Adaptistration

Breaking News: JSO Negotiation Update

In an email message from Friday morning, 11/30/2007, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (JSO) Executive Director, Alan Hopper, confirmed that if an agreement between the Association and the musicians is not reached before the end of next week then “the Nutcracker would go on with recorded music as do many Nutcrackers around the country.” In a comprehensive view, although there are Nutcracker productions which utilize recorded music there are very few who promote the use of live music and then substitute that with recorded music.

Hopper went on to write that the Jacksonville Symphony Association is hopeful that they “can resolve a contract with the union shortly.” Questions as to whether or not the JSO Board has amended their previous position to negotiate only if the musicians present an offer which includes concessions were not addressed in Hopper’s communication.

Learning From Past Mistakes

John Stoehr, Charleston (S.C.) City Paper Arts Editor and co-author of the blog Flyover, published a piece at his City Paper blog entitled JSO Board Needs to Do Its Damn Job. Although the piece is loaded with fantastic content, perhaps the best part is when John articulates the obvious parallels between the financial model/strategic direction proposed by the Jacksonville Symphony Board and the demise of the former Savannah Symphony…

Back To The Bargaining Table In Jacksonville

According to representatives from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (JSO), bargaining sessions mediated by a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service mediator with the musicians are scheduled to resume at 12:00 noon ET, Friday, 11/30/2007. At stake immediately is the fate of the First Coast Nutcracker performances, which the JSO is scheduled to provide live music as a pit orchestra. Since the lockout began, JSO Executive Director, Alan Hopper, has made public statements that the organization plans to provide recorded music for the Nutcracker performances if the lockout persists...

Not Feeling Very Social In Jacksonville

As the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (JSO) lockout drags on, orchestra supporters continue to make their voices heard. On 11/26/2007, Marci Gurnow, a clarinetist in the JSO, posted information at JSO Lockdown (a social networking group at Facebook.com) announcing scheduled picketing activities at upcoming First Coast Nutcracker performances. In an effort to help build stronger connections with supporters and create added awareness, the message invites group members to participate by making their own picket signs and taking part in the picketing activity. Furthermore, unless an agreement is reached before next week’s deadlines, the musicians are preparing to let ticket buyers know that, as a result of the lockout, they will not be attending performances with live music, as was promised in the performance’s promotional material…

Getting Back On The Psychologist’s Couch

Yesterday, my blogging neighbor, Jason Heath, posted an article at Arts Addictwhich touches on the psychology of performers and how it impacts interpersonal artistic relationships. It is a great topic and made me think about how the orchestra business could take better advantage of consumer psychology when approaching audience development…

Social Networking Enters The Labor Arena

At first thought, you might not consider that a social networking site such as Facebook could have much influence on a professional U.S. orchestra work stoppage. However, when the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (JSO) lockout began, one JSO patron took it upon herself to establish the Facebook group, JSO Lockdown, in order to raise awareness about the situation. At the time this article is published, the group has attracted more than 800 members since it was founded on 11/15/2007…

Giving Thanks

I’m thankful for being able to live in such a wonderful city with a thriving arts environment.

I’m thankful for my blog’s new home and the freedom to invite other talented voices to begin their own blogs.

I’m thankful for having the opportunity to earn a living while working from home.

I’m thankful for a wonderful public transpiration system that takes me where I need to go when I need to be there (and I hope the state of Illinois straightens up and realizes the importance of keeping it that way).

I’m thankful the internet continues to evolve into a healthy tool that promotes social interaction and maintains interpersonal connections.

I’m thankful for being able to spend my Black Friday working and having lunch with friends instead of joining the herd of zombies roaming the malls of America.

I’m thankful for being able to work on the most environmentally sound cultural project in the U.S. (more on that in a few months).

New Details From The Lockout In Jacksonville Part 2

On the heels of additional concert cancellations from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (JSO) , the second installment in this series of articles examines additional details that led to the first work stoppage of the season as well as where things are headed. In order to find out more details I contacted Kevin Casseday, musician spokesperson and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra bassist as well as the musician’s legal counsel and negotiator, Leonard Leibowitz...

New Details From The Lockout In Jacksonville

As the lockout in Jacksonville enters into its second week, the local Jacksonville public and the orchestra field at large are looking for additional details that led to the first work stoppage of the season as well as where things are headed. In order to find out more details, I contacted the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (JSO) Association and tomorrow’s article will feature information from an interview with the musicians’ spokesperson…

The Arts Addict: A New Adaptistration Blog

There’s excitement in the air as today marks the launch of the latest installment of a developing three-way mirror of cultural conversation designed to provide a comprehensive view on the field of performing arts. Arts Addict is self described blog about life “as a classical music bottom feeder.” Authored solely by the popular and well respected double bassist and blogger Jason Heath, Arts Addict will be an outlet for all of Jason’s non-double bass oriented writing…

Democracy In Action: An Adaptistration Poll

In the first demonstration of how much control over content management exists at the new Adaptistration, readers will get to decide how comments will be displayed; in either ascending (oldest first) or descending (newest first) order. Since the move to the new server, comments have been posted in descending order (newest first), which is opposite of how they were posted at the old server.

As such, some readers have been asking whether or not we could go back to the previous setting, ascending (oldest first) order. Instead of doing only what I want, it seems better to allow the readers to decide. As such, please take a moment to complete the following poll, which will remain open until midnight, Sunday 11/18/2007. Whichever method prevails will go into effect for the entire site starting Monday, 11/19/2007.

An Initial Look At The Jacksonville Lockout

It was simply too good to last. Although several orchestras which teetered on the brink of work stoppages this season managed to pull back in the 11th hour, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra found itself toppling over the edge this week when the organization’s management canceled an upcoming concert and all related rehearsals…

Conductor Smack Down! – Dress Codes

The dynamic duo over at Sticks and Drones have come up with a fascinating new series they call “Conductor Smack Down!” In this series, blog authors Bill Eddins and Ron Spigelman square off over specific issues while allowing readers to take sides or take issue via comments. In the inaugural Smack Down, Bill and Ron tackle issues related to dress codes and concert attire:

Read Bill's Article

Read Ron's Article

Tangentially Related

Although the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike isn’t directly related to the orchestra business, the core issue they are striking over is. At the heart of the matter is what sort of share will writers get of revenue from new media. In this business the revenues simply haven’t been large enough to necessitate any serious considerations by any players’ association or management to induce a work stoppage but in Hollywood, it is a different story…

Enough Already With The Audition Nonsense!

The 11/11/2007 edition of the New York Times published an article by Anthony Tommasini's which features an interview between the author and Marin Alsop. Since its publication, the article has been making the usual rounds inside the business due to Alsop’s comments regarding auditions. In that article Tommasini quotes Alsop as saying the process of blind auditions (where candidates perform behind a screen) is "fundamentally flawed." Perhaps unsurprisingly, her comments have stirred up a Hornet’s Nest, especially with the recent announcement that the Cleveland Orchestra will now implement screened auditions. Regardless of the passionate feelings this article has stirred up, the fact is that the whole thing is just one big red herring…

How Much Did That Meeting (Or Rehearsal Error) Really Cost?

Does it seem like more and more of your time is consumed with staff meetings? Does your department head enjoy scheduling meetings that seem to be designed to prevent you from completing your work? Thankfully, you now have a quick and easy way to calculate labor costs for all of the time spent in meetings thanks to a fun little webapp called Meeting Miser, from payscale.com. Featured in 11/7/07 edition of lifehacker.com, the easy-to-use application tracks the cost of meetings based on hourly or annual salary data…

Wag The Dog

A variation on a classic joke: Which came first, the grant or the program? A groaner for sure but an unfortunate reality for too many orchestras. The simple fact is that funding sources are limited and as a result, orchestras will design programs based more on grant guidelines than institutional vision…

Dress Codes: The Topic With Staying Power

I wish I had a time machine. Among other uses, I would like to travel back in time to talk to orchestral musicians from the 1920s through 1950s to find out what they thought of concert attire, and not just for themselves but for the audience as well. Did they have wardrobe expectations when they looked out into the crowd or did they complain about their tuxedos and formal dresses (not that there were that many women orchestra musicians in the 20s –thankfully, times have changed)? I wonder because although there is nothing new about musicians complaining about concert attire, the frequency and gravity of those discussions seem to increase from one year to the next…

Are You Ready For The Arts Addict?

I hate to give away upcoming events too early but the flood of emails asking about the new blogs set to launch over the next few months have persuaded me to offer up a few more details…

Wanted: A Messiah In Cincinnati

The 11/4/2007 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer published an article by Janelle Gelfand which took a hard look at the ongoing process to find a new Dean for the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). The revealing article examines the challenges and outlines the critical value in filling this position with the right person…

Sticks and Drones: A New Adaptistration Blog

There’s excitement in the air as today marks the launch of the first of several new blogs here at Adaptistration. Sticks and Drones is all about the world of classical music from the perspective of two conductors, Bill Eddins and Ron Spigelman. If you are hoping the blog will be chocked full of filler such as discussions about whether or not Stokowski’s orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition is superior to Ravel’s edition and the advances in graphite baton design, you might be disappointed.

Instead, Sticks and Drones is all about providing a public forum for two very insightful musicians who live and work in classical music’s trenches. With the comment throttle thrown wide open, they’ll examine where classical music is, where it needs to go, and the challenges along the way. In due course, Sticks and Drones is the first addition to a growing three-way mirror of cultural conversation designed to provide a comprehensive view on the field of performing arts (more on that at a later date)…

The Compensation Reports Are Back

The Adaptistration Compensation Reports have been reorganized and are now available. You can find all of the primary articles at the dedicated Compensation Report page and all of the articles are available under the “compensation reports” category archive… 

Confusing The Issues

Much has been written throughout the blogosphere since The New Republic published Richard Taruskin’s 12,000 word narrative entitled Books: The Musical Mystique - Defending classical music against its devotees. I’ll come right out and admit that I have not read the entire work, which if written for different genre would classify as a beefy short story, but based on what others are writing it seems that the issues from Richard’s article are getting confused with an entirely separate discussion…