Entrepreneurialism Is Alive And Well

It’s hard enough to get a job as a classical musician these days and the odds at building a successful career as a soloist are even tighter.  Now imagine that you want to build a career as a full time tuba soloist, sounds impossible doesn’t it?


Fortunately, there’s one musician who decided to combine his remarkable abilities as a musician and a businessman to embark on something that many traditionalists in this business would claim to be impossible; his name is Patrick Sheridan.  


The Partial Observer published an article today I wrote which interviews Patrick, you’ll learn about how he decided to become a tuba soloist and how his entrepreneurial spirit has allowed him to thrive where many others have failed in this business.


Patrick’s story is a good example of how this industry will be able to survive into the future if it’s quick enough to pick up on his lead.  Tomorrow’s article will cover that issue in greater detail.


If you don’t have time to read the interview right now, at least take a second to go listen to a clip or two of Patrick.

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.