Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Post-Election Day Off

Wed, Nov 11, 2018
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Who am I kidding? Most of my non-work hours yesterday were focused on election results. As such, I’m taking the day off. Since this is being written well in advance of polls closing, I have zero clue how things will turn out. But now that it’s later* and you know the results (a few expected

Go Vote!

Tue, Nov 11, 2018
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It’s election day and if you haven’t already cast ballet vote in early-voting  be sure to get out before your polls close. If the weather is bad, you’ve had an awful day, or life has thrown some sadness in your direction, don’t be afraid to reach out to friends and family for encouragement, support, and

Using Documentary Filmmaking To Help Reconfirm Classical Music’s Relevance

Mon, Nov 11, 2018
The 11/3/2018 edition of The Baltimore Sun published an article by Tim Smith about a new documentary titled R.A.W. – From Destitute to Doctorate by Baltimore filmmakers Darren Durlach and David Larson. It’s a great overview article that introduces the documentary about tubist Richard White, who went from being homeless, eating from trash cans, and abandoned

Things Are Getting Tense In Baltimore

Fri, Nov 11, 2018
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The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its musicians expired September 9, 2018 and it appears things are headed in a dark direction as negotiations have official gone public in the form of two musician press releases from 10/29/18 and 11/01/18*. The latter press release contained the musicians’ summary of the employer’s

#TBT Get The Most From Your Artist Representation

Thu, Nov 11, 2018
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For whatever reason, I’ve enjoyed a good bit of shop talk with a broader spectrum of colleagues than usual and one topic that came up on several occasions was artist management. Perhaps unsurprisingly, all the individual artists I spoke with felt their representation was underperforming. And while there was no shortage of gripes, there was