Take A Friend To The Orchestra Gets A Facelift

The official resource site for the Take A Friend To The Orchestra initiative received an update that ushers in a brand new landing page, enhanced media players for audio contributions, updated typography, and more. Going through all of the content instilled a renewed appreciation for just how much all of the volunteer contributors put into their work, and what an incredible collection it is! To my knowledge there isn’t a single resource out there that comes close to the scope and quality of content dedicated solely to providing insightful, motivating, and entertaining insight into the social aspect of concertgoing.

TAFTO
Learn more at the TAFTO Website

Although every contribution is worth exploring, a few have always maintained a special connection with me and it was a genuine treat to revisit them while updating the site: Alex Ross, Alex Shapiro, David J. Loehr, Elizabeth Lunday, Frank J. Oteri, George Daugherty, George Hunka, Jeremy Denk, Jonathan Becker, Matthew Guerrieri, Molly Sheridan, Sam Bergman, and William Eddins.

But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg, head over to the resource site and you’ll find more than 80 contributions categorized by year, contributor type, and author. And take a moment to post a comment here pointing out your favs and why you find them special.

In short, I can’t think of a better way to spend your time over the rest of the summer.

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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.

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