Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Another Take On Orchestral Microsites

Thu, Mar 3, 2008
As an interesting continuation to the topic of orchestral microsites a reader sent along a link to the Berlin Philharmonic Cello Challenge, a microsite of the Berlin Philharmonic website. The microsite is designed entirely in Flash and although it is apparent that they spent a great deal of time on the microsite’s aesthetic quality, it

Windows Vista, How Do I Hate Thee? Let Me Count The Ways.

Wed, Mar 3, 2008
Actually, I only need to list one big reason right now. As it turns out, windows vista decided to install a major upgrade last night and in the process it destroyed all copies of everything created via Microsoft Word saved to my hard drive, including the article which would have been published this morning. As

Even Marathons Have To End

Tue, Mar 3, 2008
Good news in Phoenix as the Arizona Opera Company and the Arizona Opera Orchestra Musicians’ Association reached a tentative agreement on Sunday, 3/9/2008. The 12 month long negotiation reached a critical point last month when both sides approved a side letter to the agreement which guarantees the Arizona Opera Orchestra Musicians right of first refusal

Are You Suffering From Trombone Envy?

Mon, Mar 3, 2008
Holly Mulcahy posted what I thought was a fascinating article last week at The Partial Observer which examines how even professional orchestra musicians are sometimes unaware of the occupational pitfalls of their musician colleagues. The gist of the article is that a little knowledge goes a long way toward improved understanding and job satisfaction and

A Marathon Negotiation In Phoenix

Fri, Mar 3, 2008
How appealing does a 12 month long collective bargaining agreement negotiation sound? Probably not that appealing but that is precisely where the Arizona Opera Company and the Arizona Opera Orchestra Musicians’ Association are. The organization has been operating for the 2007/08 season without a contract and, until recently, was approaching a labor stoppage that threatened