About Drew McManus
DETAILS
Musician, manager, and cultural entrepreneur Drew McManus has been involved with every aspect of nonprofit performing arts and charitable organizations. He has become one of the most unique individuals in this business who is trusted and respected by administrators, academics, board members, music directors, musicians, and union officials alike.
In addition to authoring Adaptistration; the only weblog dedicated to issues about the orchestra business, Mr. McManus founded the cultural blogging exchange InsideTheArts.com in 2007, which hosts a number of popular culture oriented new media outlets that cover nearly every aspect of the performing arts.
MEDIA REPUTATION
Mr. McManus is regularly quoted as an orchestra business expert in traditional media outlets such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dallas Daily News, The Guardian Unlimited, and the Melbourne Age. Mr. McManus has been a guest on national radio programs such as NPR’s All Things Considered and WNYC’s Soundcheck (click here for a listening index).
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
In the summer of 2008, Mr. McManus traveled to Doha, Qatar to serve as the lead consultant in developing a comprehensive organizational and operational model for a $60 million orchestra and music academy project.
In 2008 Drew traveled to Doha, Qatar to serve as the lead consultant in developing a comprehensive organizational and operational model for a $60 million philharmonic orchestra and music academy project.
The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a private, chartered, nonprofit organization, founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar. Selected from a a wide range of international firms in a competitive bidding process, Mr. McManus organized and managed a team of existing Foundation personnel to review the proposed mission goals for the Western and Arabic ensembles as well as the academy. The initial work consisted of more than 30 individual interviews and reviewing extensive amounts of existing documentation. After becoming fully versed in the Qataris needs,program goals, and the cultural working environment, a final program was completed drawing from international best practices that best suited the challenges facing the program while also creating many new systems of operation that satisfied unique Qatari needs.
The project concluded with a four day long Governing Board retreat where Mr. McManus enlightened members about the variety of governance models across all countries which support a culture of professional Western European orchestras. Afterward, Mr. McManus took the members though their new operational bylaws and the music program’s new strategic plan. After a period of positive discussion, the Governing Board unanimously adopted 100 percent of recommendations contained in the final report.
In 2005, Mr. McManus was among the first U.S. cultural administrators and journalists to spend more than a full week in Caracas, Venezuela as an official guest of the government to study the Fundacion del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestras Juveniles e Infantiles, commonly referred to as “El Sistema,” which resulted in the first detailed series of articles in the U.S. highlighting the program and its accomplishments.
BOARD LEADERSHIP
As the founder and president of the Gynecologic Cancer Fund, he has a singular understanding of governance issues and six-figure development experience as an executive board officer. His charity has returned over 85% of gross proceeds to its beneficiaries since its establishment in 1998; the highest return of any 501(c) in the state of Maryland.
EXECUTIVE COMPETENCE
Mr. McManus is a conservatory trained musician from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, MD. He holds degrees in tuba performance as well as regular work on the piano, arranging, and conducting.
As an administrator Mr. McManus founded and served as the Executive Director for the Baltimore Virtuosi, Baltimore’s premier chamber orchestra, from 1998-2003. Since its inception he managed the organization to consistently operate in the black while never reducing its artistic budget. By approaching the business of orchestra management with flexible, revolutionary techniques that benefit all stakeholders, he has been able to “do more with less”.
From January, 2006 through January, 2007 he served as Senior Editor for Eastman School of Music’s Polyphonic.org project where his responsibilities included securing and creating original content for the website, developing and implementing the editorial strategy of the website, designing and implementing special website features as well as creating and moderating the ground breaking “Virtual Discussion Panel” format.
COMMITMENT
In the same year, hours after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast Region, Mr. McManus established an extensive relief effort at Adaptistration to aid displaced musicians. Over 300 offers providing shelter, direct aid, and work opportunities from across the country resulted in more than 60 musicians and managers finding temporary or long term solutions until they could return to their homes. Relief efforts featured in a Sunday edition of the New York Times and served as the subject of a special American Symphony Orchestra League emergency bulletin.
When he isn’t working 10 hour days, Mr. McManus spends time with his wife enjoying everything Chicagoland has to offer, avoids cutting off his fingers while pursing his love for woodworking, keeping his coffee habit under control, and playing with his three cats; Carmen, Tosca, and Cody.
You can find additional details about Mr. McManus’ consulting services at orchestraconsulting.com where you’ll find an extended biography, philosophy on the business, and what he has to offer as an orchestra consultant and as a lecturer.
Adaptistration is authored by orchestra consultant Drew McManus and since its launch in 2003, the blog has become standard reading for arts administrators and arts administration programs throughout the world.
