Regular readers know that institutional transparency is an important topic here at Adaptistration as it impacts nearly every aspect of a performing arts organization. Nonetheless, the majority of orchestral institutions don’t embrace institutional transparency as it applies to financial disclosure and up until a year ago, that didn’t have much impact on operations. But since the onset of the economic downturn and the resulting wave of corporate and non-profit scandals, that attitude is no longer an affordable luxury…
Orchestral Acoustics 102: Orchestra vs. Hall
In a recent blog post, Washington Post music critic, Ann Midgette, posed questions concerning:
- what influence a hall’s acoustic response has on orchestral performance technique, and
- what effect the 1997 renovation of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall had in improving acoustics onstage and in the audience.
In response to the first, I can report conclusively that orchestras have great flexibility in adapting their playing to different environments. I offer a few anecdotal observations here supporting this contention and also comment on the effect of recent acoustical adjustments at Kennedy Center Concert Hall…
Rethinking The Music Director Search Process
Since the unofficial theme for posts this week seems to be innovation (or lack thereof in some cases), it seems fitting to round things out by pointing over to a recent post from Ron Spigelman over at Sticks and Drones that proposes some interesting ideas about how to re-think the process of searching for a new music director…
A Worthwhile Concessionary Agreement Part 2
Part 1 in this set of articles examined the concept of board atrophy, a general deterioration of board stewardship, and how it is impacting an orchestra’s fundraising performance amidst the economic downturn. For the most part, this is every bit as serious a threat to the future of orchestras as the actual economic downturn. Today’s installment is going to examine a recent concessionary agreement at the Utah Symphony & Opera (US&O) that contains provisions designed to combat board atrophy…
A Brief Detour
My apologies to everyone showing up today looking for Part 2 from A Worthwhile Concessionary Agreement but while traveling the road of acquiring some necessary permissions we have hit a few potholes; in particular, the gods of travel and digital communication have not been smiling on our venture. Nonetheless, Part 2 will be posted as soon as possible. In the meantime, I received an interesting press release on behalf of former Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) music director, Mario Venzago, containing a statement from the conductor on events related to his non-renewal…