Take A Friend To Orchestra Month 06 Is Coming

Following on the heels of last year’s highly successful Take a Friend to Orchestra initiative, April will be Take a Friend to Orchestra month ‘06 here at Adaptistration…


Take a Friend to Orchestra month will be an opportunity for the people who care the most about classical music to participate in a proactive way; and no, you’re not simply going to get hit up to write a check or make a donation to your local orchestra.

Throughout the month of April, Adaptistration will feature a variety of critics, bloggers, musicians, composers, classical music enthusiasts, and administrators as they write about how average patrons throughout the country can invite friends that do not regularly participate in live music events to a concert.

2006 contributors include:

  • Jerry Bowles: Publisher& Editor, Sequenza21.com
  • Marc Geelhoed: Classical Music Writer, Time Out Chicago & author of the blog Deceptively Simple
  • Timothy Judd: Violinist, Richmond Symphony Orchestra
  • Kevin Giglinto: Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
  • Connie Linsler Valentine: Executive Director, Nashville Chamber Orchestra
  • Pete Matthews: Classical Music Enthusiast & for profit marketing professional
  • Joe Patti: Theatre Manager & author of the arts management blog Butts In the Seats
  • Brian Sacawa: Concert Saxophonist & author of the music blog Sounds Like Now
  • Alex Shapiro: Composer & author of the blog Notes from the Kelp

  • Mark your calendars now: things kick off on Monday, April 3rd, 2006.

    In the meantime, you can warm up to this year’s event by perusing last year’s contributions. You can also purchase your very own paperback edition of the 2005 Take a Friend to the Orchestra initiative, a collection of all 16 essays including additional material only available in this printed edition.

    About Drew McManus

    "I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

    I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

    In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

    For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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