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.

What’s Behind Door Number Three

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Times are tough all over for orchestras, and not just in America.  A recent article in Deutsche Welle reports the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra closed up shop after they failed to secure some last minute funding from government sources.  The article goes on to report that the orchestra managers attempted to raise funds privately but were unsuccessful in their attempts. The most striking part of the article is the final sentence, “The …

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In Oregon, It’s All Covered In The Contract

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There’s a big fuss brewing in Oregon over an the issue of artistic review.  If you’re not familiar with that concept and how it relates to orchestras, it’s the process whereby a tenured musician can lose their job due to artistic reasons (their playing isn’t as good as it should be). In short, it’s how orchestras rid themselves of players who have, for whatever reason, lost it.  I know most people …

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TAFTO Continues To Take Shape

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I published an article today at The Partial Observer which examines some of the fundamental purpose behind the importance of enabling patrons to help cultivate the audience of tomorrow. A number of contributions from the special guest writers have begun arriving at my email door and I have to say they are really top notch pieces, much better than I even knew they would be.  If, after hearing from these folks, …

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And You Thought Things Were Changing

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One of the chief complaints I have about this business is its apparent inability to establish an appropriate frame of reference.  For example, things change slowly in the world of orchestra management, so slowly that it seems like even an evolutionary timeline measures change in smaller intervals. Adequate levels of adaptation have been absent for so long that even the slightest introduction of change is heralded by some as “significant progress”.  …

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Take A Friend To Orchestra Update

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Preparations for Take a Friend to Orchestra month are in full swing.  There are a few more names to add to the existing list of guest contributors: Paul Bailey: Musician & composer Henry Fogel: President, American Symphony Orchestra League Kyle Gann: Composer, musicologist, and music critic; The Village Voice Frank Manheim: Knowledgeable nonprofessional classical music activist Charles Noble: Assistant principal violist, Oregon Symphony & classical music blogger Plus there’s a few …

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