Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Philadelphia Orchestra

Good For Philadelphia

Wed, Jul 7, 2010
The 7/1/2010 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article by Classical Music Critic Peter Dobrin that reports the Philadelphia Orchestra and Philly Pops have decided not to pursue plans for the former to absorb the latter. Regardless the reasons, it’s good to see that both groups were willing to honestly examine the situation and

When Is The Philadelphia Orchestra Not The Philadelphia Orchestra?

Tue, Mar 3, 2010
Most folks have likely noticed the news about the Philadelphia Orchestra musicians accepting pay and hiring freezes for most positions along with some hefty pension concessions. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Peter Dobrin reports on those concessions in an article from 2/27/2010. In and of itself, there’s nothing remarkable here; the Philadelphia players are mirroring what their

Happy Anniversary Butts In The Seats!

Tue, Feb 2, 2010
Although I’m up to my eyeballs in work and fun in NYC this week, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that today marks the sixth anniversary for Joe Patti’s blog Butts In The Seats; Musings on Practical Solutions For Arts Management. I was enormously pleased when he decided to include his blog among

Unexpected Bear Traps In Philadelphia

Thu, Feb 2, 2010
In what is shaping up to be a classic example of good intentions run amuck, the embattled Philadelphia Orchestra became the target of Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist, Karen Heller. In her 2/7/2010 article, she takes the organization to task over their new slogan and branded marketing campaign “Unexpect yourself.” Although unabashedly frank in her analysis, Heller’s

Orchestral Acoustics 102: Orchestra vs. Hall

Mon, Oct 10, 2009
In a recent blog post, Washington Post music critic, Ann Midgette, posed questions concerning: what influence a hall’s acoustic response has on orchestral performance technique, and what effect the 1997 renovation of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall had in improving acoustics onstage and in the audience. In response to the first, I can report conclusively
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