Akropolis Quintet, Inc.
Ryan Reynolds
Akropolis Quintet, Inc.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
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Disability
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Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/10/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.