Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
As a follow-up to the 5/20/19 article about whether orchestra music librarians should be in the collective bargaining agreement, I want to reach way back to something written by the late Leonard Leibowitz in 2002. If you aren’t already familiar with Len’s work, he was a fundamental force inside the world of nonprofit performing arts labor law specializing on the employee side of the equation. You’ll find him referenced and quoted …
One of the first lines of defensive in a good cybersecurity hygiene is maintaining strong passwords. Technically, May 2, 2019 was national password day but it’s never too late to indulge in some improved security measures. One of the best favors you can do for yourself is use a password manager, like the one from LastPass.com (they have free and paid versions). While LastPass has been my go-to password manager for years, …
It’s spring and that usually means nonprofit galas are in full swing. For whatever reason, I’ve been attending quite a few this year and while the format is similar, execution varies. One common element that sees a great deal of variation is the silent auction component. On one hand, there’s the old school, pen and paper approach. It’s super affordable and I’ve seen it applied to great effect everywhere from intimate …
Sometimes, the most influential occurrences fly entirely under the radar. Case in point, an ongoing labor disagreement at the St. Louis Symphony (SLS) that may influence whether music librarians can be included in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and therefore entitled to the same compensation, benefits, and protections as other orchestra musicians. The disagreement is straightforward: the SLS musicians believe librarians they should be included in the CBA, the employer doesn’t. …
It’s time to revisit base musician compensation levels at the top eight highest paying orchestras. For a number of these orchestras, the 2018/19 season marks the end of their existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA). In each of those instances, the outcomes will have a large impact on what many orchestra musicians consider their organization’s ability to compete for the best on-stage talent. We’ve been tracking these values since the 2009/10 season …