‘Orchestras better with manager’

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33917, 9 August 1975, Page 16

‘Orchestras better with manager’

A single proficient ( manager is better for a' young and forwardlooking orchestra thdn aj board of management, one of Europe’s outstanding musical entrepreneurs (Mr W. Van Wyck) said in Christchurch yesterday. Mr Van Wyck, who is in Christchurch to discuss the engagement of overseas performers for the Arts Festival, said that all orchestras had their peculiar administrative problems, to which there were no easy answers. He was quick to add that he knew nothing of the Christchurch orchestra, and his opinions had been gathered from 40 years of observation of successfully administered professional orchestras. Mr Van Wyck defined the general manager as a man who knitted the whole orchestra together, giving it purpose and a sense of financial security. Working closely with the

conductor, he was “the man [at the top.” A man at the top was a better proposition than a board at the top. “In my opinion, though you appreciate I am not familiar with Christchurch’s problems, I have found that the greater the numbers on the board, the less efficient the orchestra is likely to be. “Given that you have appointed the right man as general manager, there should be’no board. If this is not the case, the smaller the administrative board, the better — fewer around to meddle. “Where you have a large board, it is continuously sub-

ject to pressure groups, who "get at” members, and try to push this or that person around. In a case like this, the general manager’s position becomes impossible. “He has to put into practice the will of the majority of the board, even if he is violently opposed to its decisions.”

Mr Van Wyck said that in his experience boards could be quasi-political, and made up of groups with a strong financial interest, but who were not professional, though inclined to talk a lot on subjects beyond their knowledge. The most effective course of action for an orchestra was to appoint a top-class general manager, who, when he made his contract, clearly designated the extent of his powers and duties. If he were not given I powers adequate to do his job, he would be a wise man who declined the appointment, Mr Van Wyck said. It was not important that

local bodies should be represented on a board of management. “They may wish to be, but if you have first class management, the less interference you have from outside bodies, the better.” However, lift had to be taken as it came, and local bodies invariably wanted a watching brief on proceedings. The general manager, nevertheless, if he was responsible to the board, was a man whose opinions counted very heavily, by virtue of his very wide understanding of the orchestral world. All great general managers he knew of had been given a free hand in running their orchestra. The employers were happy to appoint him, and “let him get on with it,” Mr Van Wych said. Necessarily, the general manager and the conductormusical director worked in very close harness (though sensitively avoiding job overlap) so that the general man-.

ager was thoroughly informed and had the feeling of the orchestra. Good musical administrators were very difficult to find, because classical music was not in a position to offer large and attractive salaries. For the amount of work and dedication required, a prospective general manager could probably earn twice as much if he went into electronics. The basis of a good orchestral structure was an economic one. “You get what you pay for,” Mr Van Wych said. “Able men are not around in quantity. Naturally they want to get the best they can for themselves, and their salary should be commensurate with their age and experience.” Able men and peanuts were not sold for the same price. As a result good men were not generally available to young and aspiring orchestras. An orchestra for a town of Christchurch’s status, need look no further than a gifted, youngish man, but not so voung that he had not established a repertoire, or had time to develop something significant to say in music. He needed also to be a good technician and a strong personality, able to impose his wishes on the orchestra, and to control a touchy body of players. If he were a man to whom players could relate as a counsellor of sorts he could probably establish a very happy relationship with the orchestra, Mr Van Wyck said.

Fatal accident (N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, August 8. An elderly woman died after she was knocked down by a car in King Street, Pukekohe, this morning. She was Mrs Maude Elizabeth Mayes, of Collie Road, Pukekohe.