All things being equal, something like this might have slipped by under the radar but thanks to the Boston Globe’s Geoff Edgers, events at the New Hampshire Music Festival (NHMF) have taken center stage. According to Edgers’ article from the 1/11/2010 edition, the NHMF’s board and administrative leadership attempted to implement sweeping changes that were the result of re-conceptualizing the artistic model…
Governance
Seattle Musicians Look Forward By Looking Back
It seems fitting that on the last day of 2009 we take a look at something retrospective; but in this case, retrospection serves as a foundation for looking ahead. In an article dated 12/28/2009, the Seattle Symphony & Opera Players’ Organization (SSOPO) committee chair published a frank article on behalf of his colleagues that presents the musicians’ ideas for the future… The article’s author, Seattle Symphony Orchestra (SSO) violist Tim Hale, …
“We Can’t Be At The Mercy Of Every Economic Cycle”
Today’s headline is a quote from Dennis LaBarre, Cleveland Orchestra’s board president elect. An article in the 12/20/2009 edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer by Zachary Lewis does a good job at examining the challenges in store for the organization. I was pleased when Lewis contacted me to ask about current thinking throughout the field with regard to board leadership and it was equally pleasing to see a portion of the article focus on the significance of socioeconomic diversity…
7-11
At last week’s Midwest Clinic, a colleague asked about the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra’s (HSO) impending bankruptcy. She was curious why the board decided to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy (known as reorganization or rehabilitation bankruptcy) as opposed to Chapter 7 (also called liquidation bankruptcy). At the core of the conversation was the HSO’s plan to reorganize as a per service or dual core/per service artistic structure…
There Will Be No Further Reductions In The Ranks
Amidst all the buzz this week about new business models sparked by an article from Michael Kaiser for the 11/9/2009 edition of The Huffington Post (no worries, we’ll be examining that in more detail after Mad Men week) I thought it would be fun to look at one of the major plot points from this year’s season of Mad Men and how it relates to this field…