All Entries in the "Artistic Administration" Category
Labor Oversupply: Reversal To The Rule
The 7/5/2010 edition of the New York Times published an article by Dan Wakin that examined the uncharacteristically large number of section, fixed chair, and principal positions open among the largest budget US orchestras. What’s interesting here is the groups in Wakin’s article are destination level ensembles, meaning these are the orchestras where the very best musicians aspire to win a position, it won’t be surprising to see these groups adopt practices usually associated with labor shortages… (more…)
Artistic Quality And Dynamic Consequences
It is no secret that the field as a whole is working day by day to manage debt and maintain stability. At the same time, maintaining artistic quality in light of necessary budget cuts is a tight rope no one enjoys walking but it gets a little easier if everyone works together. Failing that, decisions with the best intentions and under the greatest pressures can produce dynamic consequences that end up making the cure worse than the disease… (more…)
Context, Urtext, Or Just Plain Perplexed?
Ron Spigelman managed to churn up the cultural blogging waters a bit in a recent post entitled It needs to be about CONTEXT not URTEXT!!!! wherein he pushes some tried and true artistic hot buttons. Nothing inspires passionate debate (A.K.A raises the hackles) quite like discussions of artistic nature and the comment thread has taken a life of its own (and includes input from several well known cultural bloggers). Give the article a read and add your voice to the discussion.
Concessionary News From Baltimore
The 3/25/2010 edition of the Baltimore Sun includes an article by Tim Smith that reports on the recent concessionary contract between the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and its musicians. According to the article, the base musician salary will drop 16.6 percent to $67,600, “essentially the same as it was in 2001.” But what’s really interesting is some of the information Smith will almost certainly address in subsequent articles once the BSO releases additional information; such as details surrounding a new post-conservatory Fellows program… (more…)
When Is The Philadelphia Orchestra Not The Philadelphia Orchestra?
Most folks have likely noticed the news about the Philadelphia Orchestra musicians accepting pay and hiring freezes for most positions along with some hefty pension concessions. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Peter Dobrin reports on those concessions in an article from 2/27/2010. In and of itself, there’s nothing remarkable here; the Philadelphia players are mirroring what their colleagues elsewhere are doing by accepting concessions that help reduce immediate financial pressure. What is of interest is this nugget buried at the bottom of the article… (more…)
When Did “Older” And “Exciting” Become Mutually Exclusive?
Since publishing yesterday’s post about the Boston Globe article examining the New Hampshire Music Festival’s abandoned plans to revamp the festival’s artistic structure, the Globe article has been attracting some fascinating comments. One theme throughout those comments is the notion that younger musicians equal exciting performances. Some comments replying to that sentiment supported the notion that musicians get lazy, sloppy, and lackluster with age and subsequent complaints from these musicians are attempts to conceal professional failings. All of this is related to one of the more contentious, yet unspoken, aspects of this business that by its nature, tenure promotes indolence… (more…)
Yep, Process Still Matters
All things being equal, something like this might have slipped by under the radar but thanks to the Boston Globe’s Geoff Edgers, events at the New Hampshire Music Festival (NHMF) have taken center stage. According to Edgers’ article from the 1/11/2010 edition, the NHMF’s board and administrative leadership attempted to implement sweeping changes that were the result of re-conceptualizing the artistic model… (more…)
Aim Product Away From Face
In response to an article from 12/22/2009, a healthy comment exchange ensued about whether or not term “product” is appropriate to use in the context of describing live, performing art. I think the topic is important enough that it deserves its own article and I’m curious to know more about what readers think on this issue… (more…)
Fun With Food Metaphors
Holly Mulcahy posted an intriguing piece earlier this week about the perils of program substitutions entitled Sorry, we’re fresh out of Mahler. The piece does an excellent job at expanding on some of the points covered in an article here from 9/3/2009 and one aspect I enjoyed most about Mulchay’s article is how it uses culinary metaphors. As an added bonus, there is a terrific comment thread that produces entirely useful considerations and straightforward solutions for any artistic administration department wrestling with issues related to budget shortfalls and programming changes… (more…)
Indianapolis’ Forces Of Attraction
I had an intriguing conversation with a colleague over the weekend about the ongoing situation at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) regarding the pros and cons of attracting a new music director. In particular, we were talking about the article by Kathleen McLaughlin in the 8/15/09 edition of the Indiana Business Journal. The article’s tag line purports “Symphony likely to have abundance of candidates” and it was that point that fueled our discussion. In particular, we were wondering whether or not an abundance of candidates means the right candidate will come knocking… (more…)
A Solution In Search Of A Problem At Indianapolis
Over the past few weeks, much has been written about the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s (ISO) decision to not renew Music Director Mario Venzago’s contract after August 31, 2009. Although the sensitive phrase “not renew” was how the ISO described the decision, others across traditional and new media platforms have described it in less genteel language such as ouster, terminated, and fired. Although there has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the decision through the Indianapolis community and abroad regarding motives and process (some of which will likely come to the surface over the next few weeks), here are some facts you can use to begin drawing your own conclusions… (more…)
A Guide For Programming In The “New Economy”
Between reader suggestions following last week’s orchestra management Venn diagram and all the reactionary discussion about the “New Economy” throughout the business, I put together another Venn diagram illustrating the decision making process behind bean-counting programming. In a nutshell, if you’re an orchestra manager and this diagram strikes you as a useful tool, it might be time for a sabbatical (or to consider a new vocation)… (more…)
Bruce Hembd wrote:
Drew McManus wrote:
Geof Applegate wrote:
Bev B. wrote:
Adaptistration is authored by orchestra consultant Drew McManus and since its launch in 2003, the blog has become standard reading for arts administrators and arts administration programs throughout the world.
