All Entries in the "Challenge=Opp" Category
We are for Profit…aren’t we?…..
I am up here in Lake Placid for 6 weeks of concerts in the glorious Adirondacks with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. Something is really bothering me, even though I am here in paradise. The words not-for-profit have such a negative connotation. I know it’s a widely used categorical description but it’s not accurate in the [...]
Terry Teachout and how we go from Zero to Hero! – plus a mini tribute
Ernest Fleischmann passed and I had one treasured experience with him that I want to share, but first to Terry Teachout. Terry I say thank you for your article raising the question of eliminating regional orchestras, yes thank you! He opened an even bigger debate than in my Context/Urtext post (it is somewhat related) which [...]
Quick Takes: A Sustainable Business Model…How is it Possible?
It seems that a huge focus in the Symphony world is to create the ideal business model for success. Thousands of hours and millions of dollars are spent on conferences, consultant fees, marketing schemes etc… and yet the secret ingredient, is neither a secret, not does it cost anything. The best business model without it [...]
It needs to be about CONTEXT not URTEXT!!!!
At Cliburn last year I kept hearing “it has to be about the music”. I’m sorry MUSIC IS NOT ABOUT MUSIC, it’s about everything else! We spend so much time focusing on trying to get people to fall in love with music and with what we do. This will only happen when we do the [...]
Another Message Control Fail…Practice, Practice, Practice
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?….You know the line. The Oregon Symphony has been invited, they have asked the city to help pay for the trip, and the message in the paper? Cue the closing of fire stations, mixed in with a defensive posture and vitriolic comments mostly against the funding and now it [...]
Message Control and the Clouds in the Silver Lining….
Three different groups announced financial news that will have a big impact on their respective organizations, but with each announcement the negative is the focus with little or no regard for the impact the actual announcement might have on their constituents confidence going forward. It’s We’re a 4 Alarm Dumpster fire, run for your lives!…meets…sheesh [...]
Passing the Buck(eye)….
Why is it always surrender? Why can’t it be retreat to re-engage, re- strategize to re-connect with a community, or rebuilding instead of tearing down? The Columbus Symphony is going a very strange route and is in danger of being on a one-way street with no turning back allowed by essentially giving over day to [...]
Quick Takes: Putting your mouth where the money is!
We have all heard it word of mouth is the best form of advertising, and who would doubt it? Problem is it is both hard to quantify and to come up with data to prove its effectiveness, or so I thought……
Adjusting the Seasonings in Salt Lake! – Time to Make a Play!
The Utah Symphony and Opera have been rescued by a very large gift which is great news. A couple of articles about their situation got me thinking more about community outreach and how the tangible resonance of a hall needs to be matched with the resonance felt within and even beyond our communities. More importantly [...]
Hope for the Next Decade: A Call to Arts!
Community Outreach was the catchall category of the last decade in the Orchestra world, and has become so non defined that we take for granted that it’s happening at every orchestra. It most certainly isn’t just because the words are used. It is time to define it for real, give it real teeth and [...]
And Now for Something Completely Different….
So two weeks ago was the 40th anniversary of Monty Python’s Flying Circus first broadcast hence the title, but I have also been thinking about the way orchestras typically go about searching for a Music Director and if this process needs to be done in a very different and more forward thinking way. I believe [...]
Concert Companion….Bring a Friend to the CSO!
I’m a big fan of technology, I’m always bummed out when something I have is super seeded by a new model. I still have that old crusty 1st generation ipod touch (18 months old!). I was intrigued like many when the Concert Companion first came out, a device to enhance the understanding of the concert [...]
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