Shop Talk Last Call: Cross Pollination In A Good Thing

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It’s Last Call and today’s installment features S01E05 guests Zak Vassar and Jeff Vom Saal as they respond to the following reader question: “Are there advantages in having professionally-trained musicians in administrative roles?”

Guests

Jeff Vom Saal

Jeff Vom Saal

Jeff is the Executive Director of the Spokane Symphony & Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, a position he has held since 2016.  He is credited with infusing the organization with renewed verve, and has increased revenues from $4MM to over $6MM, an increase of over 50% in three years.  He has also spearheaded efforts to broaden the reach of the Symphony and Fox, expanding the range of concerts and events, and establishing a program for children to attend symphony performances for free. 

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

Zak Vassar

Zak Vassar

Zak is the President & CEO of the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts, which consists of the Toledo Symphony and Toledo Ballet. Prior to his work in the arts, he was a marketing consultant, primarily for Fortune 100 firms.

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

About Shop Talk

The official podcast of Adaptistration.com, Shop Talk invites captivating guests to talk about engaging topics connected to the orchestra business.

Shop Talk Archives | Shop Talk; Last Call Archives

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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Shop Talk S01E05: What Orchestras Administrators Really Need…Shop TalkGuests: Zak Vassar, President & CEO of the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts; and Jeff Vom Saal, Executive Director of the Spokane Symphony & Ma…

Shop Talk Last Call: Cross Pollination In A Good Thing

44<1 min
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Shop Talk S01E06: The Need For ExpertiseShop TalkThis episode’s topic is based on Jason’s blog post, The Most Teachable Era In Human History For The Necessity of Expertise. Questions of expertise are…
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