Being a concertmaster is a very different job than being a rank-and-file orchestra musician. In most orchestras, the concertmaster must play a double role in the life of the ensemble, consulting with conductors and commanding respect while simultaneously maintaining a collegial connection with the other players, who are unlikely to respond well to dictatorial tactics. It is also a job for which there has never been an official way to train, until now. “The Concertmaster Academy [at the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music] is intended to groom a person for the specific leadership demands of the job. Unlike performance programs, which one might argue are glutting the marketplace with players, this program has an intentionally tiny enrollment: one per year.”