Who’s Who In Orchestra Administration

So does the department director report to the jr. vice president? Or should they report to the general manager?  How about the orchestra manager, do they have authority over the box office customer service representatives?  Is the general manager also a vice president?  Can an executive director report to a CFO?

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Cleveland Orchestra Without a Date For The Proms

I’m sitting here this morning working on the Klaus Heymann interview that will go up next week and I took a break to read the article posted on today’s Arts Journal headlines from Norman Lebrecht.  In the article, Norm blasts the players of the Cleveland Orchestra for refusing to play at this year’s Proms (if you aren’t familiar with what the Proms are, join the crowd, I had to go to …

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Music As A Defining Attribute Of Humanity

In a recent piece I wrote for The Partial Observer, I focus on two new robots, one from Toyota and one from Sony, that are supposedly the latest in humanoid robotics.  When researching the article I discovered that both companies use musical qualities to help define the humanistic qualities of their new product.  The Sony robot can conduct an orchestra and dances to music while the robot from Toyota plays a trumpet.

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The Music Director Mystique

If there is only one individual that is traditionally associated with the idea of an orchestra, it has to be the music director.  And the past year has seen some remarkable events regarding the control and influence music directors assert over their orchestras.  Here’s a quick recap: We have Daniel Barenboim stepping down as the music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, one of the top orchestras in the entire world.  …

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Reader Response: Orchestra Docents

Theater management wonk Joe Patti who operates the blog Butts In Seats took the time to write in with regard to the recent series of docent articles. He had some good observations and a few questions: A great deal of what you wrote fired my imagination. I am a real proponent of getting volunteers involved and rewarding them. The problem I have faced is that administration looks upon their help as a …

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