Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
The 10/24/17 edition of the Columbus Dispatch included an article by Ken Gordon that reports the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) hired an executive director. What makes this hire a bit different is the CSO has been sharing an executive director with the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) for close to a decade. Long story short, after a series of financial and institutional retrenchments, the CSO board decided to outsource …
It never ceases to amaze me how few orchestras, or nonprofit performing arts organizations in general, require board members to write a personal statement about why they serve on the board. Nonetheless, they can go a long way toward increasing ownership and help articulate their connection to the institution. Whenever I do any extended board development work, it’s one of our first activities; in many cases, even before I arrive onsite. …
If you find news coming out of the San Antonio Symphony (SAS) confusing, you’re not alone. The 501(c)3 which operates the SAS, Symphony Society of San Antonio (SSSA), has decided to cease operations and is turning over its mission driven activity to a brand-new nonprofit, Symphonic Music for San Antonio (SMSA). SSSA isn’t filing bankruptcy nor are the organizations merging. This is even different than the pseudo-hostile takeover scenarios we’ve seen …
According to an article by David Hendricks in the 7/19/2017 edition of the San Antonio Express-News, the Symphony Society of San Antonio (SSSA), which operates the San Antonio Symphony (SAS), will dissolve at the end of August, 2017. But here’s where things get unusual: a new 501(c)3 has announced they will replace the SSSA. Hendricks’ report indicates the new nonprofit organization, Symphonic Music for San Antonio (SMSA), will assume the SSSA’s …
Are you a performing arts organization executive or board member? If so, then get ready because today’s post is a pop quiz. According to Julia Classen, co-founder and president of Aurora Consulting, Inc., adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a senior fellow at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (fit that on a business card, I dare you!), which of the following is …