Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

How And Why Orchestra Managers Change Jobs Part 2

Thu, Sep 9, 2016
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In Part 1, we examined the reasons why orchestra managers change jobs across all age groups and today’s installment will drill down into these figures via breaking things up by demographics to see if there are any unique trends from one age group to the next. The survey produced 523 responses and here is what

How And Why Orchestra Managers Change Jobs Part 1

Wed, Sep 9, 2016
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It should come as no surprise to learn that attrition rates for orchestra managers are high but does that mean those moving to new jobs find what they’re looking for? That was the basis for a survey designed to learn more about what influenced the decision to change jobs and how satisfied individuals were following

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Musicians Reject Tentative Agreement

Tue, Sep 9, 2016
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In the wake of negotiation clouds from the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) is contributing to the storm front thanks to being poised for a work stoppage following a recent vote by musicians to reject their employer’s latest offer. What makes this situation unusual is the musicians voted down the concessionary offer

Happy Labor Day! Now Get Your Binge Read On

Mon, Sep 9, 2016
Take a moment to treat yourself today and get to learn about ins and outs of orchestra management from a humorous perspective by binge-reading all 157 episodes of  Who’s Minding The Score?, a satirical cartoon that provides a behind the scenes look orchestra life. It’s the ideal way to spend some of your Labor Day, really, just take

NYTimes Sends Regional Arts Coverage Gently Into That Goodnight

Fri, Sep 9, 2016
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The 8/31/2016 edition of deadline.com published an article by Jeremy Gerard that reports the New York Times (NYT) has phased our regional arts and culture coverage in the New York tristate region. The opening paragraph packs a powerful punch by underscoring the likely negative outcomes. The New York Times this week quietly ended its coverage of restaurants,

Well This Is Handy: Rating Airline Instrument Carry-On Policies

Thu, Sep 9, 2016
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The International Federation of Musicians (FIM), not to be confused with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), recently launched a webpage that rates major airline musical instrument carry-on policies (h/t MusicalAmerica.com). Perhaps unsurprisingly, most don’t fare well. According to FIM, the information used to create the ratings came directly from each airline’s website and as

It Was Nice While It Lasted

Wed, Aug 8, 2016
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We’ve enjoyed an unusually long stretch of time where there wasn’t a labor dispute brewing but that seems to becoming rapidly to an end and the culprit this time around is the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO). With a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that expires Sunday, 9/4/2016 the group has yet to reach a new deal.

Let’s Keep A Good Thing Going

Tue, Aug 8, 2016
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Last week’s survey designed to learn more about what influenced your decision to change jobs and how satisfied they are with the change has generated a terrific number of replies, just over 400 so far. The response is strong enough, I published a similar version at ArtsHacker but geared toward the broader arts and culture

Here Are Some Of The Reasons Why Conductors Don’t Win Music Director Jobs: Poll Results

Mon, Aug 8, 2016
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Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in last week’s poll asking readers to weigh-in on whether or not they thought certain types of artistic activity could help or hurt a conductor’s prospects at landing a music director position at a professional US orchestra. There were just under 300 respondents and the results

Music And Nature

Thu, Aug 8, 2016
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American Public Media’s (APM) Performance Today with Fred Child is publishing an episode today that commemorates 100th birthday (today!) of the National Parks system. It’s tough to miss the similarities between the APM and National Park missions even though one focuses on facilitating nature while the other focuses on art and culture. As part of
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