Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
In the wake of the economic downturn, we’ve heard a lot about large donor burnout. The large donor well running dry is a frequent talking point during labor disputes and it’s common to see employers leverage permanent concessions as a demand from one or more existing large donors as a condition for continued giving. What started as a call for “sustainability” has risen to the level of nonprofit sacrosanct. Is there …
On Saturday, 12/2/17 the Minnesota Orchestra presented a concert featuring a guest artist known for writing music inspired by politics, his passion for opera, love, and family relationships. During the second half of the performance, the artist addressed the audience expressing concern over the recently passed GOP tax plan. Before his address to the audience was complete, the orchestra’s principal trumpet decided it offended his political sensibilities to such a degree …
Initial fallout over The Metropolitan Opera’s (The Met) suspended music director James Levine’s alleged sexual misconduct is positively radioactive. There is no shortage of discussion on the topic, you’ll find thousands of comments across social media threads and online classical music outlets. Passions run deep and a sizable portion of that outrage is directed toward The Met’s executive leadership. At the time this article was written, The Met’s official Facebook page …
Over the weekend, the New York Post published an article by Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein that reports on a Lake Forest, IL police report that accuses conductor and Metropolitan Opera (Met) Music Director James Levine of alleged child molestation. A host of additional outlets followed up with their own accounts in the wake of the NY Post’s bombshell article. Update: The Met has formally suspended Levine and released additional details …
“Damn it.” This was the thought that crossed my mind at the end of a very long day after realizing I still had to write a blurb for a group post at ArtsHacker about what I’m grateful for as an arts manager. And yes, the group post was my idea in the first place so the whole hoisted by one’s own petard thing was very much at the forefront of my …