All Entries in the "Strategic Planning" Category
Things That Make You Go Buh!?! Honolulu
On Friday, 2/5/2010 Hawaii Public Radio aired an interview conducted by Noe Tanigawa to catch up on the current status of the bankrupt Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (HSO). The 29:35 segment featured excerpts from separate conversations with HSO Executive Director Majken Mechling and HSO tympanist and musicians’ representative Steve Dinion. Tanigawa did an excellent job at not only bringing out new details since the HSO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 12/18/2009 (more) but she managed to uncover two items of interest supporting why the HSO might be better off filing Chapter 7… (more…)
Brouhaha Over Business Models
The 11/9/2009 edition of the Huffington Post published an article by Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser that starts off with the question “Does the Symphonic Orchestra Model Work?” The piece has caused quite a stir within the orchestra business; dander is up, hackles raised, and righteous indignation abounds. Yet, regardless how many times I read the post, I don’t see what everyone is so upset about… (more…)
What’s Old Is New Again
The latest issue of Senza Sordino, the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) newsletter, included an article from ICSOM chair, Bruce Ridge that I found intriguing. Ridge’s article, The New Apocalypticism, examines the impact of the economic downturn and how the orchestra business has responded. Written from his perspective as an orchestra musician and governance activist, Ridge refutes the notion (and subsequent buzz words) that we’re in a “new economy” and uses detailed historical perspective to support his position… (more…)
From Reflection To Relevancy: Part 2
In Part 1 we examined how the Grant Park Music Festival (GPMF) is using an institutional history publication to not only document the organization’s 75 year history, but how it can serve as an effective tool for defining how a performing arts organization grows and interacts with the community. Today’s final installment will look at the book’s production costs and what the authors would do differently if they could go back and do it all again… (more…)
From Reflection To Relevancy: Part 1
Throughout the business, soul searching seems to be all the rage these days as orchestra stakeholders attempt to justify an institution’s value to the community and the art form in the wake of declining audience numbers and diminished public status. Typically, this process eventually manifests into some sort of institutional visioning and/or strategic planning process, the results of which can be mixed. But before looking too far into the future, orchestra stewards need to look at the institution’s past and one of the most effective methods for conducting a comprehensive review is to engage an institutional history project with the aim of producing a commercial publication. (more…)
Do We Need A New Business Model?
At least, that’s the question posed by Peter Dobrin in an article he wrote for the 4/5/2009 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The quick answer is no, but Dobrin’s article is representative of the normal sort of reservation and introspective analysis that accompanies any sort of unexpected critical event. In this case, the predicament is the economic downturn that deflated the value of orchestra endowments and in Dobrin’s article, he challenges the value of big endowments. Fortunately, that isn’t the problem… (more…)
Process Still Matters
The 4/6/2009 edition of the Star Tribune published an article by Graydon Royce that examines a recent round of budget and pay cuts at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO). The article reports that the organization’s president indicated that pay cuts for management and staff took place before approaching musicians. This is the same procedure most organizations instituting pay cuts this season have demonstrated and on the surface it sounds fine, but in reality it contains a fundamental procedural flaw… (more…)
Quick Cash Dilemma In Honolulu
It is tough to ignore things that happen in threes and that is exactly the case this week with the Honolulu Symphony. First, Joe Patti posted an article about recent events, the Honolulu Weekly posted an article about the orchestra’s recent financial troubles amidst optimistic artistic gals, and then the orchestra musicians distributed a special edition of their newsletter to promote their opening concerts this weekend. Amid all of the unpleasantness from some orchestras over recent months, it is good to see that that Honolulu is holding on…
Crafting A Clear Message
Although it has become fashionable over the past few years to focus on creating elaborate mission statements, that doesn’t mean bigger is always better. On one hand, conducting a thorough institutional self evaluation can produce a multitude of positive results. Yet on the other hand, attempting to put each of those results into words via a mission statement can complicate the task of communicating core values. Recently, Holly Mulcahy published the second article of a two part series which compares the Slow Food Movement to classical music. She does an excellent job at illustrating how many problems they have in common such as public perception, relevancy, and branding and she talks about how the Slow Food movement managed to successfully build international cohesion around a simple set of core values. All in all, both articles are well worth your time: Part 1 and Part 2.
In Columbus, They’re Playing Like There’s No Tomorrow
In a press release from February 26, 2008 the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) Musicians voted to allow a live recording of an upcoming masterworks concert featuring Symphony No. 5 and the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture by Peter Tchaikovsky for Denon, which intends to release it on compact disc. According to the PR, the musicians voted to accept a reduction in payments that would allow the organization to produce the recording "for a tenth of what a normal studio recording of the same program would cost" at the personal request of Music Director Junichi Hirokami. And from the player’s perspective it may be one of the CSO’s last hurrahs…
Examining Columbus’ Master Agreement Part 2
Following the previous article in this set, I received an email from a reader expressing confusion over some of the provisions in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) master agreement which pertain to full time positions not provided for by name. In particular she wondered how a musician can have a full time position but not have that position protected by name in the master agreement. In short, the 22 CSO musicians who have full time contacts for positions which are not provided for by name are still afforded the same guaranteed employment status from one season to the next as are the full time positions for by name. Here’s how it works…
Examining Columbus’ Master Agreement
Today’s article will examine some of the unique components of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) maser agreement (also known as a collective bargaining agreement or “the contract”) governing full time and per service musician employment. We’ll also finish up the remaining few questions with CSO Executive Director, Tony Beadle…
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.
