Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Latest Detroit News

Wed, Nov 11, 2010
In the wake of last Friday’s informal discussions, the management and musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) are no closer to resolving the month long work stoppage than they were since the first day of the strike. According to reports in the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, the discussions produced no breakthroughs and

NEA RIP

Tue, Nov 11, 2010
Conductor Bill Eddins posted a thought provoking (or was it just provoking?) piece on 11/3/2010 simply titled “Kill the NEA.” On the surface, it might look like a ploy to draw in readers but it doesn’t’ take long to see that there’s much more beneath the surface…

Expansionary Or Diversionary?

Mon, Nov 11, 2010
Last Friday, 11/5/2010, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and its musicians declared a pseudo cease fire in the one month, three day long strike by agreeing to engage in “informal discussions.” According to reports in the Detroit News by Michael Hodges and Detroit Free Press by Mark Stryker, there aren’t many details but what we

“Must Have” Info About The New Twitter

Fri, Nov 11, 2010
If you aren’t already aware, Twitter is in the process of gradually nudging users toward the updated user interface and although it is undeniably better than its predecessor, it does have one annoying drawback that will likely cause a pain in your neck: it isn’t compatible with most custom backgrounds…

The Seven Deadly Sins Of Culture Blog Commenting

Thu, Nov 11, 2010
When it comes to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) strike, there doesn’t seem to be much of a shortage of opinions and observations. Case in point, the post here from 10/29/2010 has generated a substantial number of comments that focus on everything from the original blog topic (branding) to a dozen other business related issues

It’s Lucky Number Seven For Adaptistration!

Wed, Nov 11, 2010
Adaptistration turn seven years old today and I can say with all confidence that culture blogging, readership, and reader interactivity has never been better! Moreover, year seven has a number of changes in store related to what Adaptistration delivers and how readers interact…

Where’s Leonard?

Tue, Nov 11, 2010
On 10/31/2010, the Detroit Free Press published an article by Mark Stryker that examines the role of Detroit Symphony Orchestra music director Leonard Slatkin within the month long work stoppage. In full disclosure, I would describe my professional relationship with Leonard to a degree that might be characterized as a conflict of interest so I’m

October 22, 2010: A Sad Day

Mon, Nov 11, 2010
On Friday, October 22, 2010 Fred Zenone died and with his passing we lost one of the pivotal figures in the history of our field. It was a distinct pleasure to know Fred and there’s nothing more to add about his career and accomplishments beyond the wonderful sentiments at a Polyphonic.org memorial piece but I

Getting Caught Up On Detroit

Fri, Oct 10, 2010
It has been a few weeks since we’ve examined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) work stoppage but all in all, we haven’t really missed very much. As of today, the DSO musicians have been on strike for 26 days and the last public dust up occurred in conjunction with a musician sponsored concert event on

The New And Improved Adaptistration Premium

Thu, Oct 10, 2010
Now that the 2010 orchestra website reviews are done, I wanted to take a moment to point out that all of the related content for US and Canadian orchestras is now available at the completely redesigned Adaptistration Premium. The site now includes a number of user interface enhancements, but the good news is subscription prices
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