The Realities of Orchestral Life
Tue, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
Next Monday, September 27th I have the honor of serving as a guest speaker at the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership. The class, taught by Professor Ray Ricker, is titled "The Realities of Orchestral Life" and explores changing attitudes and the ways musicians can become more pro-active in shaping their workplace; my
Play And Talk In Philadelphia
Mon, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
Shortly after midnight on 9/20/04 the negotiating teams for The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 77, jointly issued the following statement: The negotiating teams for The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 77, have been working for many months in an effort to negotiate a new
Website Reviews: Special Recognition Awards
Fri, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
Even though there was only one orchestra in 1st place, I wanted to take the time to award some of the really wonderful and unique aspects from among the websites I evaluated. These features deserve recognition and attention from those inside and outside of the industry. I also wanted to point out some orchestra website
The Best Orchestra Website Is In Chicago
Thu, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
After the dust settled from the evaluation process, it was clear the winner was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. They didn’t win because they’re one of the “Big five” orchestras or because they have a big budget, there were plenty of big budget orchestras that received low scores ( {cough, cough} New York {cough} L.A. {cough}
1st Annual Adaptistration Orchestra Website Review
Wed, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
What makes a good orchestra website? Is it pretty pictures, a nice layout, or color scheme that makes you feel warm and comfortable? All of those things are worth considering at some level but they’re also subjective. An orchestra website should focus on two basic principles that are not subjective, one major and the other
Looking At Seattle From A Different Point Of View
Tue, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
By now, most folks inside the classical music world have heard about what’s going on at the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (SSO). But in case you haven’t beep keeping up, here’s the synopsis: the SSO made the decision to not renew 20 year veteran concertmaster Ilkka Talvi’s contract for the 2004-2005 concert season. Since the SSO
Mediocre Sex
Mon, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
Ok, the headline was a lure. What I’m talking about is using sex to sell mediocre musicians playing music that would aspire to be called mediocre. I published an article today in my Neo Classical column at The Partial Observer that examines how cross over and selling classical music with sex can sometimes go well
How Do You Get On The Board?
Fri, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
In the wake of the Columbus (OH) Symphony Orchestra board chair resigning due investigations by the SEC, Connie from Columbus wrote in to ask: “How do people get on an orchestra board?” What a great question. The answer has been the subject of numerous books, scholarly papers, and articles for the past century. But before
Do you think this is worth $74,425?
Thu, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
I’ve been digging around orchestra form 990’s at GuideStar lately and I came across what I thought was an unusually high expense under the “Compensation Of The Five Highest Paid Independent Contractors For Professional Services” category in the Phoenix Symphony 2002 return. The Phoenix Symphony paid $74,425 that year to a company called Contact Designs
More About Milwaukee – Marketing Department
Wed, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
At the conclusion of yesterday’s article, it promised to examine the direction the MSO marketing department is taking since the arrival of their new marketing director, Sean McBryde. In Tom Strini’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article from September 4th, 2004 he reported that the MSO has suffered a big hit in ticket sales since 1999. According to
