Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

More Plans For Moving Forward

Tue, Nov 11, 2016
Adaptistration People 136
Shortly after the election, I published a post with a quartet of simple, yet crucial, areas you can channel your energy in a way that will not only serve shared missions, but continue being a positive example to those around us. Yesterday, Vu Le published an article with a much longer list at NwB that

Acknowledging Courage

Mon, Nov 11, 2016
Adaptistration People 078
One of the most challenging aspects within the field of arts and culture is navigating the political landscape. Short of safe positions such as opposing funding cuts to arts and culture, adopting public positions on politically charged issues almost certainly produces outcomes that require enduring institutional pain. Consequently, it is worth noting when an organization

Classical Music Convinces ISIS Fighters To Surrender

Fri, Nov 11, 2016
Adaptistration People 133
The 11/17/2016 edition of the Washington Post published an article by Caitlin Dewey that reports on the influence of fake news stories on the recent presidential election. It’s a sobering read but well worth your time, and although there’s more than enough to wade through via the political ramifications, it got me thinking that perhaps

Orchestras Don’t Survive On Earned Income. In Other News, The Sky Is Blue

Thu, Nov 11, 2016
Adaptistration People 033
The 11/15/2016 edition of the New York Times published an article by Michael Cooper that examines a recent report form the League of American Orchestras announcing most orchestras rely more on unearned then earned income. Unearned income includes revenue not directly related to a consumer paying for a service, such as donations, investment income and

How Many Words Is This Picture Worth?

Wed, Nov 11, 2016
Although the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and its musicians returned to mediated bargaining at the beginning of the month, those talks have yet to produce enough momentum to prevent additional event cancellations. Case in point, the organization announced the latest round of cancellations for events through Monday, 12/5/2016. Since both sides agreed to a media