A Good Perspective

I recently finished reading Walking in Two Worlds: A Librarian’s Perspective by Karen Schnackenberg, chief librarian for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The article was published in the Symphony Orchestra Institute’s October, 2003 edition of “Harmony”. If they ever decide to legalize cloning I would suggest they start with Karen, as the orchestra world can certainly use about 50 more people just like her. I’ll hit a few of the highlights here, …

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Recent developments in San Antonio

I recently learned of a major development in the San Antonio Symphony situation. Steven Brosvik, recently resigned as the symphony Executive Director. The San Antonio Express ran a story in their Saturday, November 22nd edition. You can read the story here. A short time ago, I ran a blog that mentions Mr. Brosvik, which you can find here. You can also read about recent developments related to getting the San Antonio Symphony performing …

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Reader Response: Power to the People

I recently received an eloquent letter from Frank in Alexandria, a reader that considers himself a “knowledgeable nonprofessional classical music activist” (I like that term). I believe he has some important insight to share:“In my judgment the factors underlying the maiaise with America’s magnificent classical music system were already identified long ago, one of the eloquent expressions being by Leonard Bernstein in his book of the early 60’s, where he speaks …

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What do you consider professional?

During a recent concert intermission, I struck up a conversation with an orchestra patron newbie. I always enjoy talking to patrons about their experiences and observations and this conversation was no exception, save for one small question. Toward the end of our talk he asked a question about the musicians: “So what do these guys do for a day job” Unfortunately, the house lights were flickering and we had to get …

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Back in town…

 Well after being away from the computer for a few days, I’m glad to be back. Stay tuned because after I get caught back up, we’ll discuss accountability, salary issues, finding a new audience, continue earlier discussions about education, and more from reader responses.  In the meantime, there is some great content in the October issue of Harmony at the Symphony Orchestra Institute.  There are several articles related to orchestra management, …

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