If your day is spent managing a chorus, then you know all too well how Murphy’s Law and the ongoing needs of your staff and board can exacerbate the ability to get your own work done.

All the accountability checks in the world won't prevent lousy decisions if board members, managers, and artistic leaders lack teamwork and communications chemistry. Cultivate a healthy culture that brings out the best group traits of your board.

In the 2005 study, Choral Conductors Today, Chorus America learned that as many as one-third of choruses are conducted by their founders, and furthermore that a majority of these choruses were founded a generation or more ago. This data suggests that a large number of choruses will be facing significant leadership transitions and indeed, experience in the intervening years has borne out this assertion.

We can all tell stories about things we did that derailed a solicitation or embarrassed us (even if we got the gift!). Mistakes may be inevitable, but our awareness of them can reduce their frequency. Increase your prospects for success by understanding these common misperceptions about fundraising.

Raising money can pose tough ethical dilemmas. Luckily, guidance is available to help you discern right from wrong. 

People came from across the country to celebrate the farewell concert of the Dale Warland Singers. What can we learn from a chorus that achieves the pinnacle of aristic acclaim when it decides to close its doors after 31 years—what is the cost of excellence and when is it time to say goodbye?

Are you frustrated by your board's effectiveness in raising dollars? Finding the right board leaders can yield rich dividends. We explore some of the best techniques for getting your board 'on board'.

Developing a dynamic board requires identifying a pool of strong candidates, the ability to select the right ones for your organization, and an effective board orientation. It is also important to engage and educate your trustees, to have an effective board rotation plan, to ensure that your representation is diverse, and to evaluate performance so that your board improves with age. And of course, it is always important to show your appreciation to the trustees who give your arts organization its special personality.

Choruses undergo many transitions in their life span—founder transitions, music director transitions, transitions from volunteer to paid staff. Perhaps the most delicate of these important transitions is the evolution from a singer board to a community board. This shift from a board comprised predominately of singers who have responsibility for every facet of the organization to a governing body with broad community representation can be both a challenging and lengthy process.

What image comes to mind when you hear the term founder transition? Do you think tempest? Do you think sunset cruise? During my work as an arts management consultant I have encountered many organizations navigating a founder transition. This experience has given me a great deal of respect for those who have made successful founder transitions and is the basis for the observations and suggestions I share with organizations facing this important evolution.