#TBT Put A Little Civility Back In Your Life
Thu, Jun 6, 2019
by Drew McManus
With Baltimore Symphony’s will-they, won’t-they deadline next week there is no shortage of commentary flying around the culture blogosphere. To that end, today’s #TBT reaches back to a post from September 2012 that examines how to productively engage in online discussion. In hindsight, it is borderline ironic that we’re reaching back to something espousing the
The Orchestra Compensation Reports Are Right Around The Corner
Wed, Jun 6, 2019
by Drew McManus
All things being equal, the Orchestra Compensation Reports will be coming out the week of June 17th or June 24th. So far, data gathering hasn’t generated any irregularities that require additional time to hunt down the respective data and if that continues to be the cast, you can expect the earlier date. What this means
Get A Glimpse Behind The Grant Panel Curtain
Tue, Jun 6, 2019
by Drew McManus
As if he wasn’t already bringing his A-Game on a regular basis, Joe Patti recently published an article at Butts In The Seats that provides a behind the scenes look at one of the more cloistered processes in the business: the grant panel review process. If that weren’t a good enough topic in and of
Workast May Be The Project Management Tool You’ve Been Looking For
Mon, Jun 6, 2019
by Drew McManus
While there are no shortage of project management platforms to choose from, finding one that checks most of the boxes and doesn’t cost a fortune is a tall order. Recently, I discovered Workast and if you’re already using Slack, it may be exactly what you’ve been looking for to fill this void. To that end,
Let’s Elevate The Discourse Of Labor Disputes
Thu, Jun 6, 2019
by Drew McManus
As the Baltimore Symphony heads into what is looking like an all but certain knock-down, drag-out labor dispute, it’s worth mentioning a few points of opportunity all stakeholders can benefit from. First and foremost, it’s time to internalize the distinction between executives and staff within the larger administrative structure. Historically, during orchestra labor disputes, it’s
Killing Me Softly With Nomenclature
Wed, Jun 6, 2019
by Drew McManus
Do I know what makes a masterworks concert a masterworks concert? Of course I do…but why don’t you tell me what you think it means first then I’ll let you know if that’s what I thought. That’s an actual conversation I overheard a few years ago but never really stuck me until I presented at
Musician Dress Codes: The Topic With Staying Power
Tue, Jun 6, 2019
by Drew McManus
Overcoming tradition combined with the challenge of practicality conspire to produce increasingly elusive solutions when it comes to updating musician dress codes. Having said that, it’s always a bit irksome is when groups attempt to address the issue by throwing money at it in the form of custom designs. Yes, it’s fun to play what-if
Birthday Fundraiser Success And Baltimore Symphony News
Mon, Jun 6, 2019
by Drew McManus
Thanks to everyone who contributed to my matching gift fundraiser I mentioned in last Friday’s post. Thanks to the generosity of donors, it raised $1,000 and reached 200% of the original goal! This amount will fund 1/3 of a prison recital program from Arts Capacity, which helps people in need through the power of live music
It’s My Birthday And I’ll Match Gifts If I Want To
Fri, May 5, 2019
by Drew McManus
If you’re on Facebook, you’ve almost certainly come across a fundraiser associated with someone’s birthday. Facebook has done a good job at making it easy to raise money for individual to raise money for nonprofits but something I have yet to see is any sort of matching gift component. Typically, the individual starting a fundraiser
Enough With The Millennial Bashing Already