Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Atlanta Is The New Pittsburgh

Thu, Nov 11, 2006
In 2005-2006 the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre underwent sever institutional trauma by making a snap decision to eliminate the pit orchestra. After several months of no live music and contentious bargaining the PBT board and musicians finally found a solution which brought live music back to the ballet. Now, the 2006-2007 season is seeing the very

Mock Negotiations: Contrasts & Comparisons

Wed, Nov 11, 2006
Adaptistration People 036
After completing the mock negotiation session with the MBA students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Bolz Center for Arts Administration program, my mind wandered into contrast and comparison mode and I began to think about what just transpired with the UW-Madison students and how music performance students from the Eastman School of Music responded to

UW-Madison Mock Negotiation Reflections Part 2

Tue, Oct 10, 2006
Adaptistration People 014
Continuing where things left off in Part 1, the MBA students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Bolz Center for Arts Administration program were serving as the orchestra musician negotiation committee in a mock collective bargaining agreement negotiation. After receiving some very bad news about their fictional orchestra’s financial conditions and a subsequent initial proposal from

UW-Madison Mock Negotiation Reflections Part 1

Mon, Oct 10, 2006
Adaptistration People 014
There’s nothing quite like looking at the business from a different perspective. Even more stimulating is when those perspectives come to you from unexpected sources. Such was the case with the mock orchestra collective bargaining agreement negotiations I conducted with the MBA students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Bolz Center for Arts Administration program… Regular

[Rain + Construction] x Rush Hour Traffic = No Blog

Fri, Oct 10, 2006
My sincere apologies to those of you stopping by today to read about the events from the mock orchestra negotiation with the students from UM-Madison. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to release a deluge of rain along most of my drive back to Chicago. That, combined with some construction along I-90, slowed me down enough to

Mock Reality

Thu, Oct 10, 2006
I had a wonderful time working with the MBA students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Bolz Center for Arts Administration program. Having the future managers assume the role of orchestra musicians in a mock collective bargaining agreement negotiation produced some fascinating results…

Heading North

Wed, Oct 10, 2006
As they say in Chicago, I’m heading behind the “Cheddar Curtain*” today to serve as a guest lecturer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Bolz Center for Arts Administration, Arts Administration Seminar. I’m having the class of MBA candidates participate in a mock orchestra collective bargaining agreement negotiation but instead of having these future arts managers

Are We There Yet?

Tue, Oct 10, 2006
My Arts Journal blog neighbor, Andrew Taylor, posted a fascinating blog yesterday about using indicators, in the form of a “dashboard” to monitor your success. But how does an organization, or even individuals, select the indicators they should use…

In Philadelphia, An Arranged Marriage Comes To An End

Mon, Oct 10, 2006
After presumably much internal consternation, the Philadelphia Orchestra announced that music director Christoph Eschenbach will be leaving his position after his contract expires at the conclusion of the 2007-2008 season. I wouldn’t be surprised if this event stokes the already hot topic of how orchestras select music directors but in the end, the Philadelphia/Eschenbach issue

All About The Schermerhorn Symphony Center Part 6

Fri, Oct 10, 2006
The final article in this series examining Nashville’s new Schermerhorn Symphony Center (SSC) will explore the donor’s lounge, board room, green room, and inside the concert hall…
Previous Next