Commentary

You Didn’t Think This Curtis Thing Was Going To Blow Over, Did You?

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Adaptistration People 182

In the latest chapter of what comes across as a book on how not to go about crisis management, the Curtis Institute continues to dig up in response to allegations of sexual abuse and impropriety. At the end of July, 2019, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an investigative article by Tricia L. Nadolny and Peter Dobrin that reports on alleged sexual assault at the Curtis Institute against a minor by a renowned violin teacher. …

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I’ll Try, But I Don’t Think My Phone Will Fit In There

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Adaptistration People 196

At the beginning of the month I wrote about the Anne-Sophie Mutter mobile phone kerfuffle and staked out a decidedly matter-of-fact perspective. Fortunately, there are others out there looking to approach the topic from more of a productive outlook. Case in point, violinist Holly Mulcahy gathered 10 such minds to provide positive thoughts, productive and creative ideas, and some hard truth realizations that go way beyond mere kvetching: Stephen Marc Beaudoin; Executive …

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The Culture Of Fostering Diversity And New Works

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Adaptistration People 065

In most instances, it’s fascinating to compare trends and/or metrics from one nonprofit performing arts sector to another. To that end, there’s a great article by Marshall Botvinick at HowlRound.com (h/t Thomas Cott) that uses data from a recent study to show the majority of new plays at larger US regional theaters are written by women and/or non-white playwrights. Granted, they aren’t overwhelming majorities, but majorities, nonetheless: Playwrights by gender (part …

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Meaningful Discussions About Compensation Aren’t As Difficult As You Might Think

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Adaptistration People 163

I was listening to a classical music podcast over the weekend and the host, a professional musician, was interviewing an orchestra CEO. At one point in the conversation, they started talking about manager vs. musician compensation. What ensued was the normal gnashing of teeth over it being difficult conversation (spoiler: it isn’t) and all the talking point unfolded along the same well-worn discussions on this topic. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the CEO felt …

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Okay, Okay; I’ll Write About The Anne-Sophie Mutter Thing

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Adaptistration People 164

In the wake of all the messages from colleagues and readers asking when I’m writing about Anne-Sophie Mutter’s mexican standoff with a patron during a recent performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony, it looks like there’s no avoiding the topic. Spoiler alert: I’m not thrilled with the way she handled the situation. That doesn’t mean I don’t empathize with her frustration, but this isn’t the last time an …

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