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.

Big News Regarding Same-Sex Marriage Benefits

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I received a note from Alan Gordon, the National Executive Director for AGMA, about a significant development regarding their Health and Retirement Plan.  As of December 7th, 2004 the union adopted a provision that:

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Blogs, Blogs Everywhere

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In yesterday’s San Francisco Classical Voice, Lisa Hirsch published a great piece about the explosion of classical music blogs available today.  Not only is it a great reference of music related blogs (you’ll find Arts Journal blogs by Teachout, Sandow, yours truly, and Critical Conversation listed) but it does an equally great job of outlining why music blogs have filled such an important need in the industry. But I digress, go …

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Root, Root, Root For The Home Team

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Finding an extra special rallying point for your community to get involved with has always been a good move on the part of orchestras.  Although orchestras should always have a series of events to focus attention on them, having a big event is a good way to wake up the sleeping congregation and bring in some converts. One of the most common events used by bigger orchestras is to plan an …

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An Uphill Battle In Kansas City

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An article in the 12/05/04 edition of the Kansas City Star by Paul Horsley reports that the city manager wants to move a proposed parking garage to location which would force patrons to traverse up a steep hill to get from the garage to the planned performing arts center (something elderly or disabled patrons would not be able to accomplish without assistance). The city manager states the move would save $10 …

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