Examining Transparency Amidst The Economic Downturn
Tue, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
Regular readers know that institutional transparency is an important topic here at Adaptistration as it impacts nearly every aspect of a performing arts organization. Nonetheless, the majority of orchestral institutions don’t embrace institutional transparency as it applies to financial disclosure and up until a year ago, that didn’t have much impact on operations. But since
Orchestral Acoustics 102: Orchestra vs. Hall
Mon, Oct 10, 2009
In a recent blog post, Washington Post music critic, Ann Midgette, posed questions concerning: what influence a hall’s acoustic response has on orchestral performance technique, and what effect the 1997 renovation of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall had in improving acoustics onstage and in the audience. In response to the first, I can report conclusively
Rethinking The Music Director Search Process
Fri, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
Since the unofficial theme for posts this week seems to be innovation (or lack thereof in some cases), it seems fitting to round things out by pointing over to a recent post from Ron Spigelman over at Sticks and Drones that proposes some interesting ideas about how to re-think the process of searching for a
A Worthwhile Concessionary Agreement Part 2
Thu, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
Part 1 in this set of articles examined the concept of board atrophy, a general deterioration of board stewardship, and how it is impacting an orchestra’s fundraising performance amidst the economic downturn. For the most part, this is every bit as serious a threat to the future of orchestras as the actual economic downturn. Today’s
A Brief Detour
Wed, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
My apologies to everyone showing up today looking for Part 2 from A Worthwhile Concessionary Agreement but while traveling the road of acquiring some necessary permissions we have hit a few potholes; in particular, the gods of travel and digital communication have not been smiling on our venture. Nonetheless, Part 2 will be posted as
A Worthwhile Concessionary Agreement Part 1
Tue, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
Amid the dizzying array of contract reopeners, work stoppages, and other fraught-filled collective bargaining negotiations since last fall, the ensuing agreements are more alike than not in that they contain some degree of compensation/benefit concessions. For the most part, these agreements have nothing special worth looking at but there are a few exceptions. One of
Marc van Bree’s Big List of Classical Music Twitterers
Mon, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
There’s nothing quite a satisfying as a good resource list and the world of cultural blogging has a new entry they can be proud of thanks to Marc van Bree, author of the Dutch Perspective, a self described “levensbeschouwing (a Dutch word, by way of Germany, meaning “world view”) based loosely on two themes: public
It’s Called Satire
Fri, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
Perhaps the budget cuts have everyone on edge and granted, we all probably take ourselves a bit too seriously for our own good in this business but it was a bit surprising to see some of the feedback to the satirical news piece posted by Leonard Slatkin at his website on 9/23/2009 detailing some new
The Funny Side Of Apathy
Thu, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
Ah, apathy. At times, it seems like the evil grease that keeps the gears of this business grinding but that doesn’t mean it can’t be entertaining. Case in point, fellow arts management blogger plank owner Andrew Taylor posted an article on 10/14/2009 pointing out the Bureau of Communication, a tongue-in-cheek organization on a mission to
2009 Orchestra Website Review: US and Canadian Comparisons
Wed, Oct 10, 2009
by Drew McManus
The final article in the 2009 Orchestra Website Reviews will compare and contrast US and Canadian results. Both groups made advancements but the Canadians, on average, once again made greater strides. This article examines exactly which components had the most impact on these developments…
