Adaptistration – Drew McManus on the orchestra business.

The Cost Of Excessive Workloads

Wednesday, August 10th, 2022 by Drew McManus

In March, 2021 the field was starting to emerge from the pandemic to live performing and I launched a poll asking musicians about their concerns over physical, emotional, and psychological risks related to returning to work. At the time, musicians were concerned about both at nearly equal rates. While the exercise was somewhat academic then, we have nearly a year of quantitative data pointing to the conclusion that these were more …

Apparently, Orchestras Are Among The Most Midwestern Things On The Planet

Tuesday, August 9th, 2022Tuesday, August 9th, 2022 by Drew McManus

I know exactly where your orchestra should build its next venue: between a popular fishing hole and Amish country in a county with high Lutheran population…oh, and in the winter months, those fields needs snowmobiling trails. #BigDataUsedBadly Seriously though, an article by Andrew Van Dam in the 8/8/2022 edition of the Washington Post provides some fascinating data obtained after sifting through thousands of Airbnb listings to see how Midwesterners identify as …

Industry IQ Pop Quiz: Audition Fees

Monday, August 8th, 2022Monday, August 8th, 2022 by Drew McManus

Time for a pop quiz to help measure your knowledge about the orchestra field. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s a reason for today’s quiz, and we’ll examine responses at an upcoming article on this topic.

If Your Digital Program Is A PDF Of The Print Version, You’re Doing It All Wrong

Thursday, August 4th, 2022Thursday, August 4th, 2022 by Drew McManus

H/T to Joe Patti for pointing out an opinion piece by Washington Post music critic, Michael Andor Brodeur, that may perhaps be best described with the headline “Perfectly Normal Change Upsets White Male.” Having said that, he inadvertently touches on one of the very real problems with the way some arts organizations implement digital program books. Far too often, arts orgs take a PDF copy of the print format layout and …

Giving A Boost To #ShowTheSalary

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022 by Drew McManus

During my July break, an engaging discussion took place at my LinkedIn wall about Arts Admin Jobs and whether or not it would require employers to include salary or hourly rate figures. Regular readers already know that I’m a large proponent of salary transparency and including compensation figures in job listings. But some voices advocated requiring employers to provide salary information and I agree with every one of the reasons listed …

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