Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Disposable Labor? Part 2

Thu, Jan 1, 2006
This installment will continue to examine some recent events involving the Cologne New Philharmonic’s hiring practices in order to determine whether or not an abundance of musician labor is being used as a force for positive change or toward more exploitative goals…

Disposable Labor?

Wed, Jan 1, 2006
Following yesterday’s introduction which foreshadowed some issues which will impact how some orchestras function, today’s article will examine how recent events in Europe may help U.S. orchestras avoid some potential problems…

Some Issues Blowing In The Wind

Tue, Jan 1, 2006
I smell something blowing in the wind; it’s a storm moving in from the Atlantic. As with all things, the classical music business follows certain cycles and right now it’s in a transition period. As with all periods of transition, there’s the possibility of positive and negative outcomes, however, I have no idea where these

Blogging Chamber Music

Mon, Jan 1, 2006
This week is Chamber Music America’s 28th Annual National Conference and on Friday, the 13th (yes, I know) I’ll be a panelist for a discussion about how CMA members can use blogs to build an audience and make a connection with their fans. Joining me on the panel are two infinitely entertaining and sharp individuals,

Do You Really Think It Is Good For You?

Fri, Jan 1, 2006
Joe Patti, the blogmeister over at Butts In The Seats, posted an excellent article the other day about some fundamental issues with arts research. In particular, he puts a nice twist on the issues raised by intertwining some of his recent experience with managing his presenting house. A good bit of the qualitative data research

The Double Edged Sword Of Anonymity Part 2

Thu, Jan 1, 2006
The first part of this series concluded with examining some of the pros and cons of a musician or manager publishing a weblog anonymously or openly with regard to their identity. Today’s installment continues with that idea by providing some specific examples…

The Double Edged Sword Of Anonymity

Wed, Jan 1, 2006
Given the boom of musician bloggers (and mini-boom of managers who blog) over the last year, it’s inevitable that some of them are going to discover blogs have the potential to help or hurt a career. Over the holiday season I received an interesting email from a reader asking about that very issue…

Blogosphere: Best of Blogs

Tue, Jan 1, 2006
I was honored to learn that Adaptistration is included in the new book by Peter Kuhns and Adrienne Crew, Blogosphere: Best of Blogs, a top 5% seller at amazon.com…

All Of That “Other” Classical Music

Mon, Jan 1, 2006
The Partial Observer published an article of mine today which examines some of the differences between orchestras and chamber groups (such as quartets, trios, etc.). The latter tend to do a much better job at adapting to changes in the cultural consciousness and the article examines some of those issues, however, that flexibility comes with

Something Not Unpleasant From The ENO

Fri, Dec 12, 2005
With all the drama at the ENO it was more than a little fun to enjoy watching the repeat broadcast of PBS’s Great Performance: Operatunity. If you missed the broadcast, visit the Operatunity webpage at PBS and read about the program in an essay by Marc Geelhoed, the decidedly witty proprietor of Deceptively Simple…
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