Music Directors

Alsop Departs BSO At The End Of 20/21

Wednesday, February 26th, 2020Friday, February 28th, 2020 by Drew McManus

Official news dropped yesterday that embattled Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) music director, Marin Alsop, will be stepping out of that position at the end of the 2020/21 season. She’ll move into the position of music director laureate and retain title as OrchKids founder. The 2/26/2020 edition of The Baltimore Sun published an article by Mary Carole McCauley that provides more details but by and large, there are no surprises. The timing …

Conductor Expiration Dates

Monday, April 1st, 2019Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019 by Drew McManus

Music Directors are like milk in that they both have expiration dates; or, at least, so goes the old joke. Fortunately for conductors, they have a much longer shelf life and statistically speaking, that runs anywhere from 10 to 12 years. That amount of time usually consists of 2-3 contract cycles and provides most music directors an opportunity to get through the bulk of desired repertoire. If the group was amid …

What Role Do Music Directors Play In Determining Overscale?

Sunday, January 6th, 2019Monday, January 7th, 2019 by Drew McManus

Who determines how much a musician earns in overscale, the part of a musician’s individual agreement that deals with extra wages paid over and above the minimums guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement? Is it the CEO, music director, the board, a combination, or none of the above? If nothing else, Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) principal flute Elizabeth Rowe’s lawsuit alleging sex-based pay discrimination is providing ample pretext for learning more …

#TBT A Messy Mystique Of Our Own Design

Wednesday, March 14th, 2018Thursday, March 15th, 2018 by Drew McManus

In the wake of the Metropolitan Opera’s PR disaster that is the James Levine disgrace, the field as a whole has a debt to pay with owning up to and dismantling the Maestro Mystique culture it worked to build and perpetuate over the last 70 years. There’s a superb article in the 3/13/18 edition of the New York Times by Zachary Woolfe that examines this very issue. For those unaware, conductors …

Commentary: It’s Time To Begin Clawing Back Compensation

Tuesday, February 27th, 2018Wednesday, February 28th, 2018 by Drew McManus

The 2/13/18 edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal has an article by Lindsey Erdody following up on an issue at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) involving a former principal musician’s lawsuit that alleged age discrimination and harassment. We examined that issue in March of 21017 when the news broke and according to the IBJ article, the ISO has settled with the musician and while the terms are undisclosed, we do know …

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