Last year I published 5 posts under the Plugging the Holes category dealing with subscriber retention and audience recruitment utilizing the best advocates of all ….our subscribers and our orchestra! Two articles that I read this week have spurred me to continue the category…..
Ron Spigelman
Not a failure to Launch, but a failure to Lunch!…except in Hawaii…
Vitriol, court actions and labor disputes abound in the orchestra world. Every situation is complicated, different and/or unique in many ways. There is one constant that links them all and that is a failure to communicate directly. Unscrambled eggs anyone…….
Putting the Unity in CommUnity! – Part 1: Arts in Action!
In August last year the Community Foundation of the Ozarks formed a committee of arts leaders (including yours truly) and gave us a challenge with funding attached:
Come up with a program that sustains the arts in Springfield. Part one went into effect on March 14….and it’s big!…
Bravo, you’re making it up as you go along, let us accredit you!
Having read the recent postings by Drew, and Joe regarding the booming music/arts school enrollments, I decided to do some digging. There is a body that is at least partially responsible for this, an association that accredits schools to be completely autonomous i.e accreditation for proving that you are doing whatever you want to do……the ultimate “unregulatory” body (apart from the SEC!)……
Taking a bow and then shooting across it!….
On our summer trip last year, I was amused when we drove across “Nameless Creek” Indiana because by calling it that, it actually gave it a name! Just as ironic was to read that the CEO and President of the Grand Rapids Symphony Peter Kjome had “no comment” when asked a pertinent question relating to their staff salary cuts and how it would impact the musician’s agreement, and then he promptly commented!……
Speed Dating BSO style and “I see Old people!”….
Is there still a school of thought that says just get them to the hall, you know the young ones and they will be hooked forever? Seems like the Boston Symphony marketing folks are doing their best to prove Einstein’s theory of insanity:
……..doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results…….
To bring back a memory is greater than any compliment….
As a music director I believe that my position is one of privilege more than one of power. The true power lies in the opportunity to uplift and to lift up through the music we perform. All of us at one time or another wait for a letter, message or email to let us know what the next step in our own personal journey or career path will be. A letter I received recently though, put into even sharper focus that it’s about the next step in our audience’s journey and the privilege of being able to take it with them that defines success for me……
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…..