The Fiscal CLEF!

I was fully prepared to leave the Minnesota Orchestra posts to my partner in Blog Bill, and Drew at Adaptistration, but something I read really ticked me off!…..this is about attitude….

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Quick Takes: Irreplaceable? Turn up the Music and Turn off the Noise!

There is a free fall happening that is hard to get our collective heads around, and the infighting going on in orchestras is shutting out the most valuable and viable of voices, the audience.  Whether it’s a lockout (Indy), a force in (Jacksonville), a bankruptcy or a strike, the “why can’t we all just get along” cliche is actually appropriate for a very specific reason….

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Gentlemen/Ladies…Stop Your Engines…The INDY minus 500!

The true deficit in an organization in trouble is the one in leadership.  That is what ultimately turns a crack in the veneer into a fault line in the foundation.  This is what is happening in Indianapolis, and it’s the first thing that needs to be addressed.  Unfortunately the lack of leadership is working in favor for those who want to slash and burn.  But there is something a little different about this situation and something that can most definitely be done….

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The search for the perfect (Cease) Business Model!

It seems that there is a lot of energy being put into finding ways to either shut an orchestra down or seriously compromise it’s existence.  I don’t remember receiving an invitation to the “20,000 (Orchestra) Leagues Under the Sea” conference.  The plans range from bankruptcy (Syracuse), canceling a season (Delaware), to trying to hire “new” musicians (Louisville).  They all have one thing in common though…

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Kumbaya, Richmond, Kumbaya

It is puzzling – the tendency of an organization to shoot itself in the foot.  After so many obvious examples of what not to do there is, more often than not, that institutional moment which causes one to quote that great American Philosopher Homer Simpson – “D’OH!!!”  These days Homer is speaking in a mid-Atlantic accent.

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Here we go chasing our tails from Detroit to Duluth…..

There is always a hyperventilating that takes place when the so called “model” is challenged and why is it that Orchestras live in the extreme?  When there are problems everything an orchestra does has to change, and when there are not, let’s spend spend spend,  and ignore any impending problems.  I cannot over emphasize enough that spending whenever we do it is never the answer, we would be all well served re-reading the Knight Foundation Magic of Music report (linked below).  What is the answer?….

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Peoria Symphony – Where the walls come tumbling up!

I’ll never forget watching a NBA post game news conference when the winning coach was asked what made him think to put the ball in the hands of a rookie who then scored seemingly at will to win the game.  His response and I paraphrase:

I didn’t, the guy thought we were in trouble and he stepped up to help the team, he led the leaders and we won the game!

The Peoria Symphony needs someone like that to step up to save their team…well someone has tried and failed, so now someone else needs to ……Time for some Schock treatment!……not a misspelling I assure you…..

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