The Week Ahead

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There are a number of fascinating things developing for this week. First, I was able to contact representatives from the Atlanta Ballet and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre over the weekend and both of those conversations shed some clarity on the events unfolding in Atlanta. However, I need to complete following-up on some of that information and speak to a musician representative before I publish anything…


Also, Marc Geelhoed, author of the wonderful Chicago based music blog Deceptively Simple and cultural writer extraordinaire, pointed out a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about some recent news from the Knight Foundation having to do with orchestras. Based on what I understand the WSJ piece contains, it will likely be worth examining in an article or two here at Adaptistration. As such, I’m waiting for the fine folks at the WSJ to put grant permission to quote the article and to provide a direct link; once that is squared away, I’ll put up some material.

Hopefully, my internet connection will continue to behave after several days of intermittent service! As such, please excuse any unexplained absence in advance.

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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