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 Public Statement From the BSO Musicians

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The musicians of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra released the following statement on Sunday, July 17, 2005 with regard to their organization’s current music director search, The musicians of the Baltimore Symphony are asking Philip English, Chairman of the Board of Directors, to postpone any vote on the appointment of a new Music Director. The musicians ask that any decision be delayed until Thanksgiving of this year, which will allow opportunities for …

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More Development In The BSO Process Story

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There is a great article by Tim Smith in the 7/16/05 Baltimore Sun which includes some quotes from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra players committee chair, Jane Marvine, many of which also appeared here yesterday. In addition to those quotes there is some additional information from Jane which touches on the process behind the music director search; the article reports, The seven musician members of the 21-person search committee will attend Tuesday’s …

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More On The Baltimore Music Director Search

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I just read two articles from the New York Times about the apparent appointment of Marin Alsop as the new Music Director for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In order to head off some of the email I expect to receive regarding whether or not Ms. Alsop should or shouldn’t be the new music director based on artistic reasons, let me reiterate that this examination has nothing to do with those issues. …

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Fascinating Developments In The Baltimore Music Director Search

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I received a several unexpected telephone calls at the tail end of my vacation from inside sources at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Each one was about the same issue; the music director search currently underway to replace Yuri Temirkanov. I immediately realized something was up because I don’t usually receive several phone calls from different individuals in the same organization on the same day unless it’s fairly important and time sensitive, …

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Refreshed, Recharged, and Rejuvenated (Almost)

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It looks like my working vacation at the Jackson Hole, WY is over. I had planned to stay through the end of this week but business cut the trip a little short. After I finish up with that bump in the road you can look forward to some really intriguing articles and postings. Who said the summer months have to be dull in the orchestra business? After spending 10 wonderful days …

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