Battle Royale
Mon, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
The competition between traditional Nutcracker performances and the radio city Christmas Spectacular continues this season. I published an article at The Partial Observer today which examines how this struggle could have positive or negative outcomes for the entire nonprofit performing arts community. The added competition may force the industry into some positive change, even if
In Case You Missed It
Sat, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
There was a wonderful letter to the editor published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press written by Minnesota orchestra violist Sam Bergman. He takes to task one of the paper’s recent editorials which paints musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra (and thereby those in peer orchestras with similar situations) in a completely inappropriate light. Sam is
Axelrod Collection Value Determined By Attitude
Fri, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra released a 66 page report from their Trustee Review Panel regarding the collection of string instruments purchased from Herbert Axelrod. The report will be examined in detail next week, in the meantime, here’s the initial paragraph from the report’s conclusion: “As emphasized earlier, the true value of the instruments for
What Orchestras Can Learn From Mega Stores
Thu, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
Fellow AJ blogger, Martha Bayles, published an interesting piece yesterday. It focuses on the mass marketing efforts by two large mega corporations which sell entertainment media: Blockbuster Video and Barnes & Noble booksellers. Martha examines how online and mail order video rental services are taking a noticeable bite out of Blockbuster’s bottom line. One of
Virtual Disaster
Wed, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
It appears that the cold war between the makers of the Sinfonia virtual orchestra device and representative of New York City Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians is heating up again, and it’s doing so on the same battleground as before, the Opera Company of Brooklyn. Like most wars that result in an
Fun With Numbers
Tue, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
Now that a number of orchestras have released their deficit/surplus information of the 2003-2004 season it is interesting to look at those figures in a different way. For the 03-04 season the following major orchestras break down their losses or gains in the follow manner: Cleveland (deficit) Milwaukee (deficit) Buffalo (deficit) Seattle (surplus) Year
What Do You Do With $32 Million You Can’t Deduct?
Mon, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
The latest chapter in the “Made for T.V.” saga that is the Herbert Axelrod scandal was his pleading guilty last week to helping a former employee file a fraudulent federal tax return. As part of that guilty plea Axelrod must file a 2003 tax form but is not allowed to claim a $32 million
Expressing Your Concern To Interlochen
Sun, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
A great number of concerned Interlochen alumni and supporters have written asking me what I think they should do: "Should I write a letter? Should I make phone calls? Should I just keep quiet?" As a result of those many requests, I have put together a contact list of the Interlochen Trustees and Alumni Council
Big News Regarding Same-Sex Marriage Benefits
Fri, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
I received a note from Alan Gordon, the National Executive Director for AGMA, about a significant development regarding their Health and Retirement Plan. As of December 7th, 2004 the union adopted a provision that:
A Sad Day, The Passing Of Fred Fennell
Wed, Dec 12, 2004
by Drew McManus
In the morning of Tuesday, December 7th, 2004 music legend Fred Fennell passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 90. For those who run around exclusively in orchestra circles you may not readily place Fred’s name with his achievements.
