Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Colorado Springs Philharmonic Employer Rejects Musician Offer To Waive An Entire Season Of Salary

Fri, Nov 11, 2020
It appears mediation in the Colorado Springs Philharmonic labor dispute is running into difficulties. The musicians released a public statement on 11/5/2020 to inform supporters that their recent offer to waive an entire season’s salary made was rejected. Most recently, working with a federal mediator, we offered to accept the total loss of our guaranteed salaries

While Still Painful, Short-Term Concessionary Agreements Are The Best Option For Most Orchestras

Thu, Nov 11, 2020
The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra recently announced a 30 percent cut in musician wages for the rest of 2020 and the 11/2/2020 edition of the San Francisco Chronical published an article by Joshua Kosman that provides important content. This is not a new deal, rather, a reopener, which is when both parties agree to amend

Why Can’t Someone Just Tell Me What To Do?!?

Wed, Nov 11, 2020
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Full disclosure: I wrote today’s post well in advance of the election just to be sure to resist any temptation to publish anything overtly political. Having said that, today’s post will hopefully help you avoid a bear trap that has inadvertently snagged a few of my clients in the form of upgrading to Google’s big

Scheduling Election Night Sanity

Tue, Nov 11, 2020
While it should come as no surprise that we won’t know who won the presidential election this evening, that doesn’t mean you have to sit on pins and needles all night. There’s an excellent article at fivethirtyeight.com that provides a clear schedule on when you can expect election updates for each state. And while the

Labor Tensions Continue To Rise In Colorado Springs As Orchestra Goes Dark

Mon, Nov 11, 2020
At the beginning of last month, labor relations at the Colorado Springs Philharmonic (CSPhil) were on the brink of all out war. After publishing feedback from employer and musician representatives, the orchestra’s president and CEO, Nathan Newbrough, wrote to say he thought things were moving in a positive direction. While that’s a good sign, follow-up