LO Upgrades From Craigslist To Facebook & Google

There hasn’t been much news about the Louisville Orchestra (LO) work stoppage in the past several weeks following the board’s empty gesture for arbitration and the subsequent musician rejection, but it seems that the LO is forging ahead with a previous plan to hire replacement musicians. Following a rocky start with advertisements in a series of craigslist outlets and direct appeals, the latest incarnation comes in the form of Facebook and Google ads.

LO Facebook advertisement
LO Facebook advertisement

Both advertisements point to a page at the LO website which features a jpg flyer with the same basic details that were included in previous versions. Likewise, there is no information about when and where auditions intend to be held nor are there any details such as required repertoire, the composition of the audition committee, starting dates, etc.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the recent attempt to solicit replacement musicians is being met with an equal amount of resistance from the existing LO musicians and their supporters via a variety of social media outlets.

LO Google Adwords Advertisement
LO Google Adwords Advertisement

So at this point, it seems not much has changed beyond the LO’s latest incarnation of replacement musician recruitment efforts. To date, the LO has been tight-lipped on details surrounding the quantity and/or quality of applications they’ve received but if the Kentucky Opera’s replacement orchestra [sws_css_tooltip position=”left” colorscheme=”rosewood” width=”450″ url=”” trigger=”results” fontSize=”14″]Which consisted predominantly of high school and college students alongside non-professional instrumentalists. [/sws_css_tooltip] are any indication, finding enough replacement musicians is an unlikely outcome.

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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0 thoughts on “LO Upgrades From Craigslist To Facebook & Google”

  1. I have a Google Adwords account so I added some of the terms that I entered to successfully bring up the Louisville Orchestra “Apply Now!” ad. The search terms “Orchestra Jobs” was estimated $3.50 per click on first page of google search. All the terms I tried were between an estimated 2.50 per click and 3.75 per click.

    Maybe this is an upgrade from Craigslist but @ $3.00 per click so that we can share with our friends the latest oddball antics of Rob Birman and company it doesn’t seem classy enough to warrant the price.. Friends of friends and aunts and uncles of Louisville musicians can join in the fun at the orchestra’s expense. Any serious applications as a result of these ads? Doubtful.

  2. Echoing Julia’s comment, this looks like more smoke and mirrors than an earnest attempt at getting candidates.

    I especially enjoy the new header area on their updated announcement flyer. That red, large, off-center, all-cap grunge-font set certainly draws attention.

    We have a regular joke around here in my design workplace about large red fonts and how that just screams desperation. If only the LOI could make that font blink on-and-off like the old days of HTML … that would be the final piece de resistance. Maybe some music running in the background too – music that you can’t turn off.

    (I may need to update my parody of it sometime soon…)

    • While the move is insulting and desperate I have been told by by a friend who had lunch with a member of the ALO (Association of the Louisville Orchestra, a closely connected support group that has been in existence for a long time and is initially accessed through the LO website) that Mr. Birman has “assured her an orchestra season will begin in September”.

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