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.

Reader Response: Sex For Jobs

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It seems there’s an even wider range of opinion about Blair Tindall’s book than I originally thought.  After posting yesterday’s article I received a digital avalanche of email messages from people in, out, around, and withdrawn from the music business. Many of the notes were filled with sincere feelings about the place of sex and this business and there were many intriguing points I had not previously considered. For example, one …

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HOW DARE SHE REVEAL HERSELF

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I’ve received some intriguing email from people in the business about Blair Tindall’s new book, Mozart in the Jungle.  What makes the email intriguing is the wide variety of responses; it ranges from shock and anger to unrestrained giddiness. For those unfamiliar with the book, Blair discusses obtaining playing jobs throughout New York City in bed.  The UK paper, the Times, quoted a passage from Blair’s book which consciously sums it …

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What Houston and Louisville Have In Common

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It’s not an uncommon practice for orchestras to subcontract out the services of their ensemble to the local opera companies.  Orchestras from smaller budget ROPA ensembles, like Richmond (VA) through larger ICSOM groups, like St. Louis, do it on a regular basis.  However, what works in one locale does not necessarily transfer equally to another.   Most organizations attempt to make the relationship as symbiotic as possible, but that’s not always how …

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Back From Caracas

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I returned from Caracas very late last evening and am just getting acclimated back from the wonderful hospitality of my Venezuelan and New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic orchestra hosts. I’ll be taking a few days to catch up on everything but there’s much to discuss about what I encountered during the past four days.  The Venezuelan program is full of significant relevance to what’s been happening here in the U.S. and …

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Away In Caracas For a Few Days

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I’m off to Caracas for a few days for my excellent Venezuelan adventure (details of which were posted a few days ago).  If I can wrangle some internet access while I’m away I’ll post a play by play of the events. I received a note from Ben Zander, who is already on site, this morning telling me that I can’t expect what’s about to hit me.  He described the classical music …

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