Website Reviews: Special Recognition Awards

Even though there was only one orchestra in 1st place, I wanted to take the time to award some of the really wonderful and unique aspects from among the websites I evaluated.  These features deserve recognition and attention from those inside and outside of the industry.  I also wanted to point out some orchestra website features that simply have no good reason for being there. 


Best Musician Information: Oregon Symphony
Without a doubt, the way in which the Oregon symphony presents its musicians to the public is truly unique and worth serving as a template for other orchestras to follow. Once you click onto a section from the orchestra you are presented with a head shot of each player and a series of links attached to that musician. 


There are four types of links, each taking you to a player’s Biography, their Musician Moment, a Player Portrait, or a Musical Legacy.  Each player may have one or more special pages for patrons to view.


Here’s an example, if you look up J

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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