Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house. I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why. In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu. For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

A Post-Pandemic Tip: Disconnect From Distractions

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Holly Mulcahy recently published an article at Neo Classical that references a long-standing crisis management guideline from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that stresses the importance of fundamental priorities. Here’s an excerpt from the FAA’s advice that came to fruition after a December 1972 crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401. The entire cockpit crew was so focused on a non-critical task of investigating a malfunction of a landing gear position indicator …

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#TBT Thinking Ahead On Overscale

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While the post-pandemic environment may not seem like an opportune time for musician stakeholders to think about overscale, rest assured, it is. If you aren’t familiar with individual overscale agreements, these are the contracts that certain orchestra musicians utilize to negotiate terms above and beyond those set forth in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). They are negotiated outside the auspices of the CBA between the musician and the association. In short, …

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Good Problems To Have

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The more attention we focus on the processes used to enter the post-pandemic period of concert activity, the better. Case in point, there’s an excellent article from Jim Farber in the 5/24/2021 edition of San Francisco Classical Voice that includes interviews with the CEOs from New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony about how both groups are approaching the return to more in-person events. A few things caught my eye such …

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If San Diego’s New Outdoor Venue Sounds Half As Good As It Looks

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I’ve been meaning to find the time to do a deep dive into San Diego Symphony’s (SDS) new outdoor venue, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. As of now, finding info online beyond surface level promotional material is hard to come by but that will likely change as we approach the inaugural event on 8/6/2021. The San-Diego Union Tribune published a nice write-up by George Varga about the outdoor facility in …

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Back In The In-Person Concert Saddle

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Over the weekend, I attended my first in-person orchestra concert in 15 months and the experience was fantastic. To a large degree, the entire experience reinforced what I have been hoping would be the case in that there are opportunities and advantages connected to socially distanced concert events. This was my first time attending a South Bend Symphony concert. The program included Beethoven Symphony No. 5 and The Rose of Sonora, …

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