Music Directors
Conductor Expiration Dates
Tue, Apr 4, 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
What Role Do Music Directors Play In Determining Overscale?
Mon, Jan 1, 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)
#TBT A Messy Mystique Of Our Own Design
Thu, Mar 3, 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
Might Makes Right: A Predator’s Paradise (Update: Met Suspends Levine)
Mon, Dec 12, 2017
by Drew McManus
Over the weekend, the New York Post published an article by Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein that reports on a Lake Forest, IL police report that accuses conductor and Metropolitan Opera (Met) Music Director James Levine of alleged child molestation. A host of additional outlets followed up with their own accounts in the wake of
Commentary: It’s Time To Begin Clawing Back Compensation