Drew McManus
Orchestra Mission Statements In The Worst Fonts Of All Time
Wed, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
Joe Patti keeps sucking me in with his headlines and yesterday’s post was no exception: Probably The Only Time Comic Sans Is Appropriate In A Planning Document. If I’m being honest, I didn’t even read the rest of the article because it made me wonder what actual orchestra mission statements look like in some of
I’ll Take My Comedy A Little Less Dark Please
Tue, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
In the wake of yesterday’s April Fool’s day prank, several readers wrote in to say how similar it was to the AF prank from 2016. The 2016 article focused on a fictional “Scholarship Indemnity Program” where in exchange for receiving free tuition, students must meet one of the minimum career accomplishment goals, set by the
New Tuition Assistance Program Aspires To Reinvent Escalating Education Costs
Sun, Apr 4, 2018
by Drew McManus
Rising tuition costs and crippling student debt continue to occupy the heart and minds of emerging classical musicians. But one major conservatory believes they have a solution to not only control costs, but begin easing them down for most students. The Juiliard Institute plans to begin offering its students financial aid with repayment in the
Understanding The Importance Of Legacy Costs
Fri, Mar 3, 2018
by Drew McManus
Anyone working in the labor side of things inside the orchestra and opera fields knows how much impact legacy costs have on an institution’s expense structure. Larger budgets typically mean larger legacy costs, especially pension obligations. And while that’s not going to be changing anytime soon, legacy costs in other departments have been creeping up
#TBT El Sistema After José Abreu’s Death
Thu, Mar 3, 2018
by Drew McManus
Saturday, 3/24/2018 was a sad day with the news that El Sistema founder José Abreu passed away. I was fortunate to experience the program first-hand in 2005 (thanks to Ben Zander and the New England Conservatory Youth Orchestra for inviting me along to chronicle their tour). That visit included an interview Abreu, which became the
