Today’s headline is a line from Ron Spigelman’s 1/18/2010 blog post titled Adjusting the Seasonings in Salt Lake! – Time to Make a Play! In the article, Spigelman asserts that orchestras need to move past the self perception that the business must rely exclusively on handouts dictated solely by economic conditions. This is a particularly useful concept in today’s economic downturn as it is far too easy for nonprofit arts managers to forget just how much impact (real and/or potential) they have throughout their respective community…
The Future
Stepping On Some Toes
My overall impression of last week’s American Orchestras Summit was quite positive. All in all, the unique setting and absence of traditional host influence resulted in a noticeably different, and constructive, atmosphere for most discussions. I also appreciated the fact that as a panelist and a member of the audience, the room was well lit so everyone could easily see one another. Accordingly, there was one distinct point during my panel …
Keys To Creativity: Avoid The Middlemen
The first installment in this series will examine chapter five of Hugh MacLeod’s book Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, he declares “If your business plan depends on suddenly being discovered by some big shot, you plan will probably fail.” Of all the chapters in MacLeod’s book, this is perhaps one of the most flexible and I found myself interpreting the same material differently depending on which perspective I adopted…
Keys To Creativity, A New Mini-Series
Back in July, 2009 I posted a blurb about a book I was starting to read authored by Hugh MacLeod titled Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity. I finished the book over my vacation and like most books that resonate with me, it ended up looking like a coloring book with meaningful passages highlighted and notes scribbled in margins and sticky notes. There is so much worthwhile material here for every stakeholder in this business, that it deserves special attention…
Don’t Wait, Buy Your Copy Now!
According to the Grant Park Music Festival’s (GPMF) website, describes itself as “The nation’s only free, municipally funded, summer-long, classical music series, the Grant Park Music Festival has been a key part of the lakefront’s vibrant history.” That means it is a government sponsored, autonomous orchestra; yes, an organization thought to only exist mostly in Europe has been around right under our US noses for the past 75 years. To celebrate their 75th anniversary, the GPMF commissioned a publication that I was lucky enough to get my hands on a few days before it is officially released…