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: Memories Of Karl Haas

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I would like to thank all of the readers who took the time to writer in with your memories or stories about Karl Haas.  I included excerpts from several of them in an article published at The Partial Observer today. After talking with the people responsible for syndicating Karl’s program, Adventures in Good Music, I learned that they have plans to continue broadcasting past programs.  Furthermore, Karl’s shows are owned by …

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It’s The Atmosphere, Dummy

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If you haven’t taken the time to read the latest article from love-him-or-hate-him Norm Lebrecht, carve a few moments out of your day and give it a read.  It’s a good piece that points out what most people are thinking but don’t say out loud. Norm points out that most people are simply uncomfortable with the atmosphere of classical music concerts a topic examined at length here on numerous occasions.  From …

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Theme And Variations In Atlanta

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You have to love the internet; if you took the time to surf around the local Atlanta television and newspaper outlets yesterday, you were treated to a variety of articles and video features about the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s new concert hall.

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Contributing To A Solution In St. Louis

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Even though the negotiation impasse between the managers and musicians of the St. Louis Symphony has cancelled concerts since the beginning of January, supporters can still make a difference in helping the situation from deteriorating any further. Donating to maintain healthy musiciansFor the musicians, the most urgent need is to be able to maintain their health insurance payments.  Although the musicians receive benefits from the American Federation of Musicians strike/lockout fund, …

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The Adventure Concludes The Passing Of Karl Haas

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The world of classical music has one less visionary among its ranks, musician and long time radio host Karl Haas passed away on February 6th, 2005 at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, he was 91 years old. His award winning radio show, Adventures in Good Music, was simplicity at its best.  The show had a straightforward format; each program, Karl simply talked about a new topic related to classical …

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