Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

How To Connect With New Media: Part 1

Fri, Feb 2, 2008
New Media: who they are and where to find them. This installment is designed to help establish a collective understanding of what constitutes new media which can be used to move forward. Once that straightforward task is completed we’ll examine how to begin categorizing new media outlets in a way that will benefit your organization

Copland Went Under The Shirt But Over The Bra?

Thu, Jan 1, 2008
In case you missed it, classical music’s new poster boy, Alex Ross (sorry Dudamel), took one small step for a classical music critic but one giant leap for classical music when he appeared as a featured guest on the wildly popular Colbert Report. According to Alex the experience "felt like being the nerd in high

How To Connect With New Media: An Introduction

Wed, Jan 1, 2008
This June, I have the honor of serving as a speaker in one of the National Performing Arts Convention’s breakout sessions titled The Online Salon Movement. The session’s description promotes the event as a wide ranging commentary and discussion on how performing arts organizations can interact with new forms of media and the public at

When An Academic Exercise Becomes Reality

Tue, Jan 1, 2008
Adaptistration People 136
During the beginning of November, 2006 I had the pleasure of conducting a mock negotiation exercise with the MBA students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Bolz Center for Arts Administration program. That exercise had the future arts administrator’s playing the role of orchestra musicians who were presented with a bargaining proposal from management that called

A Conductor’s View Of The Orchestra: Junichi Hirokami

Mon, Jan 1, 2008
Given the fact that the Columbus Symphony Orchestra is currently considering drastic cuts to the organization’s budget and numbers of full time musicians, it is poignant to hear about how the orchestra’s Music Director, Junichi Hirokami, feels about the musicians and the musical product they produce. It also provides some insight as to why he

Strategic Planning Poll Results

Fri, Jan 1, 2008
This week’s Adaptistration poll on the value of artistic stakeholder input on an orchestra’s strategic planning process produced results that were both intriguing and not the least bit surprising…

Examining Dynamic Reactions At Columbus

Thu, Jan 1, 2008
Although the news is barely one week old, patron reaction to the proposed budget cuts at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra have been intriguing. Sources for public response include the Columbus Dispatch, The Cincinnati Enquirer, and several blogs and social networking groups. Typically, community response includes a small amount of very opinionated voices on both sides

An Adaptistration Poll: Strategic Planning

Wed, Jan 1, 2008
How important do you think it is for a strategic planning process to include input from the organization’s artistic stakeholders, (conductors and ensemble musicians)? Should the board determine financial prospects first and then allow voices from the artistic stakeholders to offer input in the planning process? Is it appropriate for artistic stakeholders to express public

Back To The Future In Columbus

Tue, Jan 1, 2008
The nice thing about getting old is history makes a nice cushion to fall on. That’s exactly the case here at Adaptistration when it comes to recent events at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Going back to 2004 when the Columbus Symphony Orchestra had their last negotiation (a reopener), the organization was asking musicians for substantial

Junichi Hirokami: Leading From The Front In Columbus

Mon, Jan 1, 2008
Before everyone starts to draw parallels between recent events at the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and what is unfolding at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, I think it is worthwhile to point out one significant distinction with regard to the approach each orchestra’s respective music director has opted to pursue following a series of proposed budget cuts…
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