Breaking News: Blagojevich Founds New Orchestra
Tue, Feb 2, 2009
by Drew McManus
According to the federal criminal complaint against ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, he was “intercepted conspiring to sell [President Obama’s] Senate seat in exchange for millions of dollars in funding for a non-profit organization that he would start and that would employ him at a substantial salary after he left the governorship” (page 57). Notwithstanding, the
Something Doesn’t Smell Right In Madison
Mon, Feb 2, 2009
by Drew McManus
After making steady progress on months of contentious negotiations, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO) issued a press release on January 30, 2009 announcing they were cancelling an upcoming February concert nearly a month away. According to the PR, the reason for the cancellation is because the Musicians of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra negotiation committee rejected
Good News About The Negotiation Process
Thu, Jan 1, 2009
by Drew McManus
Amid a season filled with real and potential negotiation strife, there are still a number of instances where the collective bargaining process is being implemented without undue friction. One recent example is the Westchester Philharmonic negotiations which concluded at the onset of 2009. What makes this particular negotiation worth examining is the fact that not
A Useful Look At Access and Affordability
Wed, Jan 1, 2009
by Drew McManus
The 2/2/2009 edition of the New Yorker published an intriguing article by Alex Ross who took it upon himself to find out how much live classical music he could consume in New York City on a budget of $100. As it turns out, it was quite a bit thanks in part to some fantastic free
Star Trek II:The Opera
Tue, Jan 1, 2009
by Drew McManus
I don’t know if anyone has ever investigated any potential link between opera and Star Trek fans but after watching the 1/25/2009 episode of Robot Chicken it might be a worthwhile effort (if you don’t already know what Robot Chicken is, it takes too long to explain – just go here). Leave it to the
The Premios Dardo Award
Mon, Jan 1, 2009
by Drew McManus
Thanks to Daily Observation’s blogmaster (and Oregon Symphony Assistant Principal Violist), Charles Noble, for selecting Adaptistration as one of the five blogs to receive a Premios Dardo Award. I’m not entirely certain what a Premios Dardo Award is and even a Google search didn’t offer much additional insight. Nevertheless, from what I gather, it is
How To Make Your Own Article Archive
Fri, Jan 1, 2009
by Drew McManus
We’ve all likely encountered it before, you remember reading an article somewhere several weeks ago but when you go looking for it, it seems to have disappeared. Wouldn’t it be easy if all of your culture related articles were archived in one, convenient location? Sure, but that’s not going to happen any time soon. That
A Meaningful Approach To Concessions
Thu, Jan 1, 2009
by Drew McManus
The 1/15/2009 edition of the New York Times published an article by Dan Wakin about proposed budget cuts at the Metropolitan Opera. Although the article reports the Met’s general manager, Peter Gelb, is approaching the organization’s unions to see about instituting 10 percent pay cuts from the organization’s unions for each of the next two
Will Hope Impact Cultural Confidence?
Wed, Jan 1, 2009
by Drew McManus
The latest Cultural Confidence update indicates attitudes surrounding the current economic situation as well as the economic outlook among cultural institutions are once again beginning to slide. For the first time since polling began, none of the respondents believe the current economic condition at their organization is good. At the same time, the outlook toward
Dear Mr. President
Tue, Jan 1, 2009
by Drew McManus
As your administration approaches the many challenges facing our country, I hope you will consider a bold program of cultural diplomacy as one answer to the problem of improving and maintaining international relations. In particular, I urge your administration to implement a widespread and fully sponsored international touring and residency campaign along with a variety of cultural exchange programs; all of which would involve a comprehensive collection of professional American orchestras.
