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: Power to the People

Wednesday, November 26th, 2003 by Drew McManus

I recently received an eloquent letter from Frank in Alexandria, a reader that considers himself a “knowledgeable nonprofessional classical music activist” (I like that term). I believe he has some important insight to share:“In my judgment the factors underlying the maiaise with America’s magnificent classical music system were already identified long ago, one of the eloquent expressions being by Leonard Bernstein in his book of the early 60’s, where he speaks …

What do you consider professional?

Tuesday, November 25th, 2003 by Drew McManus

During a recent concert intermission, I struck up a conversation with an orchestra patron newbie. I always enjoy talking to patrons about their experiences and observations and this conversation was no exception, save for one small question. Toward the end of our talk he asked a question about the musicians: “So what do these guys do for a day job” Unfortunately, the house lights were flickering and we had to get …

Back in town…

Monday, November 24th, 2003 by Drew McManus

Well after being away from the computer for a few days, I’m glad to be back. Stay tuned because after I get caught back up, we’ll discuss accountability, salary issues, finding a new audience, continue earlier discussions about education, and more from reader responses. In the meantime, there is some great content in the October issue of Harmony at the Symphony Orchestra Institute. There are several articles related to orchestra management, …

Fly-In, Fly-Out Music Directors

Friday, November 21st, 2003 by Drew McManus

More than half of the ROPA and ICSOM orchestras in this country employ a music director that does not reside in the community where the orchestra performs. Although that may strike you as staggering statistic, it has been the norm for over a decade. Part of the trouble is that the role of the music director is inconsistent across the country. Most music directors only focus on the artistic output of …

Additional thoughts about Leadership

Thursday, November 20th, 2003 by Drew McManus

I was pleased to see the well-written response on Andrew’s page with regard to my earlier blog about artistic administration programs. Having been an avid reader of Andrew’s blog for some time now, I agree with his statement “One frustration is that I tend to agree with Drew that there are problems with the way we have traditionally taught management leaders in Arts Administration.” I agree that between Andrew and myself …

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