The problem with this seemingly agreeable statement is that it assumes an arts manager is trained. Yes, a good manager must have a complete grasp of both artistic and business necessities. The problem with the vast majority of managers out there today is that they honestly believe that they are an 'artistic thinker.' Most are woefully incapable of fully appreciating the necessary talent that comprises the players and the level of training, dedication, and sheer gifts necessary to accomplish winning a position in a symphony orchestra. They may claim that they understand and may have even earned some sort of degree in music but they tend to be failed performers or attended a hack institution to begin with. They never achieved the level of excellence necessary to qualify the claim that they posses artistic vision.

Here's a prime example of the pervading insolence among today¹s arts administrators: salary. The average executive director (president and/or CEO) draws a base salary (not including bonuses, retirement, and other incentive based pay) of between 1.6 and 7.35 times more than the base pay for a section musician in their respective organizations (based on figures from charitynavigator.com and AFM.org). That averages to 4.18 times more than the base level of talent that comprises the ensemble. There isn't a single arts administrator out there today worth that much money. Not a solitary individual among them can honestly say they are worth more than 4 times what the lowest paid player. The reason the inequality exists is their complete lack of understanding what it is to be truly artistically qualified, but they believe that they are.

The BBC broadcasts commercial-free 'serious' music nationwide on Radio 3 twenty-four hours a day. It provides live performances of classical music through the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Singers, among others, all year long. It funds and hosts the country's biggest music festival, the Proms, which it also broadcasts on radio, TV and now the web, and for which it commissions a significant number of new works each year.

Given the BBC's size, it's easy to forget that it's a non-profit organisation. Its ambitious mission is well defined. In the words of a great American lyricist 'Who could ask for anything more?'