Amid the dizzying array of contract reopeners, work stoppages, and other fraught-filled collective bargaining negotiations since last fall, the ensuing agreements are more alike than not in that they contain some degree of compensation/benefit concessions. For the most part, these agreements have nothing special worth looking at but there are a few exceptions. One of those exceptions is from the Utah Symphony & Opera, which announced their concessionary agreement at the beginning of October. What makes this settlement worth examining is how it is designed to marginalize a syndrome rarely discussed in public forums: board atrophy…
Marc van Bree’s Big List of Classical Music Twitterers
There’s nothing quite a satisfying as a good resource list and the world of cultural blogging has a new entry they can be proud of thanks to Marc van Bree, author of the Dutch Perspective, a self described “levensbeschouwing (a Dutch word, by way of Germany, meaning “world view”) based loosely on two themes: public relations and cultural affairs.” Marc’s resource list compiles classical music individuals and groups on Twitter…
It’s Called Satire
Perhaps the budget cuts have everyone on edge and granted, we all probably take ourselves a bit too seriously for our own good in this business but it was a bit surprising to see some of the feedback to the satirical news piece posted by Leonard Slatkin at his website on 9/23/2009 detailing some new “changes” in store at the Detroit Symphony…
The Funny Side Of Apathy
Ah, apathy. At times, it seems like the evil grease that keeps the gears of this business grinding but that doesn’t mean it can’t be entertaining. Case in point, fellow arts management blogger plank owner Andrew Taylor posted an article on 10/14/2009 pointing out the Bureau of Communication, a tongue-in-cheek organization on a mission to bring fill-in-the-blank business communication to the masses…
2009 Orchestra Website Review: US and Canadian Comparisons
The final article in the 2009 Orchestra Website Reviews will compare and contrast US and Canadian results. Both groups made advancements but the Canadians, on average, once again made greater strides. This article examines exactly which components had the most impact on these developments…