Arts Triage
A career in arts admin presupposes a strong work ethic and an insatiable appetite for challenge. There’s always more to be done than hours in which to do it. That’s when 21st-century productivity apps take a back seat to this 200-year-old strategy from the Napoleonic Wars. I’m sure many of you are familiar with triage: sorting the work that lies before you based on how much your effort will reap. It involves zeroing in on ...
The Musician’s Guide to Public Speaking
Many of us arts admin types were performing artists in a former life. So when we get called upon to speak to patrons/donors/staff/colleagues/board members, we welcome the opportunity to be in front of people, right? Uh, right… If you find yourself a reluctant spokesperson for your company or brand, I encourage you to use your musician chops to shape and polish your public speaking skills. Embrace the Silence Was it Debussy who reminded us that ...
All About That (Data)base
I have a lousy memory but a fabulous database system. Wolf Trap Opera gets frequent inquiries about the tools and processes we use to track the thousands of singers who audition for our company. The answer? A robust Filemaker Pro database. I’ve suffered unhappily through forced usage of Access, Quark and other clunky database programs. Unlike these cousins, Filemaker is customizable, elegant and versatile. Its capabilities far outreach what most of us need, but it is ...
Thank you for the authoritative read on this issue. To me, being able to actually see the icon in the…