Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Labor Relations

Mongo Only Pawn In Game Of Life

Thu, May 5, 2012
It was sad to read the news out of Minnesota yesterday in the 5/9/2012 edition of the Star-Tribune where an article by Graydon Royce reports that the Minnesota Orchestra (MO) has eliminated nine full-time administrative positions and laid off seven part-time administrative employees.

Invasion Of The Job Snatchers?

Mon, May 5, 2012
Zombieland 2: Tell Us How You Really Feel
Over the course of last week, a couple of regular readers pointed out two separate labor but related labor disputes. Both issues surround hiring practices and first up is the Fresno Grand Opera (FGO) where musicians recently went on strike hours before a scheduled event featuring soprano Renee Fleming. The other situation is on the

The Ridge Address: A Warning-Response Opportunity

Mon, Mar 3, 2012
Although I plan to post my observations about the entire 2012 American Orchestra Summit later this week, I wanted to focus on what was perhaps the most engaging component of the entire event: a keynote address from International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) chair Bruce Ridge and the subsequent rebuttal session with League

What The Other Side Gets Right

Thu, Mar 3, 2012
Adaptistration People 021
Amidst the backdrop of increasingly partisan politics and some of the lowest Federal government approval ratings in history, Thomas B. Edsall published a pair of opinion articles in the New York Times where he asked key figures among conservatives and liberals what they thought the other side “got right.” The results were captivating in that

LO Upgrades From Craigslist To Facebook & Google

Mon, Mar 3, 2012
LO Facebook advertisement
There hasn’t been much news about the Louisville Orchestra (LO) work stoppage in the past several weeks following the board’s empty gesture for arbitration and the subsequent musician rejection, but it seems that the LO is forging ahead with a previous plan to hire replacement musicians. Following a rocky start with advertisements in a series
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