We Live In Angry Times. Here’s Something Positive You Can Do About It.

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Here in Chicago, it’s difficult to miss the sharp uptick in the number of motorists laying on the horn; at times, it feels like being in New York City. For a genuine metropolis, Chicago has a remarkably relaxed populace and the lack of car horn deluge is one of those extra special perks. But times are changing and that benefit may be the latest destined for the memory scrapheap.

In a similar vein, there’s no shortage of increasing anxiety inside the field.

Adaptistration People 149Case in point, a recent article by Rebecca Lentjes at thelogjournal.com. It’s a deep dive into dark territory…living women composers and misogyny.

Lentjes unloads 1300+ words squarely focused on dismantling the patriarchy (her phrase). I found myself agreeing with pretty much all her positions but I still walked away from the post feeling dejected.

Fortunately, I pulled up the Women Composer Database Project (WCDP) articles (inspired by composer Rob Deemer’s work) and those helped restore a positive balance between outrage and optimism.

I swung by the database to see that it’s over 2,500 entries; which is more than I recall from my last visit.

If you feel like bringing some happiness into your life, drop by the original WCDP post and share it with your friends and colleagues. It would be great to hear from Deemer with news of another spike in database contributions.

https://adaptistration.com/blog/2017/03/09/women-composer-database-project/

[easy-tweet tweet=”Are You Aware Of The Women Composer Database Project? @RobDeemer ” user=”adaptistration” url=”https://wp.me/p8hwr7-6aS”]

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.

View all posts by Drew McManus | Website

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