As my four loyal readers already know, I recently changed jobs. So, after three weeks in the new post, what do I think of my new position?

It’s different.

When I worked in the Music Department, I was part of a pretty big team. I interacted with about 15 to 20 colleagues on a daily basis, and I had 60+musicians that I saw pretty regularly. Now I’m part of a team of two, so it’s a very different dynamic.

It was pretty clear on the first day that I have a lot of learning to do about a lot of things. My first meeting was with a theatre company, and I was completely out of my element discussing regional theatre companies and Canadian playwrights. A few days later we met with an art gallery, and again I hadn’t heard of any of the galleries, curators, or artists (aside from Emily Carr). It is a daunting task to become familiar with such a wide range of disciplines and artists, but I think it will ultimately be very rewarding.

I have a much nicer office, with real furniture, seating for guests, and a window. Don’t get excited – the window looks onto another office, and I can only see through it if I stand on my chair. Still, it’s a significant improvement over my previous hovel.

I haven’t forgotten my orchestra roots entirely. I’m still keenly interested in the business, and I’ve been keeping up with most of the industry news – four new Concertmasters in Seattle, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony hired a new General Manager, new contracts for Chicago and Philadelphia, etc. I haven’t gone to an orchestra concert yet, but it’s just the first week. I will probably go to one of the Beethoven festival concerts this week, and I’ll be at the big gala concert on Saturday.

I’m happy with my decision, and the first few weeks have only reinforced for me that the new role will help me develop a whole new set of skills. I will probably end up back with an orchestra someday, but in the meantime I’m looking forward to booking punk bands and string quartets.