What They Said

Talk about foot-in-mouth disease, it looks like the comments from Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) executive director, Tony Beadle, have landed the exec in hot water with the music directors over at Sticks and Drones. In a recent Columbus Dispatch article, Beadle stated that CSO music director Junichi Hirokami’s lack of residence in the Columbus area was the source of some of the organization’s problems. Sticks and Drones co-authors Bill Eddins and Ron Spigelman tactfully aerate Mr. Beadle’s posterior over his position and if you haven’t read their contributions yet, then you’re missing out. Read Bill’s post first then go right into Ron’s post.

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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