There is a cue that Orchestras could take from the audition process for musicians that can be applied to the hiring of management or even the recruitment of board members…..
Quick Takes
Quick Takes: The M Word!
Morale, is one of the most misused and abused catchall words used in our business. Often the charge “morale is low” is used as an accusation against a leader or leaders of an organization if things aren’t going well. Those who throw it out there might be justified but also might be just as responsible for low morale with a pervasively negative approach to dealing with problems and issues…
Dick Cheney LIVES!!!
OK, we all know that George Bush was not the architect of the Bush Doctrine, right? That honor, if you want to call it that, goes to Vader-in-Chief Dick Cheney. He pulled the strings and the Bush administration danced. It was the height of the Neo-Con movement in America. But not in music.
Perpetual (E)Motion
I took my eldest to a batting clinic recently. He’s an aspiring Little Leaguer with a live arm and a fantastic sense of the game. The coach was trying to get him to make this particular adjustment, which for some strange reason he was having trouble with, and I yelled “it’s just like practicing your violin!” That got me some strange looks.
Quick Takes: How about thinking INSIDE the box? and request time!
A completely overused statement “thinking outside the box” needs to be reworked and soon. I used to love using it, but now I feel it is a cop out statement as if to say we are going to try something new and different and if it doesn’t work, well at least we tried! Also my new Audience Connections class has begun (16 students!) and like I do every year I am asking for requests of arts related topics and current events for us to discuss in class, and I will post the audio! Bottom left is the Audience Connection tab if you want to listen to podcasts and read related articles…now to the box….
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 will fail, yet the worst business model with it might actually succeed!…….
Quick Takes: Remembrances….
My father was honored as a holocaust survivor this past weekend by being asked to speak to thousands of students at one of the Marches for the Living in Poland (which was overshadowed by the tragic plane crash). It made me think of something, and that is, since becoming a Music Director I have attended many more funerals and visitations than any other kind of ceremony….
Random thoughts from an endangered specie….
Wow. It seems like every day we get yet another strange story about a conductor going down, or going south, or going wherever. What the hell is going on?