Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Following Up On The Movement To Improve Workplace Satisfaction

Wed, Oct 10, 2015
Adaptistration People 094
Several weeks ago, we examined the value of improving workplace satisfaction within the orchestra field via grassroots efforts; specifically, increasing the quantity and frequency of reviews from arts administrators and staffers about their respective institutions at GlassDoor.com. Since then there has been a noticeable increase in reviews with 10 new entries at seven orchestras. Of

The Oft Overlooked Value Of Grass Roots Outreach

Tue, Oct 10, 2015
Adaptistration People 079
More often than not, whenever we talk about outreach and making connections with our community, those conversations unfold in a very top-down prescribed manner, not unlike a list of boxes to tick off on a grant application. Although there are plenty of good conversations to have within those parameters, they tend shortchange meaningful grassroots efforts

Making Sure You Don’t Forget What You Know About Peer Review

Mon, Oct 10, 2015
Adaptistration People 125
There’s a fascinating article by Peter Dobrin in the 10/18/2015 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer that casts a frank eye toward the orchestra’s current state of strategic limbo. There are a number of thoughtful items but one in particular jumped out; specifically, the issue of what the orchestra does with musicians that no longer play

Box Office Tip: Don’t Send Your Ticket Buyers To Hell

Fri, Oct 10, 2015
Devil Guy
Lisa Hirsch touched on one of my favorite pet-peeves via a post from 10/12/15 at the Iron Tongue of Midnight wherein she laments a recent online ticket buying experience that she dubbed “ticket buying hell.” It covers the usual vexations but one intriguing suggestion she offers is making sure board members endure process in order

Let’s Talk About The Unionized Environment Within The Orchestra Field

Thu, Oct 10, 2015
Adaptistration People 143
On 10/3/15, I had the pleasure to return as a guest on Doing What Works with Maureen Anderson, a weekly radio talk show that originates from WZFG AM 1100 and runs on Sundays from 10 to midnight Central on the Radio America network, to talk about the unique unionized environment within the orchestra field. If

At Fourth And Long, Philadelphia Punts

Wed, Oct 10, 2015
Adaptistration People 165
The latest group from our list of mid to large budget orchestras with expired agreements that managed to ratify a new contract without resorting to a work stoppage is The Philadelphia Orchestra. Having said that, this is the second group from that list to opt for a one-year agreement that serves more as a holding

A Fascinating, Yet Misguided, Perspective On The Hartford Dispute

Tue, Oct 10, 2015
Adaptistration People 133
Although there hasn’t been very much along the lines of news to report via the ongoing Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO) labor dispute, there is one item worth exploring that might shed some insight into why the situation won’t likely improve regardless the outcome. Although we don’t usually examine op-ed posts, there is one from the

Less Than One Month To Prepare for #NAMPC 2015

Mon, Oct 10, 2015
NAMPC 2015 1to1 coaching
There’s less than one month to get ready for the 2015 NAMP Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah and if you haven’t registered and made your travel and lodging arrangements, you are going to want to get that monkey off your back sooner than later. As mentioned back in May, I’ll be leading a session on Sunday, November 8,

Don’t Wait, Start Thinking About The End Of The Season Now

Fri, Oct 10, 2015
ArtsHacker.com
Sure, even though the 2015/16 season is barely out of the gate you should begin thinking about the end of the season, in particular, putting together a Year-in-Review microsite to help document what your organization will achieve along with serving as an enormously valuable development resource tool. In order to help you get on the

At Least It Isn’t A Work Stoppage

Thu, Oct 10, 2015
Adaptistration People 136
There’s an intriguing development in the Philadelphia Orchestra negotiations in the form of a six-month consultancy that introduces former John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts CEO Michael Kaiser into the mix…kinda. The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article by Peter Dobrin on 10/6/2015 that reports Kasier will be employed for a period of six
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