Update from the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance

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The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA) is now three years old.   On July 1, we celebrated the third birthday for the historic merger of the Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra into one operating entity, the first and only merger of its kind in the United States. As we begin our fourth year as the DPAA, I’m pleased to have this opportunity to update Adaptistration readers on how we’re …

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Guest Post: Musician Travel Problem Solving

When I first started using Twitter, I was drawn to musicians. I didn’t understand this new platform, but I had learned from experience with Facebook in college that it would take time to understand how best to use emerging social media platforms to promote the organizations I was working with. In the meantime, I knew that I loved music, and wanted to learn more about what was going on in the …

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A View Of The Forest

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During the recent troubles, we’ve seen orchestras struggling with financial issues that have resulted in several lockouts and a great deal of negative publicity for the field. Many musicians attribute conflict to ideas propagated by the League of American Orchestra, others vigorously dispute this theory. In a lengthy article on the ICSOM, website, Bruce Ridge makes the case for a crisis in orchestra management. It strikes me that the conflicts in Atlanta, Indianapolis and Minneapolis point to orchestra boards that have given up on the orchestra field, disregarding or even eschewing professional orchestra managers and forcing major cuts to prepare their orchestras to deal with the “new normal.” Let’s step out of the trees and take a look at the forest. Where do orchestras stand in American society?

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Inside the Dayton Arts Merger Part 1

Guest-Author

It’s been a busy summer so far here in Dayton, as well as a hot one!   As of July 1, the Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra are now one organization – the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, the first merged ballet company, opera company, and symphony orchestra in the United States.  When Drew contacted me about writing a guest column a few weeks ago, I thought I would use this opportunity to provide an inside look at how our merger came about.

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