Commentary – Page 47 – Adaptistration

BREAKING: Arts Management Is Hard. In Other News, Water Still Wet.

Tuesday, September 26th, 2017Tuesday, September 26th, 2017 by Drew McManus

Have you heard about the Newport Contemporary Music Series, or more precisely, the whopping disaster that was the Newport Contemporary Music Series? It was such a fiasco, it would be funny if it weren’t for the sobering reality that dozens of musicians and related service providers suffered six figures worth income due to nothing more than one person’s ineptitude. If nothing else, the entire ordeal serves as a reminder that arts …

The Beleaguered Bach Festival

Wednesday, September 20th, 2017 by Drew McManus

Just when you thought the Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) may have been able to take off its PR damage control hat, the New York Times published a wonderfully comprehensive article by Michael Cooper on 9/18/2017 that thrust everything back into the limelight. Cooper provides all the overview and backstory needed to fully understand the scope of why this is such an excellent study in PR crisis management. In addition to well-worn …

Speak No Evil: Oregon Bach Festival

Sunday, September 17th, 2017Friday, September 15th, 2017 by Drew McManus

When all else fails, try burying bad PR under a sack of cash. That appears to be what the Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) and University of Oregon (UO) decided when it came to the snowballing PR disaster following their decision to end Artistic Director Matthew Halls’ three-year contract extension a mere two months after it was signed. An article by Saul Hubbard in the 9/14/2017 edition of The Register-Guard reports that …

Are Things About To Go Sideways For The Oregon Bach Festival?

Tuesday, September 12th, 2017Tuesday, September 12th, 2017 by Drew McManus

There’s a study in PR crisis management unfolding in real-time via the Oregon Bach Festival’s (OBF) decision to terminate artistic director, Matthew Halls. If you haven’t been following the details, here’s what you need to know: In June, 2017, the OBF completed a contract extension with Halls through the 2020 season. Barely two months later on Aug 27, OBF issues a press statement announcing Halls was leaving the organization because the …

Happy Labor Day! Now Get Your Binge On

Monday, September 4th, 2017 by Drew McManus

Take a moment to treat yourself today and get to learn about ins and outs of orchestra management from a humorous perspective by binge-reading all 157 episodes of Who’s Minding The Score?, a satirical cartoon that provides a behind the scenes look orchestra life. It’s the ideal way to spend some of your Labor Day, really, just take a look at some of these characters… [easy-tweet tweet=”I’m spending part of my Labor Day reading …