Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Good Things Come In Small Packages

Tue, May 5, 2006
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Chicago Opera Theater’s (COT) recent production of Nixon In China, an opera by John Adams, at Chicago’s Harris Theater…

Get On Board

Mon, May 5, 2006
Work caught up with me this weekend so I wasn’t able to complete what I had planned for today. Instead of leaving the blog empty today I thought it would be good to revisit a popular article from September, 2004 which examines how individuals actually find their way into an orchestra’s board of directors. Within

Remembering Who’s Who

Fri, May 5, 2006
After posting the Lost But Not Forgotten Update earlier this week, I received a note from a middle manager that used to work at one of the ensembles which went entirely out of business. They wanted to point out that the middle managers and staffers within their orchestra received one of a few options after

…Just Don’t Look Down

Thu, May 5, 2006
The recent news that the Honolulu Symphony will receive a $4 million matching grant from the state of Hawaii is welcome relief for an organization that has been skating on thin ice as of late. How thin? At the end of 2003, the musicians accepted a 20% across the board pay cut in order to

Lost But Not Forgotten Update

Wed, May 5, 2006
The Lost But Not Forgotten section has been updated. In particular, a recent settlement surrounding the former Florida Philharmonic leaves the musicians with approximately $0.22 for every dollar they should have been paid as creditors in the bankruptcy proceedings. Read more about that situation and as well as updates for the other ensembles at Lost