Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Efficiency Through Technology: Digital Music

Fri, Jan 1, 2004
Second in this series of how technology can improve the efficiency an industry that has been described as a “stagnant service industry that benefit[s] very little, in terms of productivity, from technological innovations” is the use of digital music.  This is decidedly a hot button topic for many involved in that element of the industry,

Efficiency Through Technology: Paperless Operation

Thu, Jan 1, 2004
Due to the inherent separation between musicians and staff, most orchestras spend a great deal of resources (financial and time) distributing information to orchestra musicians and maintaining communication.  This occurs in the form of printing reams of paper for mailings, memos, schedules, maps, as well as hours and hours of labor to collate and prepare

Words To Live By

Wed, Jan 1, 2004
Recently, I wrote about a wonderful book entitled Joe Maddy of Interlochen. During my recent re-reading, I took the time to find a few good excerpts that I’ll share with everyone from time to time. For those of you unfamiliar with Interlochen, it is the largest summer arts education program in the world. Every professional

Improved Efficiency Through Technology

Wed, Jan 1, 2004
I was recently reading an article in the October, 2002 edition of Harmony by Douglas Dempster that talked about Baumol’s Curse.  One part in particular that struck me was this excerpt:  “[Economists] William Baumol and William Bowen considered all “service industries,” (e.g., education and food preparation, as well as the performing arts) as opposed to

How To find What You’re Looking For

Tue, Jan 1, 2004
Recently I’ve received a couple of emails asking why I keep referring to dynamic and static analysis. The simple answer is because I find that overuse of static analysis is one of the root causes for the lack of innovation in the industry.  Here’s a real life example: Orchestra X wants to attract a greater
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