Artistic Administration – Page 10

Vertically Integrated Mahler

Friday, June 29th, 2018Wednesday, October 15th, 2014 by Drew McManus

The orchestra field isn’t one to benefit from microeconomics like other fields; case in point, vertical integration holds limited value for performing arts organization business models. At least, not until you drill down into hyper-niche sectors. What is vertical integration? Let TV explain… As Tina Fey’s character, Liz Lemon, realizes, there’s a dark side to vertical integration but what if we could take that same approach and turn it toward something …

It’s Not Too Early To Start Looking At Next Season’s Holiday Show Options

Friday, June 29th, 2018Thursday, December 26th, 2013 by Drew McManus

Christmas may be over but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking about what your group should do for the 2014/15 holiday season. To that end, do yourself a favor and take a look at A Christmas Carol: The Concert, which is currently airing on Public Broadcasting System (PBS). A production of WTTW in Chicago, the show features music composed and arranged by Bob Christianson with lyrics & book adaptation by …

Some Intriguing Thoughts On Concert Formats

Thursday, October 10th, 2013 by Drew McManus

In June 2013, arts consulting firm WolfBrown released a report detailing the results from a three season long assessment of concert formats. The project was conducted using the post-graduate orchestral academy, New World Symphony (NWS) backed by what the report defines as generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Of particular interest are the findings related to concert length, ticket price, and newbie audience development. Certainly, the report is of …

Spin In St. Paul

Friday, June 29th, 2018Friday, July 19th, 2013 by Drew McManus

Just a short post today thanks to a longer than expected day of travel getting back to Chicago. Take some time today to stop by the article from Euan Kerr in the 7/16/13 edition of Minnesota Public Radio where he examines the mass turnover in musicians at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO). There is no way an orchestra can lose that many musicians and not endure a profound change in …

What If You’re Not As Awesome As You Think?

Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 by Drew McManus

Among the 29th Annual Conductors Guild Conference sessions, one that stuck out in particular was the Auditioning Players panel discussion featuring musicians from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) talking about how to audition musicians, what to listen for, best practices, challenges and solutions to common issues, etc. Anecdotally, the SLSO is genuinely known for running one of the better audition processes in the US; from both the operations and audition …