Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Ticket bots, programs used by unscrupulous ticket resellers to purchase large swaths of available tickets at lightning speed, are back in the news thanks to a sharp increase in predatory reseller tactics. Two articles in particular focusing on this problem are worth your time; the most recent is from the 6/7/2016 edition of the New York Times and the next is from the 1/28/2016 edition of npr.org. Both articles do a …
There’s a fascinating article in the June, 2016 online edition of The Strad by double bass soloist, Gary Karr (originally written in 2014 for the magazine’s July print issue). It examines Karr’s frustration over the years working with conductors that knew too little about the double bass, or at least, less than they should in light of a conductor’s leadership position. The article is an excellent examination of artistic administration within …
Holly Mulcahy published an article on 6/2/16 titled I’m a condescending bore. You’re an ignorant dilettante. Please give us money. that takes a long, hard look at one of the more damaging stereotypes the field as a whole can’t shed fast enough: erudite posers. But in her typical way, it isn’t just an extended gripe session; instead, the article examines three all-too-familiar situations and compares/contrasts condescending erudite responses against something far …
At the beginning of April, we conducted a poll asking readers what they thought about the numbers of students graduating with music performance degrees. With more than 500 responses, the vast majority of readers, 73 percent, indicated that conservatories and schools of music produce too many classical music performance graduates. 18 percent indicated the numbers of graduates are reasonable and only two percent indicated there should be even more graduates. Seven …
Toward the end of March, 2016 we examined the nasty PR mess the Toronto Symphony Orchestras (TSO) has been caught up in by way of the very public annulment legal battle between former president and CEO, Jeff Melanson, and his estranged wife, Eleanor McCain. Melanson, who departed his position after 16 months on the job, recently launched a PR volley against McCain, daughter of food industrialist and 13th wealthiest Canadian Wallace McCain. The …