Sex, Drugs, And Classical Music?
Mon, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
A few weeks ago I published an article at The Partial Observer about some of the ways classical music uses sex to sell itself. This week I’m following up on that idea by discussing the growing drug use debate (no, not that kind of drug use). The article, Performance Enhancing Drugs for Musicians?, will be
Concert Companion or ORBIT Part 1
Thu, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
It’s time for an exercise in thinking like an orchestra manager. Here’s the setup: Your orchestra is loosing its audience and you’re considering the benefits of using a technology based product to help build it back up again. Like all orchestras your marketing dollars are limited and the man-hours you can use for writing grant proposals
Keeping Their Heads Above Water
Wed, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
There’s been a great deal of national attention devoted to contract negotiations and musician salary these past several weeks – from this column and many others across the country. And the majority of those discussions focus on how much players earn in the “Big 5” as well as examining other types of benchmarks used to
The Realities of Orchestral Life
Tue, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
Next Monday, September 27th I have the honor of serving as a guest speaker at the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership. The class, taught by Professor Ray Ricker, is titled "The Realities of Orchestral Life" and explores changing attitudes and the ways musicians can become more pro-active in shaping their workplace; my
Play And Talk In Philadelphia
Mon, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
Shortly after midnight on 9/20/04 the negotiating teams for The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 77, jointly issued the following statement: The negotiating teams for The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 77, have been working for many months in an effort to negotiate a new
Website Reviews: Special Recognition Awards
Fri, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
Even though there was only one orchestra in 1st place, I wanted to take the time to award some of the really wonderful and unique aspects from among the websites I evaluated. These features deserve recognition and attention from those inside and outside of the industry. I also wanted to point out some orchestra website
The Best Orchestra Website Is In Chicago
Thu, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
After the dust settled from the evaluation process, it was clear the winner was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. They didn’t win because they’re one of the “Big five” orchestras or because they have a big budget, there were plenty of big budget orchestras that received low scores ( {cough, cough} New York {cough} L.A. {cough}
1st Annual Adaptistration Orchestra Website Review
Wed, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
What makes a good orchestra website? Is it pretty pictures, a nice layout, or color scheme that makes you feel warm and comfortable? All of those things are worth considering at some level but they’re also subjective. An orchestra website should focus on two basic principles that are not subjective, one major and the other
Looking At Seattle From A Different Point Of View
Tue, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
By now, most folks inside the classical music world have heard about what’s going on at the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (SSO). But in case you haven’t beep keeping up, here’s the synopsis: the SSO made the decision to not renew 20 year veteran concertmaster Ilkka Talvi’s contract for the 2004-2005 concert season. Since the SSO
Mediocre Sex
Mon, Sep 9, 2004
by Drew McManus
Ok, the headline was a lure. What I’m talking about is using sex to sell mediocre musicians playing music that would aspire to be called mediocre. I published an article today in my Neo Classical column at The Partial Observer that examines how cross over and selling classical music with sex can sometimes go well
