QATAR FOUNDATION

In the summer of 2008, Mr. McManus traveled to Doha, Qatar to serve as the lead consultant in developing a comprehensive organizational and operational model for a $60 million orchestra and music academy project.

The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a private, chartered, nonprofit organization, founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar. Guided by the principle that a nation’s greatest resource is the potential of its people, Qatar Foundation aims to develop that potential through a network of centers devoted to progressive education, research and community welfare. the Qatar Foundation supports a network of centers and partnerships with elite institutions. These centers have various themes which include Education, Research, Social Welfare etc.

Selected from a wide range of international firms in a competitive bidding process, Mr. McManus organized and managed a team of existing Foundation personnel to review the proposed mission goals for the Western and Arabic ensembles as well as the academy. The initial work consisted of more than 30 individual interviews and reviewing extensive amounts of existing documentation. The development stage included designing a comprehensive organizational and operational model for the entire project including, but not limited to:

• A fit for purpose organizational structure in light of the objectives, international best practices, and cultural concerns.
• Creation of more than 30 fit for purpose job descriptions for all administrative and artistic/musical leadership positions within the project.
• Creation of a compensation scale for orchestra and support administrators based on international benchmarks.
• Formation of a three year business plan for the Philharmonic component.
• Crafting a unique set of bylaws for the Governing Board.

Additional work included a line-item review of all initial purchases and subsequently working with the Qataris to streamline the process which resulted in saving the organization more than $8 million in start-up expenses while increasing operational effectiveness. The final stages of the development process included designing an employment contract for 101 Philharmonic musicians that provided vastly improved job protections and improved working conditions over the originally proposed contract.

After becoming fully versed in the Qataris needs,program goals, and the cultural working environment, a final program was completed drawing from international best practices that best suited the challenges facing the program while also creating many new systems of operation that satisfied unique Qatari needs.

The project concluded with a four day long Governing Board retreat where Mr. McManus enlightened members about the variety of governance models across all countries which support a culture of professional Western European orchestras. Afterward, Mr. McManus took the members though their new operational bylaws and the music program’s new strategic plan. After a period of positive discussion, the Governing Board unanimously adopted 100 percent of recommendations contained in the final report.

Perhaps the most impressive component of the project was that it was completed over the course of only seven weeks.

INTERNAL GOVERNANCE AND MODERNIZATION PROJECT

In order to benefit from all that collective organization can offer, your players’ association needs to develop a clearly defined internal culture. As such, the Internal Governance And Modernization Project, IGAMP for short, is a unique program designed to develop an internal culture within a players’ association. Based on the bedrock principles of successful collective representation, it fosters a system of sustainable representation that produces representatives empowered with the authority to accurately represent their colleagues, resulting in:

• Improved communication between players, musician and managers, as well as musicians and boards.
• A cohesive vision for the organization from the players’ perspective.
• Improved internal organization and governance.
• Enhanced representation at the committee level.
• A defined definition of representation.
• Enhanced negotiation preparation and marginalizing natural stressors during bargaining cycles.
• Creating a sincere sense of ownership in the organization.

The IGAMP process results in a series of easy-to-use operation guidebooks, templates, and resource material designed especially for committee members, representatives, and musicians alike. This work will include how committee members can create unbiased surveys, how representatives should conduct themselves and take notes during meetings (administrative & committee), how to run committee and rank & file meetings, clarifying the committee election process, how to listen to and interact with colleagues, creation of an new member orientation/reference package, creating an institutional history booklet, refine the skill of unbiased representation (otherwise known as the Duty of Fair Representation), how to establish PR relationships with the media, and much more.

All of these documents will be created over a predetermined timeline with firm deadlines for deliverables spelled out in a detailed work contract.

ORCHESTRA COMPENSATION REPORTS

One of the most popular and eagerly anticipated annual events at Adaptistration are the Annual Orchestra Compensation Reports. Published in June of each year, the reports examine the compensation trends among orchestra executives, music directors, concertmasters, and base musicians at 76 professional U.S. orchestras. A comprehensive index of past reports are available here.

Although the compensation tables are removed at the beginning of Fall each year, the copy from each article is available at all times.

For complete compensation data for 76 professional orchestras starting from the 1999/00 season though the most recent available season (updated each June), a subscription to Adaptistration Premium provides year-round access. All data is presented in easy to use charts and graphs which include average compensation figures for each category per season as well as changes from one season to the next. Get your subscription to Adaptistration Premium here.

ORCHESTRA WEBSITE REVIEWS

Every September since 2004, professional symphonic orchestra websites in the U.S. and Canada examined and ranked by how well they present their concert schedule, sell tickets, provide organizational information, facilitate making donations, and on overall content and functionality. The reviews are published in a series of articles appearing at Adaptistration and users can gain access to detailed orchestra review results by purchasing a subscription to Adaptistration Premium.