How Much Did That Meeting (Or Rehearsal Error) Really Cost?

Adaptistration People 138

Does it seem like more and more of your time is consumed with staff meetings? Does your department head enjoy scheduling meetings that seem to be designed to prevent you from completing your work? Thankfully, you now have a quick and easy way to calculate labor costs for all of the time spent in meetings thanks to a fun little webapp called Meeting Miser, from payscale.com. Featured in 11/7/07 edition of …

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Wag The Dog

A variation on a classic joke: Which came first, the grant or the program? A groaner for sure but an unfortunate reality for too many orchestras. The simple fact is that funding sources are limited and as a result, orchestras will design programs based more on grant guidelines than institutional vision…

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Dress Codes: The Topic With Staying Power

I wish I had a time machine. Among other uses, I would like to travel back in time to talk to orchestral musicians from the 1920s through 1950s to find out what they thought of concert attire, and not just for themselves but for the audience as well. Did they have wardrobe expectations when they looked out into the crowd or did they complain about their tuxedos and formal dresses (not that there were that many women orchestra musicians in the 20s –thankfully, times have changed)? I wonder because although there is nothing new about musicians complaining about concert attire, the frequency and gravity of those discussions seem to increase from one year to the next…

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Wanted: A Messiah In Cincinnati

The 11/4/2007 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer published an article by Janelle Gelfand which took a hard look at the ongoing process to find a new Dean for the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). The revealing article examines the challenges and outlines the critical value in filling this position with the right person… It is refreshing to see so much gritty detail and attention focused on finding a leader …

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