Viswa Subbaraman Feels “Angry And Insulted” At Proposed San Diego Opera Shutdown

Just a quick pointer today to highlight a guest author post at Sticks And Drones from Viswa Subbaraman, conductor and Artistic Director of the Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee. Subbaraman turns a very keen eye toward recent events at the San Diego Opera SDO and why it is different from other organizations that have recently closed or are going through difficulties.

ADAPTISTRATION-GUY-083Granted, since Subbaraman’s post the SDO has made and about face and may not close at all but his points are still worth reading.

In addition to some genuine, and let’s face it, well placed venting, Subbaraman goes the extra mile by drawing on success stories and ongoing efforts at other opera companies. But perhaps most importantly, he provides an eloquent set of reasons behind why the efforts matter just as much as the outcomes.

It’s an excellent end-of-week post to get you thinking.

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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