Back Next Week
Tue, Sep 9, 2022
by Drew McManus
I’m away for a short vacation and decided to take a few extras days off from blogging as well but I’ll try to be back on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. Once things are back up and running, we’ll be examining the decision by one professional orchestra to begin charging audition fees and hopefully have enough
Happy Labor Day! Now Get Your Binge On
Mon, Sep 9, 2022
by Drew McManus
Take a moment to treat yourself today and get to learn about ins and outs of orchestra management from a humorous perspective by binge-reading all 157 episodes of Who’s Minding The Score?, a satirical cartoon that provides a behind the scenes look orchestra life. It’s the ideal way to spend some of your Labor Day, really, just take
Cornering The Content Market Before It Knows It’s A Market
Thu, Sep 9, 2022
by Drew McManus
Back in December 2021 Carnegie Hall launched Carnegie Hall+, an on-demand streaming service. While you would assume their content would focus primarily on events at the venue, you would be correct, but they are also presenting recorded performances of artists that simply performed at Carnegie. It’s understandable if that seems like an odd area to focus
Traveling Artist Housing Takes A Big Step Forward In San Francisco
Wed, Aug 8, 2022
by Drew McManus
Artist housing is a topic long time readers know we cover every few years and over all this time, the idea has yet to catch on. At the same time, the need for affordable musician housing at summer festivals and regional orchestras is stronger than ever. Having to rely on the largesse of patrons to
A Cautionary Tale And A Bad PR Look In One Ugly Package
Tue, Aug 8, 2022
by Drew McManus
The 8/16/22 edition of the Buckeye Flame published an article by Ken Schneck that reports on a lawsuit filed against the Cleveland Orchestra (CO) and Business Administrators & Consultants Inc (BAC), CO’s contracted healthcare administrator, for discrimination after they refused to cover a necessary surgery. According to the plaintiff, Rem Wransky who works as a full
That Hidden Bird Cost Will Get You Every Time
Mon, Aug 8, 2022
by Drew McManus
Sure, building a new hall is an exciting and terrifying endeavor that can propel an orchestra to new artistic levels and provide a venue that serves as one of the city’s crown jewels. But they never tell you about the bird cost. Case in point, the 5/13/2022 edition of The Tennessean published an article by
#TBT Just In Case You’ve Been Living Under A Rock, Plácido Domingo Is Back In The News
Thu, Aug 8, 2022
by Drew McManus
At the end of last week, news broke about Plácido Domingo’s alleged ties to an Argentinian crime syndicate. Nutshell: law enforcement has wiretap recordings that include an individual they believe is Domingo making arrangements with a representative of the crime syndicate for a clandestine meeting with a sex worker. While Domingo is not being sought
Show Of Hands: Who Is Interested In On-Demand Ticket Printing?
Wed, Aug 8, 2022
by Drew McManus
H/T Michael Granados for posting a link to a blog post by on-demand ticketing provider WW&L where they espouse the benefits of on-demand event ticketing. Nutshell: instead of paying for ticket printers, stock, and related labor costs, performing arts organizations can outsource the entire thing to a third-party provider. I’ve had a number of conversations
When Orchestra And Chorus Policies Collide
Mon, Aug 8, 2022
by Drew McManus
It was bound to happen. An orchestra’s guidelines requires as much masking for on stage musicians as possible. A chorus that operates as a separate entity has a different policy and refuses to wear masks. As a result, any works that require a chorus are removed from the program. An article by Peter Dobrin in
That Time When You Had A Realization