COVID-19

Did You See That The SBA Just Extended Lending Limits For Economic Injury Disaster Loans?

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Last week, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced it is increasing the maximum amount small businesses and nonprofit organizations can borrow through it’s COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance program. Starting the week of April 6, 2021, the SBA is raising the loan limit for the COVID-19 EIDL program from 6-months of economic injury with a maximum loan amount of $150,000 to up to 24-months of economic injury …

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Reader Poll: Will You Return To The Office/Venue?

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Now that vaccines are rolling out in earnest, more and more arts orgs are starting to talk about bringing their workforce back to the office. While we took a closer look at this topic last week, I’m curious to know what orchestra managers think about returning to work. Granted, there will always be positions that have to work on location but I’m still curious to know what readers think about returning. …

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Things That Keep Me Up At Night

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Last week, the news about a certain west coast orchestra with plans on performing one of the most demanding Mahler symphonies as their post-pandemic season opener arrived in my inbox. Earlier this month I launched a mini-series examining the dangers of musician injuries if an orchestra attempts this type of programming without first allocating time to allow musicians to reacclimate to those types of demands. Think of it as a type …

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The Risk Of Physical Injury Is Only Half Of The Equation

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Everyone is in for such a treat with tomorrow’s Shop Talk episode on the topic of what orchestras of all budget size should be considering when planning for post-COVID concert activity. This installment features a panel of musician stakeholders and one of them, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Principal Bassoon Catherine Chen, proposed one of the most thought-provoking considerations. Specifically, she was concerned not only about the very real physical risks but the …

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Here’s A Great Idea For Connecting To Your Community

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If you’re looking for a way to connect with your audience that also demonstrates your organization’s commitment to the community, consider having musicians perform at vaccination centers. I’ve seen a few groups talking about this idea and with proper planning, it has the potential for becoming a real win-win scenario. Connecting health and wellness to classical music is something groups have been exploring over the pandemic and this idea dovetails nicely …

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