Our mission

Unsupervised is a member-organized large ensemble connecting musicians and audiences through shared experiences of music. With a horizontal structure rooted in collaboration, we build a communal ethos through shared artistic and administrative leadership. Through this ethos, we are able to create music that is alive for each other and for audiences.

We believe our unique collaborative structure and focus on relationships can enhance every ensemble and every performance, and we hope that by sharing our activities in videos and interviews we will inspire others and reinvigorate orchestral music for musicians and audiences everywhere.

What makes Unsupervised unique?

We are a member-organized ensemble. This means at every level, artistic and administrative, we make decisions through collaborative, deliberative processes. Our repertoire is decided as a group, and our rotating section leaders deliberate and decide together how to interpret and execute the music. In sectionals and rehearsals, every voice is welcomed and considered.

Administrative responsibilities are handled by a diffuse group of people, many of whom are ensemble members and some who are not but who believe in our mission and have become involved in other ways. No one is just a musician in the ensemble; everyone is involved in a variety of ways.

Our group exists beyond the music, too. We regularly get together over food and drink, sharing stories and experiences, getting to know each other and building relationships. Some of our friendships existed before the formation of Unsupervised, but all of us have formed new ones since. In addition to getting to know each other socially, we've gotten to know each other musically outside of the whole ensemble. Our musicians regularly form small chamber groups to perform out in the community or just to play together in our own homes.

Unsupervised is a dynamic ensemble defined by the relationships we share.