All things being equal, something like this might have slipped by under the radar but thanks to the Boston Globe’s Geoff Edgers, events at the New Hampshire Music Festival (NHMF) have taken center stage. According to Edgers’ article from the 1/11/2010 edition, the NHMF’s board and administrative leadership attempted to implement sweeping changes that were the result of re-conceptualizing the artistic model…
An Updated Look At Top-Tier Musician Compensation
With all the news surrounding Cleveland Orchestra’s ongoing labor negotiations, it made sense to revise and double check the base musician compensation figures for the highest budget ensembles. As it turned out, the Cleveland Plain Dealer requested exactly that for an article they published on 1/6/2010 so the timing worked out nicely. As a result of those efforts, I was also able to update and expand the historic compensation review that …
Come On Cleveland, You’re Better Than This
Regular readers know that when we talk about orchestras and new media, one recurring warning is to resist the urge to use new media outlets for press release regurgitation. After all, that’s what press pages at an orchestra’s web site are for. Likewise, using the official organizational new media and social networking outlets to disseminate one-sided information about an ongoing labor dispute is not merely bad form, but ultimately self defeating…
Following Up On The Free BringLight.com Project
Congratulations to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO), whose application was selected for the free fundraising project at BringLight.com. With a goal of providing 10 sets of rhythm instruments for their Musicians Activating Growth In Classrooms (MAGIC) program, a course designed to provide music education for students that have no full-time music teacher, the ASO officially launched their fundraising program on Monday, 1/4/2010…
Cleveland And Seattle: With Bated Breath
As the orchestra business watches Cleveland and Seattle with bated breath, it is difficult to wonder if events at these two larger budget organizations will have any impact on the business as a whole. And it isn’t just insiders who are paying attention, music critics, cultural reporters, bloggers, and just about any other stakeholder with a social media account is wondering aloud how events will unfold…