Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Recently, Twitter released the latest update to its API (application programming interface) and completely cleared out support for the previous version. An API is a programming language that allows two different applications to interface with each other, such as displaying a list of your Tweets at a website. Since then, what was once a simple process is now a royal pain in the neck. For example, in order to display a …
The 6/11/2013 edition of MinnPost.com published a letter by Minnesota Orchestra Association (MOA) Director of Human Resources, Esther Saarela, where the author takes issue with the notion of artistic brain drain within the organization. Officially, Saarela is responding to a letter from the previous day written by an audience association leader that cites data provided by the Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra (MMO); consequently, Saarela’s letter is actually serving as a fascinating …
Among the 29th Annual Conductors Guild Conference sessions, one that stuck out in particular was the Auditioning Players panel discussion featuring musicians from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) talking about how to audition musicians, what to listen for, best practices, challenges and solutions to common issues, etc. Anecdotally, the SLSO is genuinely known for running one of the better audition processes in the US; from both the operations and audition …
There’s a wonderfully clever short film making the rounds by cellist Nicholas Canellakis titled the musician’s breakup that reinforces the bond between musician and instrument that’s different than the usual take by taking more of an anthropomorphic approach that is both humorous and touching. It’s well worth your time.
I’ll be at the 29th Annual Conductors Guild Conference from Saturday, 6/15/13 through Monday, 6/17/2013 serving as a mentor so if you’re in the area and would like to touch base, feel free to get in touch via the following info. Likewise, if you’re a Guild member, don;t miss the special conference discount for new Venture Artist users.