Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Audience Development

Free = Good. Free + Big Screens = Better.

Thu, Sep 9, 2009
From out of the gloomy mist that has characterized business news the past few weeks, a bright and shiny silver lining is threading its way across several cities this weekend in the form of free simulcast concerts. For the past few years, operas have dominated this niche but this season, the Nashville Symphony jumps on

Hang ‘Em By His Castanets!

Thu, Aug 8, 2009
For those of us who work at the business end of classical music, discussions about non-artistic components of the concert experience come up all the time. If you’re a regular Adaptistration reader, you know that we examine those issues on a regular basis and my opinion is that there are more non-artistic reasons behind most

“A Ship Is Safe In Harbor, But That’s Not What Ships Are For.”

Thu, Jul 7, 2009
A short while ago, Joe Patti posed a question over at Butts In The Seats asking whether or not orchestras should confine their programming to just a few genres. The first thing that popped into my head when I read his original post was a quote from Mark Twain: “I was gratified to be able

Enough Of What I Think, What’s Your Opinion?

Thu, May 5, 2009
The ubiquitous standing ovation. Just about every orchestra musician that blogs has written about this topic at one point or another and most share a common thread; audience response to a lackluster performance with a standing ovation can have an unintentional demoralizing impact. During the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MO) board retreat last week, we talked

TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Curt Long

Wed, Apr 4, 2009
Curt Long is a perfect example of the sort of fantastic orchestra executives you don’t hear enough about. After a long and successful tenure as Dayton Philharmonic’s executive director, he recently assumed the same duties with the Alabama Symphony. Curt’s Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) contribution focuses on how orchestras need to get outside
Previous Next