Posted on July 31, 2011 at 8:00 am by Ann Drinan
in General |

George H. Cohen, formerly AFM counsel, is now the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), which was founded in 1947. He gave this presentation to a large roomful of managers, with about 10 musicians present. It was a pleasure to hear his biting wit take on a serious issue.

(more…)

No comments

Posted on July 28, 2011 at 2:00 pm by Ann Drinan
in General |

Peter Pastreich, former Executive Director of the San Francisco and St. Louis Symphonies and currently Executive Director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Peter is a well-known management consultant in the orchestra field. Peter is often asked to consult by musicians, and likes to help musicians to think about these issues.

I published an article based on his remarks to musicians at the 2009 League conference. Here are his current thoughts on the state of orchestra management, presented to a musician-only session at the conference.

(more…)

No comments

Posted on July 27, 2011 at 1:06 pm by Tony Woodcock
in Classical music, New England Conservatory, Uncategorized, borromeo string quartet, live music, local, nicholas kitchen, string quartet, sustainability |

[Nick Kitchen is the founding first violinist of the Borromeo Quartet, ensemble in residence at NEC.

The Borromeo String Quartet

In addition to receiving the Artist Diploma from NEC, the quartet has gone on to win the 2007 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award (2001), and the Cleveland Quartet Award (1998), and to serve as Ensemble-in-Residence for National Public Radio’s Performance Today (1998-99). Besides being a wonderful performer and teacher, Nick is also a formidable early adopter of technology and an indefatigable entrepreneur. Under his leadership, the Borromeos have become probably the first (and only?) string quartet to perform using laptops, from which they can read the full score—not just their individual parts—and advance the “pages” with foot pedals. The quartet also records all its concerts—both video and audio—and has offered for sale these Living Archive recordings through its website. Because he is such a well-spring of creative ideas, I asked Nick to write a guest blog entry talking about entrepreneurship for the musician. You will find it inspiring! –Tony Woodcock ] (more...) No comments

Posted on July 27, 2011 at 12:57 pm by Ramon Ricker
in Being a Professional, Musicans as Brands, professional |

The ultimate measures of success are trial and repeat, and the buyer is the final judge. If a manufacturer of just about anything, from dishwashing detergent to automobiles, gets you to try their product, and you are satisfied and return to purchase again, that is success.  Using a music example, let’s say you get a last minute call to sub on a woodwind quintet educational concert in a high school.  That’s your trial.  If it goes well you are a hero, even if your playing isn’t absolutely flawless.  In a last minute situation the other players’ expectations are reduced, and they will cut you some slack.  They’ll be happy to get through the gig without any major train wrecks!  But even if you do a great job and impress the other four musicians they might not immediately call you back.  There just might not be another opportunity for a while.   That quintet already has a permanent member, and as long as he or she continues to do good work, it will remain his or her position.  However, the chances are very good that they will recommend you to other groups, or at least relay the story of how you saved the day.

No comments

Posted on July 25, 2011 at 9:00 am by Ann Drinan
in General |

Panel members: Patrick Castillo, Director of Artistic Planning, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Delta David Gier, Music Director, South Dakota Symphony; Paul Gunther, Principal Librarian, Minnesota Orchestra; and Aaron Kernis, composer.

Aaron Kernis spoke first – he is the founder and leader of the Composers Institute in Minneapolis. A bit of history: he was part of a group of composers who were writing commissions for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in 1989, then he had the first composer residency, and then he was new music advisor for the Minneapolis Orchestra for ten years. They expanded the program into four or five states in the Midwest, and now it’s a week-long educational opportunity for composers on a national level. Music Director Osmo Vanska insisted on adding a public concert at the end of the institute week.

(more…)

No comments

Posted on July 22, 2011 at 5:09 pm by Ann Drinan
in General |

Deborah Borda, President and CEO, Los Angeles Philharmonic, was the third speaker at the June 7th plenary session. She presented an interesting view of technology and innovation in her remarks titled “Toto, We’re Not in Leipzig Anymore.”

First she explored the importance of innovation and being able to identify which innovations are important. In 1879, the Pony Express had folded and Western Union dominated communications via the telegraph, the modern, cutting-edge technology of the time. However, Western Union leaders declined to get involved in the new-fangled telephone and the rest is history. “And how sad – the poles were already up.”

Jump to the 1970s, where Steve Jobs had traded shares in his company for access to Xerox’s technical think tank. There he saw something revolutionary that Xerox declined to follow-up on – the new invention was the computer mouse and again the rest is history.

(more…)

No comments

Posted on July 16, 2011 at 12:50 pm by Ramon Ricker
in Being a Professional, Musicans as Brands, professional |

It’s important to understand image.  Your brand exudes a certain image and is made up of the following: Tangibles & Intangibles[i] Tangible—Can you play accurately?  Do you show up on time?  Are you a good sight-reader? Intangible—Do you have a beautiful sound?  Are you musical?  Do you make the notes come alive?  Do you add something extra with your presence in the group? (more...) No comments

Posted on July 10, 2011 at 3:39 pm by Tony Woodcock
in Uncategorized |

“Many financial approaches have been tried over the past 50 years to improve the financial condition of orchestras. Yet, the industry as a whole appears to be in the worst shape it has ever been in…If orchestras are to assume the undisputed pre-eminent position they once held in the American cultural landscape, they must begin to redefine themselves. This research on the financial condition of orchestras is clear. It tells us that the orchestra industry is probably not just caught up in a brief economic downturn. We are living in a fundamentally new society with new definitions of culture, recreation, education, philanthropy, and a new set of presumptions about the role of the arts in communities. All of these things will shape the financial context for orchestras in the future. We can ignore these realities, but we do so at our peril…”—The Wolf Report (more...) No comments

Posted on July 9, 2011 at 12:43 pm by Ramon Ricker
in Being a Professional, Musicans as Brands, professional |

Here is the third installment in this series of blogs that discuss the musician as a brand.  If you are new you can catch up quickly by reading the two previous posts. You’ve probably heard the cliché, “To get ahead it’s not how you play, but who you know.”  Certainly having connections or a network of friends and acquaintances can help your career, but that’s for another blog.  What we will discuss here, for a moment, is the manner in which you connect, or bond, with your audience—the public, other musicians, contractors, conductors, producers, agents, etc., etc.  In the end your success will depend upon how well you and your brand bond with your audience, which can be on different levels.[i] It could be that you connect: Cognitively—They are aware of you and are familiar with your abilities.  Do they consider you all the time?  Are you the only one they consider? Are you one of many, one of a few or not on their radar screen at all? Behaviorally—They may consider many, but they always come back to you. Emotionally—They like you.  They’ve hired you for years.  You are friends.  Or, they don’t like you.  They had a run-in with you years ago and have never forgotten it. Fit—Do your abilities and personality fit the need of the occasion perfectly, somewhat, or not at all?   Are you well versed in the style of music required?  Do you have a good attitude about playing it? In the next post we’ll discuss image. No comments

Posted on July 6, 2011 at 11:19 am by Ann Drinan
in General |

The opening Plenary Session on June 7 presented three speakers discussing “Creating an Environment for Innovation.”

Larry A. Wendling,  Ph.D., VP of the Corporate Research Laboratory at the 3M Center in Minneapolis opened the session with a historical video of the evolution of 3M from a failed mining company to a highly successful, large multi-national company.

He noted that the company isn’t about Scotch tape and Post-it notes, but rather that their business model involves science-driven innovation. He went on to compare scientific and musical creativity, suggesting that the way 3M creates business value from innovation may be directly applicable to the American orchestra.

His definition of innovation is, “The coupling of science and technology to a societal or market need, in a creative fashion, to produce something novel or unique having value.” Therefore, science is of no direct benefit to society until it becomes a product, much like music is of no benefit to society until it becomes a concert. Doing scientific research without a practical benefit is like musicians playing only for themselves. The key is to create value from either science or music, rather than regarding either as the end in itself.

He went on to say that, for the American orchestra, musicians must provide value (i.e., something customers will pay money for). So we must understand the needs of our customers, do this well and repeatedly, and build customer loyalty.

The film clip he showed had a brief portion about 3M’s William McKnight, one of the top 10 CEOs in the history of corporate America. In 1948 he articulated the “McKnight Principles:”  1) Hire good people and let them do their jobs in their own way,  and  2)  Tolerate mistakes.

(more…)

No comments