Off To SUNY Fredonia

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I’m off to Fredonia, NY where I’ll be speaking to the students and members of the Ethos New Music Society about building a career without going broke and how to approach related challenges without letting them drain inspiration.

Adaptistration People 152aOriginally scheduled for last year, I had to cancel due to the flu and am very happy we were able to find a new time.

The speaker program is part of the Ethos New Music Society, a student-run and student-funded organization at the State University of New York at Fredonia. Founded in 1977, the Ethos produces four annual student concerts, the NewSound Festival, and oversees a composition program for middle school and high school student composers. The speaker series draws a wide range of professionals from inside the field to engage with members about topics of their choosing.

My thanks to the Ethos leadership team and Professor Rob Deemer, Associate Professor of Music Composition at Fredonia School of Music, for the invitation and their hospitality.

Guest lecturing is always a treat and you never know how these sessions will unfold. Once I’m back, I’ll see about writing a follow-up.

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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