Holly Mulcahy

After hearing Scheherazade at an early age, Holly Mulcahy fell in love with the violin and knew it would be her future. She currently serves as concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She spends her summers at the celebrated Grand Teton Music Festival. Believing in music as a healing and coping source, Holly founded Arts Capacity, a charitable 501(c)3 which focuses on bringing live chamber music, art, artists, and composers to prisons. Arts Capacity addresses many emotional and character-building issues people face as they prepare for release into society. Holly performs on a 1917 Giovanni Cavani violin, previously owned by the late renowned soloist Eugene Fodor, and a bespoke bow made by award winning master bow maker, Douglas Raguse.

It’s Black and White; the hidden effects of cutting corners

Thu, Apr 14, 2016Mon, Apr 5, 2010 by Holly Mulcahy

Coda

It was a combined effort of several orchestras and several conductors that helped raise money for the dead musicians’ families. Edward Elgar, Thomas Beecham, The London Symphony and The Philharmonic Orchestra were just some of the star players we’d recognize in this decade. In total, 500 musicians filled the stage at Royal Albert Hall, with an audience at capacity to hear the concert that May afternoon.

So touching was this concert, it made headlines in both Europe and the United States. The only thing to eclipse the concert’s sheer size was the funeral from the previous week. It was for the band leader of the musicians who perished. Aside from the packed funeral route and overflowing church, seven brass bands led the procession to the church (photo), making it seem grander than any parade for nobles or celebrities.

Orchestra Smaland; what a Swedish mega-retailer can teach classical music about building a customer base

Thu, Nov 3, 2022Mon, Mar 1, 2010 by Holly Mulcahy

That old saying, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, applies to classical music audiences now more than ever. Everyone remotely involved in the orchestra business is already aware that audiences are looking older and it is becoming harder to get younger listeners into the hall. And not only is there difficulty of pulling in patrons under 40, there is the ongoing challenge of keeping children educated about classical music so we can have some idea that there will be an audience for future generations.

I’ve made a point to ask my non-concertgoing, under 40 friends what is keeping them from coming to a concert. Ticket price was one concern, but almost all of them mentioned the added bother of babysitting and parking expenses seemed to make the entire evening more of a huge inconvenience than not. Yet these same friends have no trouble going furniture shopping at IKEA for several hours with their kids in tow.

The Dream Job; I wish my job as an orchestra musician was as easy as some make it seem

Mon, Nov 23, 2015Mon, Feb 1, 2010 by Holly Mulcahy

In the outrageously funny movie, Office Space, there is a scene where the main character Peter Gibbons, a lowly cubicle dwelling worker, has to meet with a pair of efficiency consultants the company has hired to recommend cutbacks to define what he does during an average work day. One of Peter’s co-workers accurately describes the process as “interviewing for your own job”.

It is a hilarious scene due to Peter’s honesty in telling the consultants (both named “Bob”) that in the course of any given week, he spends most of his time avoiding his multiple bosses and making it look like he’s actually working. He concludes by telling the Bobs that in the course of any given week, he only does about 15 minutes of actual work.

Marketing to Procrastinators

Sun, Sep 4, 2011Mon, Jan 4, 2010 by Holly Mulcahy

It seems to happening everywhere for symphony orchestras: low ticket sales to concerts. Unfortunately, this has become an all too familiar headline and the really surprising news is when an orchestra has a full house of paying patrons!

But if the New York Times article from December 28th has any merit the ticket sales decline could be connected, in part, to something in our human nature. The author of the article explains how humans tend to procrastinate pleasure.

The Google Philharmonic

Thu, Nov 3, 2022Mon, Dec 7, 2009 by Holly Mulcahy

A few months back I published an article that examined elements from Geoff Colvin’s book, Talent is Overrated. One of Colvin’s key points was how companies cultivate creativity and then use it to create better and more productive employees. Colvin used Google as one of his examples and wrote extensively about their philosophy behind fostering a very employee-friendly work environment and how it promotes and maintains productivity.

Colvin’s example made me want to learn even more about Google. They provide so much to workers, I was secretly hoping to find an in-house orchestra in which I could apply. Among the list of benefits Google offers employees is free organic cuisine, excellent health care benefits, the ability to bring dogs to the office, the list goes on. But one of my favorite benefits was their 20% of work time per week in which engineers are allowed to use for whatever projects they are passionate about. For Google, the 20% time has allowed for employees to come up with some of Google’s most popular added features as well as finding new ways of making Google’s service better, faster, and more fun.