Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
A few weeks ago I published an article which pondered the question of how orchestras could simultaneously cut an artistic budget while simultaneously guaranteeing an equal level of artistic accomplishment. Since that article, I’ve had a number of emails from very anxious musicians and patrons (not to mention a few managers) expecting an answer. In that article I was referring to the Milwaukee Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Since Philadelphia is …
I read an article in the San Antonio Express-News about how the struggling San Antonio Symphony lost $400,000 in badly needed funds when the organization failed to score a high enough rating as determined by the San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs staff and volunteer panels. The orchestra reportedly scored the lowest in the category of audience development. The article went on to say that newly appointed San Antonio Symphony CEO …
Today’s Wisconsin State Journal featured an article by Anita Clark detailing the exceptionally large private gift by W. Jerome Frautschi to build the new Overture Center in Madison Wisconsin. The $205 million gift was presented by Frautschi because he simply believes that private money, not public funds, should pay for the new Performing Arts Center. This sort of philanthropy harkens back to the days of Andrew Carnegie and George Peabody, men …