The Case for Strings in Schools

Per some requests for a more public version, I'll share a post I submitted to the School Orchestra and String Teachers facebook board regarding the case for string programs in schools vs. band and choir. While I myself am a huge advocate for all of them in schools, it's typical for school districts nation-wide to only have band and choir programs. 

Hopefully the points below will provide you some updated arguments for string programs, as they are incredibly valuable.


      1 ~ SAT Scores


The Texas Music Educators Association has been tracking orchestra SAT scores for our 3 All State Orchestras for 16 years now. Out of the 15 all state ensembles we produce annually by highly competitive audition from thousands of students, the highest scores have always been the string-only orchestra.

2015 Texas All-State Composite SAT scores

Ensemble	Score
String-Only Orchestra	2104
Full Orchestras Combined Average	2051
All-State Ensembles Combined	1803
National Average	1490

That's right: The string only orchestra beat the national average by 614 points! As well, the string only orchestra has consistently been the highest performing academic group of the Texas All-State Ensembles.

While I'm happy to engage in the debate whether these students are attracted to orchestra because of their intelligence or they are intelligent because of orchestra, it seems like a debate of little importance when the results are so stark.

      2 ~ The Academic Culture

If you want a group of academic elites that value core classes and the district vision, the orchestra is where those minds are created. They value culture, extreme problem solving, and choose one of the most difficult instrumental groups out there because they crave a mental challenge. 

That improves your top students and should move your academic performance curve to the right in most cases since your classroom moves at the pace of your brightest students.

As well, it gives these top students something to do together. I don't remember hanging out with my algebra class after school, but the orchestra tends to be an academic powerhouse of friends that can assist each other. 

(Anecdotal side note, I remember one spring trip with orchestra students coming home from a weekend field trip/performance on a charter bus for several hours. They were concerned about upcoming AP tests and instead of watching a movie, decided it was best to either quietly read or study for their upcoming tests. I've never seen a bus of 50 high school kids so quiet!)

     3 ~ It's Instrumental

Orchestra provides the whole brain benefits of instrumental music that neuroscience is just beginning to uncover. A USC study found that children's brains develop faster with instrumental training (strings in this case) when compared to inactive students and athletes. While Choir is music, it can't fulfill that mental challenge as well since there isn't dexterity involved. 

Besides, the music community doesn't expect mature operatic voices to peak until age 35 due to hormonal changes and development. In fact it's dangerous for their voices to sing powerfully at a young age and most college training is about learning to know your limits! Yet college instrumentalists on day-one are expected to be able to play full operas and have endurance. 

     4 ~ Less Time than Band

For as much as I love band, it is a time intensive activity in the fall. The Fall Marching Band cycle can have 8+ hours of after school rehearsals weekly, a dozen football games, several competitions, and 2 full weeks of summer band camp. This often prevents students from participating in other fall sports and takes away from academic time. 

Many parents of high achieving students are hesitant to put them in band due to the time commitment and the strain it can put on family time and studies. Transportation for single parents is also a major concern.

Orchestra is the perfect inbetween that has limited after school commitments. These are the kids that want to be a club president, musician, athlete, volunteer, and be an academic leader. They can handle the load, but it's up to us as educators to provide them the means to do so. 

     5 ~ Job Prospects

There is a shortage of qualified string teachers in Texas in particular. The Texas Music Administrators Conference is a group of music administrators for school districts across Texas, and one of their main topics at discussion in the Fall of 2016 was how to attract, retain, and create more orchestra directors for the state. The programs are growing faster than they can keep up with, with many programs needing to add assistants. 

As well, every major american orchestra requires up to 60 string players vs the average of 20 wind players. Even small orchestras are constantly looking for good string players, but there are thousands of band programs across the country producing many more wind players than needed. A student's' prospects of being professionally employed as a string player are much higher as a result. 

It's a simple supply and demand problem that is only being solved by outsourcing a lot of string playing to internationals because there are fewer and fewer Americans that can win the auditions in professional groups. Texas and other states are also switching band directors over to fill the teaching slot for orchestra. Both are not ideal.

It's also worth noting that with the isolationist policies being talked about now politically, orchestras, art organizations, and businesses alike are concerned about the future access to visas. This may make it difficult for them to accept international candidates as easily, which for better or worse will increase professional employment odds for string musicians even more.

     6 ~ The Gig Economy

I don't know about you, but about twice a week I encounter someone selling products on facebook or sending emails about their side income prospects (Plexus, Amway, Beauty products etc). It seems like everyone is looking for modest second incomes. 

I have never had to result to this for one reason alone: Private Lessons. With relatively little work on my part, I can teach a lesson for $30-50 and hour. That's a side income some people dream of, and it's simply because I know an instrument and how to teach it.

Musicians professional and otherwise, are called to play as well. If you can sight read and keep your skills up, there is no limit to the number of weddings, school and community musicals, church services, funerals, holidays and other events that require instrumental musicians. While few live on gig's alone, it's a wonderful side income doing something you enjoy while not having to bother all your friends. 

     7 ~ The Scholarships

If you decide to go into string playing, you will normally get scholarship. The best players are often offered full ride scholarships just like the best football players. 

Regardless, there is a return on student's investment. Many school band students go on to the marching band at college regardless of their major. It supplies them with a wonderful environment, a great college experience, small scholarships, and leadership opportunities. 

But almost every normal sized university has an orchestra, and some are begging for string students to fill out their orchestras! As well, it gives them a community on campus, something that all new students are challenged to develop.

If you are an excellent violinist doing your pre-med degree, the departments are not opposed to giving you some modest amounts to help them create a great orchestra on campus. While there are certainly exceptions and some major musical institutions that don't need this sort of help unless you are training for it, it's always worth a try!

Overall

String programs are incredibly valuable to a school's culture and a vital part of diverse arts offering in schools. If you value the academic elites in your schools, the orchestra is where you can find a majority of these students.

###

Rochester Philharmonic Terminates Contract with Conductor Arild Remmereit

Rochester  – The Board of Directors for the Rochester Philharmonic decided by vote on Wednesday Nov. 28th to suspend their contract with Conductor Arild Remmereit. The termination comes in Remmereits’s second year as Music Director and spurs from disagreements and “tension” between staff and Mr. Remmereit.

Conductor Arild Remmereit

Chairman Elizabeth F. Rice writes in the RPO’s blog that “tensions developed between him and members of the RPO staff, board, and orchestra.” After Craviso & Associates studied the situation and produced a remediation plan for everyone to follow, Remmereit was found to have not shown progress. After consulting with many people, the board states that “our assessment of these factors has proven to be accurate and we are very comfortable with our decision.”

Terminating Mr. Remmereit’s contract in a town that contains the Eastman School of Music has proven to be a public relations nightmare for the orchestra. Vice President of Communications Mark Berry has been doing his best to mitigate the damage, but orchestra patrons are furious given that they found Remmereit an exciting conductor and he was hailed by the board as an innovative choice. Perhaps too innovative?

Remmereit’s method of programming centered around lesser known composers, especially women and purposefully avoiding standard repertoire. Indeed a core value of the RPO is “A unique tradition of musical versatility” and they seemed fully onboard with Mr. Remmereit’s plan in the beginning.

What’s really at play here?

The board can’t say, but they freely admit the following:

“The decision to terminate Mr. Remmereit’s contract was made through thoughtful deliberation, and with a number of factors being considered, including the following:

• The input and reaction of the musicians
• The input and reaction of other RPO artistic leaders: Jeff Tyzik, Michael Butterman, and Christopher Seaman
• The ability to sustain our operations with competent and capable personnel
• The impact on major sponsors and patrons of the RPO
• The reaction of the general public
• The effect on year-end donations"

While they say money had no affect on the decision, there seems to be a lot pointing to declining ticket sales and ad revenue as a result. The orchestra doesn’t have a lot riding on attendance anyway, given that their total attendance (subtracting the 1,008,000 assumption in radio impressions) in 2011 was only 180,100 in 133 performances. That’s an average of 1,354 per concert and even the report admits approximate attendance and lists free outdoor concerts as 32,400 or 18% of the total. With an orchestra who’s budget relied on ticket sales for 48.1% of their budget, even a small reduction could be disaterous. In addition, there are reports that the orchestra is predicting fiscal year loss of $700,000, no doubt in part because of hiring of Craviso and Associates.

By the way, Let’s check out his long track record dealing with orchestras (Following information compiled by Drew McManus):

           

Regarding the Seattle Symphony Orchestra Labor Dispute:

“A number of sources familiar with Craviso’s record, all of whom asked not to be identified, disagree with Fogel’s assessment. They contend that Craviso has built a reputation for harming public perceptions of the orchestras he has worked with and debasing orchestra morale.”

~CityArts, 1/25/2010, Zach Carstensen

Regarding the New Hampshire Music Festival:

“The manager, David Graham, got the board to hire Henry Fogel as “Festival Director.” These two men have created a management nightmare… I’d love to know how much they spent on a lawyer, Ralph Craviso, who claimed he was not actually acting as their lawyer – “they have counsel in Concord,” – but he was present every time anybody talked with anybody else…The current management has no transparency and no civility. I think this may be because they have no money.”

~The Musicians of the New Hampshire Music Festival, 8/2009, Marian Archibald

Regarding the Jacksonville 2008 International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians Conference Minutes, 8/20/2008:

“The orchestra elected a very experienced negotiating committee and held elections early because management had expressed a desire to settle early. Unfortunately, management’s rhetoric didn’t match their intent as they returned a $100,000 grant, and cancelled a study so they could instead commission a $50,000 report from Thomas Wolf (the author of two previous League reports) that was filled with erroneous information and presented three summary scenarios, one of which included massive cuts or turning the orchestra into a per service orchestra. There was an enormous build-up in negative management tactics, included the hiring of union-busting attorney Ralph Craviso.”

Oh… and he was hired to resolve the Louisville Orchestra... except it’s still unresolved and non-union. Great place to get advice on conflict resolution!

It sounds like the RSO suffered a little bit of buyers remorse after finding out that  Remmereit's programming strategy doesn’t attract enough of an audience. There were also disagreements between Remmereit and CEO Charles H. Owens, so it is not surprising who came out on top.

This is all speculation. Until the board comes out with an official report, which it won’t, no one will know why he was terminated; but does anyone really need to know? An organization that has been suffering financially and a music director with a knack for relatively unknown programming was a disaster waiting to happen in the first place.

If I were the RPO, I would check out my core values and dispense with the “unique tradition of musical versatility” if the strategy isn't working for the bottom line.

Then I would probably focus on stuff like only 1.5% of the budget supported by recordings and shop purchases, the $832,577 being spent on Administration...

But once again - the real problem is a declining audience size at ticketed events:

• FY2008 – 140,000  in 87 events (Avg. 1,609)
• FY2009 – 136,000 in 87 Events (Avg. 1,563)
• FY2010 – 114,900 at 79 events (Avg. 1,454)
• FY2011 – 114,300 at 81 events (Avg. 1, 411)

I’m probably forgetting something, but that’s it for now.

~Drew

Glassmen Inc. Announces Debt Crisis

Sorry for the delay! New job in Houston has me very busy. Here is the latest:

Marching bands have become a staple of the American sports arena. Nearly every educational institution in America has come to rely on their bands to create a game-winning edge. During my tenure as Drum Major for the University of Cincinnati Bearcat Bands we were also called upon as entertainment for numerous charity events, official school events and even professional football half-time performances.

Purdue's "Block P" formation in 1922

While fans and athletic directors only need us to play the National Anthem and fight song, the band members know the goal is to have a clean and precise half-time show. This unique American art form started when Purdue and the University of Illinois began marching artistic formations in 1907. Since then it has evolved into a competitive sport with thousands of marching band competitions happening every Saturday in fall across the country. Their goal? Impress a panel of judges similar to that of gymnastics or figure skating.

What they all look up to is Drum Corps International – the Major League of marching arts. Don’t call them bands - what they do is not your average half-time show! With origins in the military, drum corps are made of 150 pre-professional brass, percussion and dancers with all the energy of a professional sports team and the precision of a military honor guard. They rehearse on weekends and spend a month perfecting their show from 9AM to 9PM before touring the country during the summer in front of the most consistent judges in the world and entertaining for millions with theatrics that play out like Broadway musicals without words.

A member of the Cavaliers Drum Corps performs while upside down

Here is the problem – What used to be hundreds of military organizations is now private with only 24 remaining “world class corps” that operate as non-profits with no ties to the military. DCI pays the corps a small amount per performance, but it cannot even begin to pay for the gas of transporting 150 members and support staff 10,000 miles. While corps members used to be paid for their work and entertainment, the financial strain on corps has made this impossible. Ironically, most members pay thousands for the “privilege” to be part of a corps.

Just recently, Glassmen Inc. from Toledo, Ohio joined the ranks of corps that are falling behind financially

“David Stinson, our Interim Executive Director, has been going through our finances with a fine-toothed comb. Dave, who is working without pay through the end of this calendar year, has determined that we will receive $550,000 from members, DCI appearance fees, and fund-raisers, but our anticipated annual operating budget is over $850,000. This leaves us with a gap of $300,000.”

Glassmen's latest image on their website

This is unprecedented for an organization of its size and prestige. The Glassmen have been part of the elite “top 12 corps” 16 times and hold the record for the corps with the most years of continuous improvement with 10 years of continuous growth in scores at their final competition. They have been in existence since the 1960’s in some shape or form and it seems they may not even be able to tour this summer. This past summer, the Glassmen even absorbed some members from Teal Sound and the Racine Scouts who suspended their summer tours for financial reasons.

This shows a disheartening trend for arts organizations in general from a financial perspective. DCI has been battling the finances by hosting fewer events, increasing the maximum corps size to 150 (thus making fewer corps to support on purpose) and seeking corporate sponsorships. They have a marketing budget, but it is very limited - not to mention that most marketers jaws would drop after being told how limited of a budget they had and the number of events they had to push to elicit a customer response. Attendance based fields across the board have been hurt as the sedentary life style in America continues eating at the numbers: Fine Arts Performances, Broadway, Professional Skating, Pop Music, NASCAR and even the NFL are seeing declining numbers.

Of course, television and technology is part of the answer, but DCI only markets the Finals in Indianapolis. This year that included a showing in "select movie theaters across America" for a grand total of 49,781 views. This seems high, but is much fewer than the .58 nielson rating in 2005 when it was shown on ESPN 2 in approximately 824,000 homes. Too bad ESPN kept the contract but won't televise it due to poor ratings (ESPN likes to average above 1.12). 

This list of hundreds of “inactive” corps compiled by fans says it all: Live performances in America need some help.

Go see a concert this week or go to a game – do something! Performance in America depends on it.

I'm probably forgetting something, but that's it for now!

Best,

~Drew

If you are interested in helping “Save the Glassmen,” visit Glassmen.org or click here

Symphonic Singles

I thought I would share a program a friend of mine mentioned. I thought was genius:

Somebody told me once about a new program in the town where she was from in which the symphony charged extra ($8 a person or something small) for people ages 25-40 who wanted to come an hour or so early before the concert to have drinks and/or meet singles! Apparently it worked really well! It sounds silly, but since it targeted an underrepresented age group in the concert hall, it probably made a big difference in audience demographics.

What a great idea! Just anecdotally, the Symphony is considered a good date night. In addition, this is that 25-40 segment that is difficult to reach in the orchestral world. While I imagine the Pop's might do better with this age range, yet another incentive to come out couldn't hurt, and certainly not the bottom line either.

I already feel bad for the ones that aren't successful though! Definitely bring a friend.

That's all for now!

Dayton Performing Arts Alliance Gets it Right

I promised we'd talk about innovation, not complaints, so it's time to look at examples of great art organizations and ideas in performing arts. Our first example is hot off the press and a shining example of innovation in arts administration:

Dayton, Ohio combines the Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Ballet and Dayton Opera into the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance

In the face of deficits in the business world, mergers and acquisitions can save companies bottom lines. Yet Orchestra's, Ballet's and Opera's have all acted independently in most major cities while costly borrowing performers from each other for their seasons. Dayton, Ohio has provided a first-of-its-kind solution! Declining ticket sales and decreased profitability led them to do a merger of three completely separate, yet dependent performing arts organizations.

From the news release in February 15, 2012: 

"Artistic directors Tom Bankston of Dayton Opera, Karen Russo Burke of Dayton Ballet and DPO music director Neal Gittleman will be retained under current orchestra manager Paul Helfrich, who will be the new group’s president and chief executive. 

A single board of trustees also will be formed. 

Mergers in the arts world are unusual and generally include two closely associated groups, such as a pair of museums. There is no known precedent in the U.S. for an arts group incorporating three varied organizations with budgets of more than $1 million" (Dayton Daily News, 2/15/2012)

This is an incredible effort of consolidation that is needed in the arts world. I heavily applaud Dayton's new Performing Arts Alliance and I encourage everyone in the area to support this new concept. 

The genius in this merger comes from combining business structures. Operating an orchestra is a difficult job for a Chief Financial Operator, but certainly not one that needs 9-5 with evenings and a large staff. Operating the budget for three different organizations now forces the business structure to grow and act more efficiently as a result, thus creating synergy! It's like how many of my friends get a lot more done when they have way too much to do, but can't finish a simple project when they have nothing to do.

“The merger of the Ballet, Opera, and Philharmonic represents some of our best collaborative thinking as a community,” said Dick DeLon, Dayton Philharmonic Board Chair. “We are planning for future success by creating a single management structure and business operating unit, while preserving and promoting the integrity and identity of each of the participating arts groups” (Culture Works 2/15/2012).

While creating cost efficiencies is probably the primary focus of the merger, I think the more exciting part about this merger is the potential for collaborations and better community outreach. With all performing organizations operating so close together, there is sure to be a lot happening in Dayton in the coming years! Bravo!

If you want to read more, Culture Works has a fantastic article highlighting the merger. 

10 Problems Facing Performing Arts

Welcome! 

I wanted to have a place to put down my thoughts about the world of American Music, Education, Arts Advocacy and Business Marketing. These are pretty broad topics all in all, but I believe they are connected more than they are different. In general my goal in life is this: Make performing art valuable to the people of America. 

Approaching this topic from a negative perspective of "musicians aren't given enough/everyone takes advantage of artists/people don't care about orchestral music, ballet and art" is not useful. As such, the point of this blog is to highlight successes, pose questions and find solutions! If we as an industry sit back and complain, we are no different than every failed business venture that decided to not adapt to the changing world. The most successful industries are those that embrace change and seek innovation (Apple, Google, Amazon, Hulu, etc). 

But before I begin looking at solutions, here is a list of problems that have inspired me to take up this cause (Yes, they are mostly musical in nature, but I am hoping to broaden my focus):

1. What does this list of major orchestras have in common?

• Philadelphia Orchestra
• Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
• Louisville Orchestra
• New Mexico Symphony Orchestra
• Savannah Symphony Orchestra
• San Diego Symphony 
• Colorado Symphony
• Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• Pittsburgh Symphony

Each of these Orchestras are either bankrupt or had to make steep cuts in compensation to musicians/employees in recent history. This is not even a short list, as I'm sure there are dozens of other orchestras and arts organizations in the nation that are in danger.

2. The jobs in the professional orchestra world are declining, while at the same time excellent music schools are taking on and producing more musicians

This is only really half the story though. Many of these schools are filling to capacity to balance their own checkbooks. Either way, the economic law of supply and demand has produced an excess of talented musicians, some of whom are unfortunately dear friends of mine.

3. Ohio's School Levy Funding system 

For those not familiar, Ohio schools funded by property tax. Here is the kicker though: You only pay taxes based on the original appraisal of your house and you as a community have to vote to raise your taxes to support schools...

I don't know about you, but even I (an avid educational supporter) am tempted to check no on that box! And if you live in an area with a lot of private school students or older population with no kids, good luck! This has now changed, but it is yet to go in effect and consistent funding is still a problem.

Its complicated, but not surprisingly arts are one of the first things to go! Just in my area Lakota School District, Little Miami School District, and Forest Hills School District (just to name a few) have had to assess major cuts in music, extra-curricular offerings, bussing, and even core curriculum teaching staff!

4. No one seems to likes Classical Music (except other musicians and my grandma)

I hate to say it... but if we as an industry are trying to secure a stable long-term audience for the future, we aren't really doing a good job of making it worth young peoples' time. Every symphony concert I have been to has been an AARP convention to the point where I am surprised when I see young people and families.

Pop's concerts obviously do a lot better, but they are the bain of the musicians. A professional oboist after slaving over the first 32 bars of Le Tombeau de Couprin for 7 years just to win Littletown's Principal spot might use his reed knife to stab his eye out when asked to play unison whole notes with Oboe II, compete with Trumpets at a written ffff and play 2 octave ascending scales in one beat. 

(This comes with the hearty exception of John Williams, who seems to be able to bring even the best orchestra closer to their music and break a sweat... Too bad copyright on his music for one ticketed performance is worth the entire orchestra's left kidney.)

5. The majority of Art is lacking one thing: Spontaneity


This came as a surprise to me in a Sports Marketing class! It was literally covered on day one and seems to be the number one reason the sporting industry thinks they are different from music. We're confined by scrips, notes on the page, choreography and repetition. Such a simple problem with no real solution yet.

6. Performing Arts are not profitable


This is probably one of the biggest hinderances to the resilience of art. I have heard this named as the number one thing holding back arts from being standard in schools from federal politicians. While no one likes to admit that profitability is the core to success, the reality is that in a capitalist society profitability is the definition of success. We must attempt to change this to remain competitive and sustain our cause and craft long term. The big question remains to what extent do we sacrifice creation to make it more profitable?

7. Recording is not actually our friend


I don't know many people that own any more than one recording of a symphony. Even then, only a few recordings are usually "standard." Lets say Lady Gaga produces a track and it yields $1,000,000. If she had 50 different recordings of the same song (akin to the many recordings of a symphony), each only makes $20,000 on average. Thus the recording industry is not really friendly to performing organizations due to a lack of exclusivity.

Large musicals like Wicked have capitalized on this by not ever releasing recordings of their shows, but that train has left the opera, ballet and orchestra world long ago.

8. Arts presentations are intimidating


I have had many people tell me that they don't go to orchestra concerts because they don't feel like they belong. The silence between movements, formal dress and swanky conversations between aging philanthropists is a very intimidating environment to someone on the outside. So much so that they will often only go if they are with someone who knows what is going on. I have seen parents avoid their own child's concert because they felt intimidated!

Knowing how to act at an arts event is like being a freshman at a college sporting event student section and not knowing any of the cheers or songs for the school. When we feel out of the loop, it's intimidating and embarrassing. If no one is there to tell you what to do, you often have a bad experience and don't return.

9. We advertise creators more often than performers


This one is hotly debatable, but we place a lot more emphasis on Beethoven's 5th than we do on Chicago's playing of Beethoven's 5th. Since the outside world hears from us the composers name more often than the performers name, there is split value. To prove my point, I am willing to put money on a non-musician being able to name more composers than soloist performers (and Yo-yo Ma doesn't count). This might not be detrimental, but it takes the focus off the performer. How many people off the street know the writer of Wicked? Probably fewer than those that know Idina Menzel played the lead role.

10. Everyone has lost hope


Probably the saddest thing to me is seeing how many people perform for anemic audience sizes and their response is "thats typical. No one wants to see us." If we as a group want to change that perception, we have to believe we can change it. It is time for action on the part of the arts community to raise awareness and reform our perceptions of what works vs. what just gets us by.

If we are convinced that the future of orchestras and operas and ballets and everything else is simply a museum piece, that will be our future.

The future of performing arts lies in creative and risky solutions, not more of the same. 


I'm probably forgetting something, but that's it for now...