Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

First Atlanta, Now Minneapolis

Mon, Jun 6, 2007
Things aren’t looking too good for the future of music criticism at traditional media outlets. Last week, the major newspapers in Atlanta and Minneapolis announced that they are doing away with their full-time music critics. Nevertheless, could orchestras have actually been a contributing factor behind these recent cuts…

What’s In Store For June

Fri, Jun 6, 2007
As June ushers in the final weeks for most orchestras (and a transition into “summer mode” for the 52 week crowd) there are big things afoot on the horizon at Adaptistration…

David Patrick Stearns Gets It

Thu, May 5, 2007
The 05/30/2007 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer published an excellent article by David Patrick Stearns which examines the dynamic value of free and subsidized cost classical music events…

Apparently, I’m Going To Concerts For The Wrong Reason

Wed, May 5, 2007
There is an absolutely wonderful article from the 5/25/2207 edition of the L.A. Times by Joel Stein that pulls no punches when it comes to the issue of concert attire…

Sometimes, Change Goes Too Far

Tue, May 5, 2007
The Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Gustav Jung, was once said “The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong.” Apparently, the powers-that-be at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution subscribe to that axiom as evidenced by their recent decision to eliminate the paper’s classical music critic…

Happy Memorial Day

Mon, May 5, 2007
Adaptistration People 118
Whether you’re home all day enjoying the holiday with family and friends or your orchestra is putting on a performance today, try to take a few moments to remember the reason for the holiday. Furthermore, take a moment to remember that the single largest employer of full-time professional musicians is the United States Armed Forces.

[3 Concerts + 474 Miles] x Alex Ross = Good Read

Fri, May 5, 2007
I’m up to my eyeballs in work today so no time for a regular post. Fortunately, Alex Ross recently completed a fantastic series of articles at his blog, The Rest Is Noise which chronicles his two day road trip to visit three orchestras (Indianapolis, Nashville, and Alabama). You can catch up on all the fun

“Road Warrior Without An Expense Account”

Thu, May 5, 2007
Over the past several months Jason Heath, a professional gig bassist in the Chicago area, has been publishing a series of articles on his blog, doublebassblog.com, about what it’s really like to be a professional musician without a full time orchestra position. The series, entitled “Road Warrior Without An Expense Account” has been superb and

More Thoughts On Institutional Transparency

Wed, May 5, 2007
You have to love the AJ Blogs. My blogging neighbor, Tim Riley, posted something this week which, let’s just say, caught my eye…

Some Recent Thoughts On Institutional Transparency

Tue, May 5, 2007
While putting together some updates for the upcoming Compensation Report in June, I ran across some orchestras which did not have their 2004-2005 IRS Form 990’s posted at GuideStar…
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