Alex Ross Is Absolutely Right
Mon, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
The 2/3/2010 edition of the New Yorker published a piece by Alex Ross that examines attendance trends throughout the nonprofit performing arts. Unlike most of the shoulder shrugging set in this field, Ross decides to look at the issues in practical terms and concludes that in order to begin attracting members from Generation X to
Financial Crisis In The Board Room!!
Fri, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
There are few emotions as powerful as the urge to blame, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be funny. Mel Brooks, a master at disarming animosity through humor, once said “Bad taste is simply saying the truth before it should be said” and if you take a long hard look at some of the things
Unexpected Bear Traps In Philadelphia
Thu, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
In what is shaping up to be a classic example of good intentions run amuck, the embattled Philadelphia Orchestra became the target of Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist, Karen Heller. In her 2/7/2010 article, she takes the organization to task over their new slogan and branded marketing campaign “Unexpect yourself.” Although unabashedly frank in her analysis, Heller’s
An Orchestra Life Cartoon: Take Two
Wed, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
Long time readers will recall that I spent some time looking for a cartoonist back in 2005 with the goal of creating a cartoon that brings to life the magic that is working and living in the orchestra field. The idea simply wasn’t able to get off the ground at that time but things have
Adaptistration: In Reverse
Tue, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
Kim Witman of the Wolf Trap Opera Company has organized a cross-blog event for today’s announcement of the WTOC 2010 season by doing guest blog posts and interviews in a few places across the blogosphere. Kim contributed a wonderful opera oriented essay during the 2007 Take A Friend To the Orchestra Opera initiative and her
Things That Make You Go Buh!?! Honolulu
Mon, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
On Friday, 2/5/2010 Hawaii Public Radio aired an interview conducted by Noe Tanigawa to catch up on the current status of the bankrupt Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (HSO). The 29:35 segment featured excerpts from separate conversations with HSO Executive Director Majken Mechling and HSO tympanist and musicians’ representative Steve Dinion. Tanigawa did an excellent job at
“It Is Time To Stop Being The Victim”
Fri, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
Today’s headline is a line from Ron Spigelman’s 1/18/2010 blog post titled Adjusting the Seasonings in Salt Lake! – Time to Make a Play! In the article, Spigelman asserts that orchestras need to move past the self perception that the business must rely exclusively on handouts dictated solely by economic conditions. This is a particularly
A Sneak Peek At TAFTO 2010 Contributors
Thu, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
Take A Friend To The Orchestra (TAFTO) 2010 is only two months away and in order to give orchestras interested in putting together a TAFTO oriented event something to work with, I wanted to announce the first round of confirmed contributors. Lynn Harrell; renowned cellist and author of the weblog There’s Always Room For Cello.
20 Hours Per Week
Wed, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
One of the points that came up throughout last week’s American Orchestras Summit was the “musicians only have to work 20 hours per week” comment leveraged by Cleveland Orchestra’s management during their recent labor strife. By and large, the response among participants was it only served a self defeating purpose and it is high time
“Solving All The Problems Of American Orchestras”
Tue, Feb 2, 2010
by Drew McManus
That was one of the opening lines from WRCJ’s Chris Felcyn, host of The Well Tempered Wireless, during the segment from his show last Friday where I had the pleasure to serve as a guest (Chris’ blog). I had a wonderful time on the program, Chris is an excellent host who is very passionate about
