Saving Performing Arts

When Ernest Auerbach took the helm at Austin Opera in 2011, the organization had been in existence for twenty-five years and was near bankruptcy. In the years leading up to the financial disaster, the Operas well-meaning board of trustees and staff leadership had somehow lost sight of the fact that while opera is an art, running an opera is a business. Now it was up to Auerbach to save it from collapse.

Auerbacha seasoned military leader and corporate executiveprovides insight into the business model he developed to achieve a financial and artistic turnaround at Austin Opera as well as examples, methods, and tools that will help other performing arts organizations design their own sustainable business model and avoid a downward turn. Nonprofit leaders will learn how to:


Recognize signs of an impending disaster

Gain trust and effectively communicate with allies

Develop priorities during a financial crisis

Focus on organizational details while maintaining a mission

Keep patrons, donors, and trustees happy


Saving Performing Arts is a concise survival guide designed to help performing arts organizations avoid trouble and become successful organizations with excellent future prospects and money in the bank.

A great lesson in leadership for those in every sector of the performing arts.

Kevin Smith, Opera America field consultant