Today’s headline is a quote from Dennis LaBarre, Cleveland Orchestra’s board president elect. An article in the 12/20/2009 edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer by Zachary Lewis does a good job at examining the challenges in store for the organization. I was pleased when Lewis contacted me to ask about current thinking throughout the field with regard to board leadership and it was equally pleasing to see a portion of the article focus on the significance of socioeconomic diversity…
7-11
At last week’s Midwest Clinic, a colleague asked about the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra’s (HSO) impending bankruptcy. She was curious why the board decided to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy (known as reorganization or rehabilitation bankruptcy) as opposed to Chapter 7 (also called liquidation bankruptcy). At the core of the conversation was the HSO’s plan to reorganize as a per service or dual core/per service artistic structure…
Secret Lives Of Great Composers
You have to love serendipity. A few months ago, I came across a new release in my neighborhood book store, Secret Lives of Great Composers: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the World’s Musical Masters
Build a Private Teacher Outreach Program You Can Be Proud Of
Bill Eddins posted an excellent article called “The Missing Piece” on 12/13/2009 which espouses the idea that in conjunction with significant financial gifts (think eight figures) “each and every member of the orchestra commits to going into the community and teaching deserving students for four hours a week…for free.” In response to Bill’s piece, I posted a comment suggesting that in order to promote the study of musical instruments (as he suggests) but in the absence of significant financial gifts, there is a great deal of untapped opportunity for orchestras to build meaningful relationships with existing private music teachers…
Welcome Midwest Conventioneers!
The 2009 Midwest Clinic, an international band and orchestra conference, is in full swing here in Chicago. The convention regularly brings somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 conventioneers to town for a vast array of education related activity (full list). I’ll be attending the convention today, Wednesday, 12/15/2009 meeting with clients, colleagues, and friends and likely again on Thursday and Friday. If you would like to arrange a time to meet, you can call or txt my cell at 708-990-0408, send an email, or call my office at 708-445-2675.