With more than 130 years of history in the heart of Gràcia, Orfeó Gracienc has a well-established track record, a community connected through music, and an educational offering with strong roots. However, the organization was at a turning point, with a new board of directors eager to begin a new chapter.
Entering a new phase means reassessing ways of working that have developed over decades. The organization had a strong musical offering and a well-established identity, but it needed to find new ways to connect with its surroundings, reach new audiences, and make better use of its full potential. The challenge was not to start from scratch, but to rethink its operating model and strike a new balance between preserving the essence of Orfeó Gracienc and adapting to today’s challenges.
A Shared Vision for Moving Forward
Tandem Social’s support initially focused on internal organization and participatory governance. However, early conversations revealed that the challenge went further. The organization needed to review its operating model, bring greater structure to its existing activities, and, above all, build a shared vision of where Orfeó Gracienc should be heading.
From there, we worked with the board of directors and the board of trustees to bring different perspectives together, identify areas of agreement, and address the tensions that naturally arise during a transformation process in an organization with such deep roots.
Tandem’s role was not to propose a predetermined solution, but to facilitate dialogue, explore different viewpoints, and translate the organization’s needs into a viable, shared operating model.
A More Open, Connected, and Sustainable Model
Each pillar brings together activities and opens up new areas of opportunity for Orfeó Gracienc. Learn focuses on music education, Listen on access to music through concerts and activities, Practice on performance and creation, Discuss on music as a space for dialogue and connection, and Experience on professional development within the music and performing arts sectors.
In this way, the new model connects existing activities with emerging opportunities around a shared idea: enjoying music in different ways throughout life, while responding to the needs of diverse audiences.
This new perspective also creates opportunities to explore alternative uses for the organization’s spaces, establish new partnerships with schools and local cultural organizations, develop new educational formats, and identify new sources of financial sustainability.
The goal is not simply to do more, but to create coherence across the organization and determine which opportunities align with Orfeó Gracienc’s long-term vision.
A New Framework for Moving Forward
Following a year-long consultation and review process involving the organization’s different governing bodies, the new model has been approved, and Orfeó Gracienc has already begun implementing it.
The next challenge is to turn this new vision into reality: consolidating the different areas of activity, adapting the organizational structure, developing new partnerships, and making the transformation visible beyond the organization itself.
For Tandem Social, this process demonstrates the value of consulting that goes beyond identifying what needs to change and supports organizations in finding ways to make that change possible.
Listening to different perspectives, understanding each organization’s limitations and opportunities, and developing solutions tailored to its specific circumstances are what make meaningful transformation possible.
