How Much Did That Meeting (Or Rehearsal Error) Really Cost?
Mon, Nov 11, 2007
by Drew McManus
Does it seem like more and more of your time is consumed with staff meetings? Does your department head enjoy scheduling meetings that seem to be designed to prevent you from completing your work? Thankfully, you now have a quick and easy way to calculate labor costs for all of the time spent in meetings
Wag The Dog
Fri, Nov 11, 2007
by Drew McManus
A variation on a classic joke: Which came first, the grant or the program? A groaner for sure but an unfortunate reality for too many orchestras. The simple fact is that funding sources are limited and as a result, orchestras will design programs based more on grant guidelines than institutional vision…
Dress Codes: The Topic With Staying Power
Thu, Nov 11, 2007
by Drew McManus
I wish I had a time machine. Among other uses, I would like to travel back in time to talk to orchestral musicians from the 1920s through 1950s to find out what they thought of concert attire, and not just for themselves but for the audience as well. Did they have wardrobe expectations when they
Are You Ready For The Arts Addict?
Wed, Nov 11, 2007
by Drew McManus
I hate to give away upcoming events too early but the flood of emails asking about the new blogs set to launch over the next few months have persuaded me to offer up a few more details…
Wanted: A Messiah In Cincinnati
Tue, Nov 11, 2007
by Drew McManus
The 11/4/2007 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer published an article by Janelle Gelfand which took a hard look at the ongoing process to find a new Dean for the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). The revealing article examines the challenges and outlines the critical value in filling this position with the right person…
Sticks and Drones: A New Adaptistration Blog
Mon, Nov 11, 2007
by Drew McManus
There’s excitement in the air as today marks the launch of the first of several new blogs here at Adaptistration. Sticks and Drones is all about the world of classical music from the perspective of two conductors, Bill Eddins and Ron Spigelman. If you are hoping the blog will be chocked full of filler such
Adaptistration Internal Service Project
Thu, Nov 11, 2007
by Drew McManus
When Adaptistration moved to its new server on October 15, 2007 it had 12,000+ entries containing 1.2 million words, thousands of links, and hundreds of embedded pics, tables, graphs, and charts. Although moving that much data would normally involve endless headaches, everything made it from URL "A" to URL "B" in one piece. Well, almost
Confusing The Issues
Thu, Nov 11, 2007
by Drew McManus
Much has been written throughout the blogosphere since The New Republic published Richard Taruskin’s 12,000 word narrative entitled Books: The Musical Mystique – Defending classical music against its devotees. I’ll come right out and admit that I have not read the entire work, which if written for different genre would classify as a beefy short
What’s All The Hubbub Surrounding North Korea About?
Wed, Oct 10, 2007
by Drew McManus
The debate over whether or not the New York Philharmonic should perform in Pyongyang, North Korea is puzzling. There have been so many thought provoking articles written on the issue that it is easy to understand and relate to just about every point. At the same time, this is a good indication that the minutia
An Interesting Challenge In Pittsburgh
Tue, Oct 10, 2007
by Drew McManus
The Saturday, October 27, 2007 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published an article by Andrew Druckenbrod that reported Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) artistic advisor Andrew Davis would not return to conduct the orchestra this season, the last of his contracted tenure with the ensemble. Andrew’s article does an excellent job at bringing you up to
