I’ll Take The Job Description Turducken On Rye To-Go Please

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It’s no secret nonprofit performing arts admins are overworked and underpaid. Fortunately, the issue is starting to get more attention but that hasn’t done much to curtail what I’ve noticed as a growing trend of stuffing an increasing amount of duties and responsibilities into single positions. Traditionally, you’ll find something resembling the following three-tiered structure at most arts orgs: Director = Mid to late career, $$$ pay, runs a department, determines …

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Borg Of Directors

Time for a bit of mid-week dark humor in the form of a Tweet about the overwhelmingly sheeple nature of orchestra boards. When your Orchestra's Board is full of a bunch of mindless followers, you might as well call them Borg of Directors. #StarTrekReference #ResistanceIsFutile — Shit Orchestra Musicians Say (@OrchestraSay) August 26, 2019 For those not espoused in Trek culture, it won’t take you long to get the gag. Anyone …

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Even The Corporate Sector Is Acknowledging The Role Of WorkPlace Satisfaction

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Just a quick pointer today to an article in the 8/19/2019 edition of the Washington Post written by Kena McGregor that reports on changing attitudes among top for-profit CEOs toward the singular goal of shareholder profit. You don’t need very much experience in this field to know that nonprofit arts and culture boards have been increasingly focused on adopting similar zero tolerance policies toward balanced budgets in the name of institutional …

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The Latest #MeToo Installment

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What more is there to say about #MeToo revelations other than cautioning against becoming numb. To that end, the 8/13/2019 edition of the Associated Press published an article by Jocelyn Gecker that reports on allegations from multiple accusers that Placido Domingo would “pressure women into sexual relationships by dangling jobs and then sometimes punishing the women professionally when they refused his advances.” The extensively researched article does a good job at …

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Define That: Total Fiscal Transparency

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There’s a fascinating article by Charles T. Downey in the 8/12/19 edition of Washington Classical Review that examines the ongoing Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) lockout. Downey suggests that in order for the organization to maintain artistic integrity while addressing existing economic conditions, the BSO’s executive leadership must “establish total financial transparency.” That’s a superb suggestion and one that has certainly assisted with not only resolving pending labor disputes (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) …

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