Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
There’s a fascinating article in the 6/25/2019 edition of The Baltimore Sun by Mary Carole McCauley that begins to draw lines supporters use to align themselves with one stakeholder or another in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) ongoing lockout. Specifically, the article examines the recent spike of annual debt over the last 19 months and the impact it has on day-to-day cash flow. The [BSO] owed its vendors $2.1 million as …
One of the biggest challenges for small to mid size budget organizations is properly testing new website designs before going live. It’s no wonder why this is such a challenge; implemented properly, the process should include live and remote user testing utilizing one of several tools made expressly for those purposes. But the reality is that process requires time and adds costs that many arts organizations simply can’t accommodate in their …
There’s nothing quite like doing a good thing for the right reasons and to that end, I’m very happy to introduce the latest design update for one of Inside The Arts’ longest running and popular blogs: Butts In The Seats. In addition to a brand new logo, there’s new typography and an accessibility compliant color scheme, all of which helps deliver some of the very best culture blog content available. Case …
Last week, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) labor situation exploded into a full-blown lockout. Since that happened smack in the middle of the orchestra compensation reports week, we have had to wait until today to conduct an overview. At the same time, it would have been wonderful for all involved if the BSO managed to resolve the dispute during the interim but based on where things are today, it’s clear that …
The Oregon Bach Festival’s (OBF) troubles started in 2017 and never really went away. Long story short, OBF Executive Director, Janelle McCoy, spearheaded a process that ultimately removed then artistic director Matthew Halls from his position in the wake of allegations of discrimination against women and a minority. OBF ultimately dismissed Halls but it didn’t take long for numerous reports of erroneous charges to emerge, such as the complaint of discrimination …