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.

TAFTO Reader Responses: Shades Of Sandow

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Greg Sandow’s TAFTO contribution certainly garnered some of the most colorful responses of any submission.  What I found most intriguing were the extremes to which people responded, some with appreciation and others with dissatisfaction. Interestingly enough, however, almost all of the submissions had more in common than not; or they did in my opinion at least.  Quite a few of the responses focused on the age based issues of Greg’s contribution …

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Boston’s BIG Endowment

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Ok, I’m wrong. I’m not going to take the day off.  I just read through an article by Chicago Tribune music critic, John von Rhein, about the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In the article he examines the current state of the BSO and where it sees itself going in the future.  Make sure you get to the final page of the article where you’ll read about how BSO managing director Mark Volpe …

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TAFTO Contribution: Alex Ross

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I’m now convinced that each and every TAFTO contribution provides a wonderfully unique and enriching approach on how to share a classical music experience. Even though I’ve gone through numerous experiences of taking someone to a concert myself, after I read the contributions always I’m excited to go do it all again as soon as possible.

Alex Ross’ contribution stokes that fire again while simultaneously confirming why he’s one of the best cultural writers today.  Having conducted his own private TAFTO program for some time now, his insight is subtle yet profound.  Alex allows you genuinely experience what it’s like to make classical music yours, on your own terms, and without the stereotypical pretense or pomp.

And after all, that’s really what TAFTO is all about; empowering people to feel that classical music can be whatever they want it to be on their own terms. Classical music isn’t some “absolute greatest of art forms” with an obstinate sense of entitlement; it’s what each one of us wants it to be and how each person experiences the music is different from one seat to the next, one performance after another.

Take the time to read Alex’s contribution a few times, send it to your friends, and let it roll over your mind; then go take a friend to a concert this weekend.

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TAFTO Reader Response: More Than Just Orchestras

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Librettist, composer, and economist Garth Trinkl gets around, he divides his time between Washington, D.C., Berkeley, CA, and Lviv, Ukraine.  He resolved to partake in the Take a Friend to Orchestra project but decided that the original scope was a bit too narrow.  As such, he opted out of attending a full orchestra concert and took advantage of some of the fantastic (and less expensive) opportunities in a large metropolitan area …

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