The Difference Between Shooting A Bullet And Throwing It
Mon, Aug 8, 2005
by Drew McManus
You have to love the internet. I backtracked my way to an intriguing blog post by Greg Stepanich, Assistant business editor and occasional arts critic (as his bio tells it) for the Palm Beach Post, this weekend…
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Musicians File Unfair Labor Charges
Fri, Aug 8, 2005
by Drew McManus
In response to the decision by the PBT Board of Trustees to only use recorded music for the 2005-2006 season, the musicians of the PBT orchestra, and their representing union, AFM Local 60-471, are filing Unfair Labor Charges against the organization…
More On The Dangers Of Universal Statements
Thu, Aug 8, 2005
by Drew McManus
Once again, the scourge of inapt universal statements has reared its ugly head. This instance comes from Joseph Horowitz and his appearance on the WAMU program The Kojo Nnamdi Show…
A Disturbing Precedent From The Pittsburgh Ballet
Tue, Aug 8, 2005
by Drew McManus
The Pittsburgh Ballet administration distributed a press release yesterday stating they plan to eliminate the ballet orchestra for their 2005-2006 season…
A Whole Lotta Talkin’ Going On
Tue, Aug 8, 2005
by Drew McManus
I love Moveable Type, don’t get me wrong. It’s a giant step up from the old blogging platform we used to use around here. But I have to say Moveable Type might be a little too good…
Venezuela Part 3
Mon, Aug 8, 2005
by Drew McManus
The Partial Observer published the latest installment in my series of articles about the astounding program of classical music in Venezuela. This latest entry focuses on the program’s artistic accomplishments and is well worth the time to read.
We’re Finally Seeing Some More Good Press About Baltimore
Mon, Aug 8, 2005
by Drew McManus
This past weekend saw two excellent articles about the recent events in Baltimore; one by The Baltimore Sun music critic, Tim Smith, and the other by The AFM Observer author, Robert Levine…
Does Anyone Remember There’s A Strike In Montreal?
Fri, Jul 7, 2005
by Drew McManus
On Monday, May 9th the musicians of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) decided to walk out on strike after more than 18 months of negotiations which proved to be unfruitful. Unfortunately, I haven’t kept up on the issues at the OSM as much as I should but whether or not you think a government
2005 Compensation Report: ROPA Music Directors
Wed, Jul 7, 2005
by Drew McManus
Last in this series of compensation reports is the examination ROPA & IGSOBM ensemble music director compensation. Much like their administrative counterparts, music directors serve as the executive “manager” for nearly all things artistic, at the top level, within an orchestra (although that model is beginning to change). As such, they should be subject to
2005 Compensation Report: ROPA Executive Directors
Wed, Jul 7, 2005
by Drew McManus
Continuing with this year’s compensation reports, we move on to examine the executive director compensation at 33 ROPA & IGSOBM symphonic ensembles with annual budgets over $1 million. Following last year’s report, we discovered that the discrepancy between executive and musician base salaries was considerably larger than their counterparts in ICSOM ensembles. Let’s see what
