{"id":2402,"date":"2012-03-20T06:34:14","date_gmt":"2012-03-20T11:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=2402"},"modified":"2012-03-20T06:34:14","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T11:34:14","slug":"business-jargon-the-shortest-path-the-muddled-thinking-about-orchestras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2012\/03\/20\/business-jargon-the-shortest-path-the-muddled-thinking-about-orchestras\/","title":{"rendered":"Business jargon the shortest path the muddled thinking about orchestras"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Ivon Bartholomew photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra music director William Eddins<\/a>, who lives in Minneapolis, recently wrote about some challenges currently faced by the respected Minnesota Orchestra as it leaves its hall during a major renovation — a scenario many Toronto Symphony supporters remember with a shudder.<\/p>\n

Eddins summed up his post on the blog Sticks and Drones<\/a> like this:<\/p>\n

Wiser heads could prevail.\u00a0 The extra money raised in this renovation campaign could be earmarked for artistic sustainability<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 A strong campaign of internal discipline and rethinking could pave the way for a stronger business model, as it has done in Oregon.\u00a0 A recommitment to the Minnesota\u2019s outstanding artistic legacy<\/em><\/strong>, hand in hand with a long-term plan for financial stability (10 years at the very least!!!) <\/em>could make a huge difference in the working ideology of the Minnesota.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That paragraph reads like arts-administrator boilerplate, which made me stop and take notice.<\/p>\n

It’s one thing for granting bureaucrats, bankers and arts-admin graduates of MBA courses to speak a special, meaning-deprived language. But it’s another for a music director to use it.<\/p>\n

What is Eddins — and anyone else who buys in to this meaninglessness — thinking when he writes “artistic sustainability”?<\/p>\n

Is it something basic, like being able to pay this month’s payroll? Is it about selling as many tickets as possible? If it’s the latter, will it affect adventurous programming?<\/p>\n

Is “artistic legacy” a stack of recording masters scattered among the half-dozen or so different labels that have issued Minnesota recordings over the past generation? Is it endowed chairs for principal players and the conductor?<\/p>\n

Even financial stability doesn’t pass a scratch test. The richly endowed, iconic Philadelphia Orchestra is still only just crawling out from under a bankruptcy filing that allowed it to force a financial restructuring.<\/p>\n

It really all boils down to this: If an orchestra, which needs to plan at least a couple of seasons into the future, doesn’t connect with its community today, things fall apart quickly. It’s all about staying engaged.<\/p>\n

Meaningless words, like tepid programmes and so-so performances, don’t engage anyone.<\/p>\n

I may grumble that the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s programming is too staid, and I do wish they spent more time outside Roy Thomson Hall (like they will on the closing night of Luminato, in June). But I count my blessings every time I speak with anyone on either the administrative or artistic sides. Everyone, from CEO and music director down, answers questions clearly, backed up with sound reasoning.<\/p>\n

Maybe that’s why they’re doing fine.<\/p>\n

Or could it be because they’ve given such fine concerts over the past few seasons?<\/p>\n

John Terauds<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra music director William Eddins, who lives in Minneapolis, recently wrote about some challenges currently faced by the respected Minnesota Orchestra as it leaves its hall during a major renovation — a scenario many Toronto Symphony supporters remember with a shudder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[76,19,31,36,42,60,63],"tags":[383,384,598,1118,1929,2237,3360,3585],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2012\/03\/eddins.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-CK","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2402"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}