Violin Turf Wars
Fri, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
Earlier in the week, I wrote about how the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra may very well have to submit their “Golden Age” collection purchased from Herbert Axelrod to a new appraisal and authentication process. In that article I briefly touched on the how the business of authenticating and appraising rare string instruments (violins, viola, and
Loss Of Momentum
Thu, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
Among all of the gloom and doom talk mixed in with sunshine and rainbows there’s an important conversation that doesn’t get the attention it deserves in this industry. I’m talking about the loss of momentum concerning fundraising on the board level.
The Negotiation Process: Why Bother?
Wed, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
After posting the initial articles from for this series on the Negotiation Process, many Adaptistration readers wrote in wondering why orchestra musicians are part of an organized labor union. Sam from Golden, Colorado wrote in to ask: “I don’t really think of musicians like auto workers, why do they even have a union?” Not long
Is The New Jersey Symphony Missing The Point?
Mon, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
At the early part of last week, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra announced that they would conduct an internal inquiry into the NJSO’s purchase of philanthropist Herbert Axelrod’s “Golden Age Collection” of historic stringed instruments.
At Interlochen, The Future Isn’t Very Unique
Sun, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
Fellow AJ blogger Andrew Taylor recently wrote an interesting article about how to go about assessing value for "something vague and amorphous" like a weblog. Andrew goes on to say that arts managers are doing exactly the same thing each and every day for their organizations.
Doing A Good Thing For The Right Reasons in Philly
Fri, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
Hot on the heels of being accused by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) “that their collective efforts at revenue generation have not had a material impact on the budget” the Philadelphia Orchestra musicians are donating even more of their time, money, and energy to help improve their orchestra’s finances. On Sunday, February 13, 2005 former
The Negotiation Process: A Historical Timeline
Fri, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
The manner in which contract negotiations have developed over the past 50 years has been fast and furious. Even the term “traditional bargaining” is in itself, not very accurate since it’s only been used for the past 40 years or so. Before then, musicians didn’t even have a voice in how their contracts were negotiated;
Pension Plans And Negotiations Part 2
Thu, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
To continue where Part 1 left off, we’ll examine how some of the pension issues related to the Philadelphia Orchestra situation have influenced the course of negotiations. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) utilizes a defined benefits pension plan. This means the POA and not the individual players assume the risk to ensure that the pension
Pension Plans And Negotiations Part 1
Wed, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
Among the many issues related to contract negotiations, one of the leading subjects is retirement benefits and pension plans in particular. This negotiation season is no different, but pension plans seem to be more of a hot button issue. The reasons are related to the ability of orchestra associations to adequately fund their pension plans
The End Of Round One At Cleveland
Tue, Aug 8, 2004
by Drew McManus
Well it seems the Cleveland Orchestra is the first to officially arrive at the contract negotiation home stretch. Although “arrive” and home stretch” are subjective terms. Management and musicians have agreed to “talk and play” by extending the current contract into he beginning of the 2004-2005 concert season. This will allow them to open the
