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.

A Vote Of Confidence At Chicago

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Just a blurb today, I saw the article in today’s Chicago Sun-Times about the musicians of the Chicago Symphony initiating a vote of confidence on a resolution voicing support for Music Director Daniel Barenboim.  I’m thrilled to see the players taking matters into their own hands.  It shows what a majority of them feel is most important to their organization and it lets management and the orchestra’s executive board know that …

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Overpaid Executive Martyrs

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I read the article in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer by Peter Dobrin about how the Philadelphia Orchestra’s executive board approved a $10,000-per-year raise for its president, Joseph H. Kluger.  The article went on to state that the pay raise came at a time when the orchestra’s leadership: ” cut compensation for its music director, asked employees to take a week’s unpaid vacation, fired seven employees in a cost-cutting move, and the orchestra …

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A Fascinating Article About a Fascinating Blog

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Arts Journal recently linked to an article in the Washington Post written by Philip Kennicott.  The article focuses on Sam Bergman’s Road Trip blog here on Arts Journal that chronicles the recent Minnesota Orchestra’s tour of Europe.  If you haven’t read either the Washington Post article or the blog, you should. In Philip’s article, he summarizes one of the core problems with orchestral management in two simple paragraphs (as opposed the …

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The Musicians Of Tomorrow A Follow Up

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In January, I wrote a piece about how we can make better musicians for tomorrow by instituting a music business component into the standard music conservatory curriculum.  Since that time I contacted the top music conservatories in the US to see if they already had a music business component as part of their required curriculum.  I sent an email inquiry to the following conservatories and schools of music that have historically produced …

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The Dismantling Of Middle League Orchestras

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We all hear a great deal of opinion about the current “crisis” in classical music and this blog has been no exception. But I do get a fair amount of feedback from readers that think I’m overstating the issue.  I hear a great deal about how this industry has always had its ups and downs and that people have been proclaiming the death of classical music for decades, but it is still obviously around.  And in many instances those observations are right on target, so why should now be any different?

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