Frankfurt Is My Kind Of Town

After 20.5 hours of plane, train, and another train worth of travel I am finally back in Frankfurt for the evening and I wanted to post a quick note to say how charming the city and its people have been during my brief visit.

I hope to get back again soon and have some more time to explore and get to know the area better. In the meantime, I saw the news about the added cancellations at the Minnesota Orchestra. Very disturbing indeed.

I also saw the news about Dietmar Machold being sentenced to six years in prison for embezzlement and fraudulent.

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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10 thoughts on “Frankfurt Is My Kind Of Town”

  1. Besides being Germany’s financial center and the headquarters of the Beate Uhze sex shop company, there’s a wonderful Bohemian/student area across the Main River from Alte Stadt (Old Town). The Opera House and the Radio Orchestra contribute much to Frankfurt’s cultural life. The city is also a major rail and air transportation hub (but you already know that).

  2. “Mein kint uf town, yah Franfurt is…mein kint uf town” (to be sung to “my Kind Of Town” of course) – had to read the article just because of the headline. Thanks for making me chuckle today. Sorry about the 20 hours – what a drag

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