Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has seen its fair share of rough waters over the past few seasons. In 2015, they endured the Valentina Lisitsa firestorm and 2016 was pockmarked by way of the very public annulment legal battle between former president and CEO, Jeff Melanson, and his estranged wife, Eleanor McCain. According to an article by Martin Knelman in the 5/21/2016 edition of The Toronto Star, all of these high profile …
In a timely coincidence with the recent Toronto Symphony / Valentina Lisitsa social media equivalent of Godzilla vs. Mothra, ArtsHacker Phil Paschke published an article on 4/12/15 that includes a social media response flow chart by Jonathan Michael at Bplans.com that should not only be a mobile device shortcut but printed out, framed, and sitting on the desk of anyone in this field tasked with managing their institution’s social media profiles. It’s …
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) / Valentina Lisitsa firestorm is a good reminder that capable damage control and responsible flexing of social media muscle are important skills to develop and maintain. For organizations, damage control seems to be a lesson that is slow to matriculate. Remember the Richard Dare/NJSO crisis or the Detroit Symphony scrambling to backtrack on comments about hiring replacement musicians? Just wind your way through Adaptistration’s archives and you’ll …
There’s a terrific article by Brian Wise in the 6/6/2013 edition of WQXR.com that examines the issue of using cameras and recording devices in the concert hall. The issue is hot right now following a temper tantrum from pianist Krystian Zimerman who cut a recital short because he spotted a patron allegedly recording the performance with a Smartphone. What makes Zimerman’s situation stand out is he apparently went on to lecture …