Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Survey – Applause & Pretentiousness

Thu, Oct 10, 2006
Since Monday, the numbers of personal emails I’ve received along with public comments on this issue have prompted me to put together a little survey about applauding between movements and whether or not orchestra concerts are pretentious…

We Still Need To See A Psychologist

Wed, Oct 10, 2006
I had a fascinating lunch time conversation yesterday with a manager in my area and we were talking about the usefulness of approaching marketing from the view of a behavioral psychologist. The conversation brought my memory to an article I wrote back in February, 2004 entitled We All Need To Go See A Psychologist…

An End To Pretentiousness

Tue, Oct 10, 2006
The Partial Observer published an article of mine yesterday which examines just how entrenched some exclusionary behaviors are in this business. That’s not to say these behaviors are initiated out of malice, but they exist as hurdles when reaching out to a community nevertheless. Take a moment to read the article and weigh in with

Improving The Sustainability Of Classical Music Though System Dynamics

Mon, Oct 10, 2006
Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bill Harris, a talented systems dynamics expert based in Seattle, Washington. In 1999 Bill founded Facilitated Systems to “offer collaborative solutions to executives who want strategies and initiatives that are tested before implementation, who want their organizations to work more productively in groups, and

Sometimes, The Solutions Are Right In Front Of Us

Fri, Sep 9, 2006
Audience development, identifying meaningful ways to connect to the community, and becoming culturally relevant; these are issues which exist at the core of the orchestral field and preoccupy the minds of managers, board members, and musicians alike. Everyone seems to be looking for new ways to extract results from existing methods and resources; but sometimes,

Concert Hall Updates – The Truth Isn’t Always Pretty

Fri, Sep 9, 2006
Amid the flash and sparkle of Nashville’s gala opening events, I kept reminding myself that they were one organization out of four that belong to the original group of orchestras involved in concert hall projects that have been the focus of attention here at Adaptistration over the past three years…

The 2006 Orchestra Website Review: Best & Worst

Wed, Sep 9, 2006
The final installment in the 2006 Orchestra Website Review is this year’s Best & Worst. Unfortunately, there’s just as much “worst” to hash over as in 2005 but on the other side of the coin, much of the “best” is just fantastic…

The 2006 Orchestra Website Review: Special Recognition Awards

Tue, Sep 9, 2006
During every orchestra website review, several orchestras deserve special recognition for how well they satisfied the requirements for each category or subcategory as well as demonstrating particular originality and creativity for specific website components…

The Best Orchestra Website For 2005 Is In Nashville

Mon, Sep 9, 2006
Not only did the Nashville Symphony Orchestra open up a $123.5 million concert hall to rave reviews at the beginning of this month, they also launched one of the most technologically advanced orchestra websites the business has ever seen. Without a doubt, several components of Nashville’s brand new website will serve as a benchmark for

2006 Orchestra Website Review: Detailed Ratings

Fri, Sep 9, 2006
Unlike the overall rankings, the Orchestra Website Review detailed ratings provide an additional glimpse into how well each orchestra performed by category…
Previous Next