Commentary – Page 55 – Adaptistration

“It is no harm to be an ass, if one is content to bray and not kick.*”

Friday, October 28th, 2016 by Drew McManus

There’s an interesting article written by Chris Sheng in the 10/16/2016 edition of The Tartan, Carnegie Mellon’s student newspaper, that includes an interview with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) President and CEO, Melia Tourangeau. To date, much of the intransigence is related to both sides accusing the other of relying on inaccurate and/or incomplete financial data and projections and this article provides some excellent points of reference on those items. Perhaps unsurprisingly, …

Is There A Tiny Ray Of Hope Developing In Pittsburgh?

Friday, October 21st, 2016 by Drew McManus

The 10/20/2016 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published an article by Elizabeth Bloom which takes a Forward 1 Somersault Straight right into the heart of issues we examined earlier this week via the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) work stoppage. Bloom’s article provides additional examples illustrating what is perhaps best described as counterproductive entrenchment such as musician claims that the employer refuses to release economic data for the most recent fiscal year. …

Peter Dobrin Couldn’t Be More Right

Thursday, October 13th, 2016 by Drew McManus

The Philadelphia Inquirer published a commentary article by Peter Dobrin on 10/7/2016 that asks a number of difficult questions related to executive accountability during periods of labor unrest. He examines the issues via his home ensemble, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he provides a decidedly clear perspective. The article begins with his observations vis-à-vis the orchestra rising to artistic challenges not only via traditional benchmarks of excellence but for recent efforts related …

A Sad Day

Wednesday, October 12th, 2016 by Drew McManus

I was saddened to hear the news that former Chattanooga Symphony & Opera (CSO) executive director, Molly Sasse French, passed away the morning of Tuesday, October 11, 2016. Working with Molly was always a pleasure. She had an enormously generous spirit and was a quintessential host who never tired of filling the role of enthusiastic host for her community. When visiting Chattanooga for the first time, she was the one meet …

Pittsburgh Symphony Labor Dispute Continues Down A Dark Path

Thursday, October 6th, 2016 by Drew McManus

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) announced that it has cancelled all nine concert events scheduled through 10/27/2016 due to the ongoing musician strike. The decision to cut nearly one month of programming is rarely a good sign when it comes to ending a work stoppage but given how far apart both sides appear to be via their proposed salary terms, none of this should come as a surprise. According to an …