Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

What’s New For The 2005 Orchestra Website Review

Mon, Sep 9, 2005
by Drew McManus
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The evaluation parameters between 2004 and 2005 have been modified modestly along the following key points…

  1. The category of “Orchestra Information” now includes a subcategory for how well an orchestra website provides information to the press. The final score is determined by whether or not the press page provides:
    *Easily accessed phone, email, and address contacts for public relations personnel

    *A list of current and archived press releases, downloadable biographical/promotional material & photographs for guest artists, conductors, and musicians

    *Contact information for the musicians’ spokesperson

  2. The category of “Content & Functionality” merged the subcategory of “Continuity of Navigation structure” with “Clarity & Simplicity”.
  3. The category of “Content & Functionality” now includes a subcategory for how well an orchestra distributes its financial information to the general public. Classified as “Institutional Transparency” this new subcategory considers whether or not an orchestra provides downloadable copies of their annual report and if they provide copies of or links to their IRS Form 990 records.

Also new for 2005 is the inclusion of eleven additional orchestras;

  1. Akron Symphony
  2. California Symphony
  3. Orchestra of St. Luke’s
  4. Canton Symphony
  5. Chattanooga Symphony
  6. Erie Philharmonic
  7. Naples Philharmonic
  8. Rhode Island Philharmonic
  9. Shreveport Symphony
  10. South Bend Symphony
  11. Tucson Symphony
  12. Wichita Symphony

Gone for 2005 are:

  1. Huntsville Symphony
  2. Long Island Philharmonic
  3. Richardson Symphony
  4. Santa Barbara Symphony

Back to the 2nd Annual Adaptistration Orchestra Website Review.

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.

View all posts by Drew McManus | Website

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Adaptistration by Drew McManus LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://adaptistration.com/about/terms-of-use-and-permissions/.

PROFESSIONAL DISCLOSURE

Given the author’s position as an arts consultant and technology provider, he does not publish articles examining or focusing on current clients without first obtaining the client’s written permission.

EDITORIAL COMMITMENT

In order to ensure accuracy and provide a comprehensive perspective on any topic, I allow any individual or person officially representing an organization that appears in any Adaptistration article to submit a response which will be published, unedited. Responses are limited to 200 words and must address the issues at hand and the individuals and/or organizations must also be willing to maintain an open dialog for continued discussion.