In Tuesday’s (10/27) Buffalo News (New York), Mary Kunz Goldman writes, “It takes a lot of skills to become a bank manager. Conducting a symphony by Johannes Brahms is not usually one of them. Which is why the M&T Bank managers-in-training gathered one morning on stage at Kleinhans Music Hall may have thought they were dreaming. Brahms’ noble, romantic First Symphony is billowing from speakers. The bankers, all in their 20s and 30s, are waving batons to the beat under the watchful eye of Maestro Paul Ferington. … It’s all in the name of making them better managers, says Jamie Shrock of M&T’s human resources department. Shrock, who used to play the bassoon professionally, is married to BPO percussionist Mark Hodges. They met in her bassoon days, at a music festival in the Grand Tetons. In her current banking job, she was struck by the connections between banking and music. … She and Hodges came up with the concept of the Druminar, a way to introduce the business people to the lessons that can be learned through music—leadership, communication and teamwork, for instance. Ferington, who is extensively involved in BPO education efforts, stepped forward to assist.”
Posted October 28, 2009
