There Was A Strike In Chicago?
Thu, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
In the early evening of Tuesday, 6/14/2016, Lawrence A. Johnson broke the news via an article at ChicagoClassicalReview.com that the Grant Park Music Festival (GPMF) announced that they were cancelling their opening night concert on Wednesday, 6/15/2016 due to a musician’s strike. The Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune quickly confirmed but all of the reports were
Orchestra Compensation Reports Are Right Around The Corner
Wed, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
Next week is the beginning of the 2016 Orchestra Compensation Reports, an annual series that examines the compensation trends among orchestra executives, music directors and concertmasters, at more than 65 professional U.S. orchestras. To date, the lion’s share of data entry is complete which means all that’s left is compiling the figures and preparing the
Is Your Organization Planning An Orlando Memorial?
Tue, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
In the wake of the Orlando mass shooting tragedy, classical music organizations and artists are beginning to organize memorial events. Within the first day, I began hearing from friends and colleagues about ideas and efforts from full concerts to something small with a handful of musicians. Baltimore Sun Times music critic Tim Smith published an
Attack Of The 50 Foot Ticket Bots
Fri, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
Ticket bots, programs used by unscrupulous ticket resellers to purchase large swaths of available tickets at lightning speed, are back in the news thanks to a sharp increase in predatory reseller tactics. Two articles in particular focusing on this problem are worth your time; the most recent is from the 6/7/2016 edition of the New
What You Don’t Know Could Fill A Double Bass
Thu, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
There’s a fascinating article in the June, 2016 online edition of The Strad by double bass soloist, Gary Karr (originally written in 2014 for the magazine’s July print issue). It examines Karr’s frustration over the years working with conductors that knew too little about the double bass, or at least, less than they should in
Is Your Group Keeping Up With Digital Marketing Trends?
Wed, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
Capacity Interactive (CI) recently published their fourth annual Arts Industry Digital Marketing Benchmark Study (h/t Thomas Cott) and some of their findings are worth noticing. Moreover, everything covered in the report is covered in one or more how-to articles at ArtsHacker.com. Here are some shortcuts to help you drill down into what’s important. Last but
Sometimes, You Just Need A Reminder
Tue, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
The other week, my wife asked “why don’t you have more friends than you do on Facebook?” Granted, this question came from someone with 4,600+ friends, 1,000+ followers, and 1,200+ in her friend request queue (the latter isn’t far behind my total friend count), so any meaningful reply warranted some forethought. After some internal monologue
Toronto Takes Strong Action To Avert Disaster
Mon, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has seen its fair share of rough waters over the past few seasons. In 2015, they endured the Valentina Lisitsa firestorm and 2016 was pockmarked by way of the very public annulment legal battle between former president and CEO, Jeff Melanson, and his estranged wife, Eleanor McCain. According to an article
You’re An Ignorant Dilettante
Fri, Jun 6, 2016
by Drew McManus
Holly Mulcahy published an article on 6/2/16 titled I’m a condescending bore. You’re an ignorant dilettante. Please give us money. that takes a long, hard look at one of the more damaging stereotypes the field as a whole can’t shed fast enough: erudite posers. But in her typical way, it isn’t just an extended gripe
How Inviting Is Your Organization?