Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
It’s not an uncommon practice for orchestras to subcontract out the services of their ensemble to the local opera companies. Orchestras from smaller budget ROPA ensembles, like Richmond (VA) through larger ICSOM groups, like St. Louis, do it on a regular basis. However, what works in one locale does not necessarily transfer equally to another. Most organizations attempt to make the relationship as symbiotic as possible, but that’s not always how …
I returned from Caracas very late last evening and am just getting acclimated back from the wonderful hospitality of my Venezuelan and New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic orchestra hosts. I’ll be taking a few days to catch up on everything but there’s much to discuss about what I encountered during the past four days. The Venezuelan program is full of significant relevance to what’s been happening here in the U.S. and …
I’m off to Caracas for a few days for my excellent Venezuelan adventure (details of which were posted a few days ago). If I can wrangle some internet access while I’m away I’ll post a play by play of the events. I received a note from Ben Zander, who is already on site, this morning telling me that I can’t expect what’s about to hit me. He described the classical music …
Following the article from 6/13/05 about musician tenure and artistic review issues, I received a flurry of email on the subject. Most of it was from musicians, ranging from those just entering the business to seasoned veterans.
After going through all of the messages there was a central theme beginning to emerge which nearly every responder touched on; preventing the need for artistic review related arbitration in the first place.
Starting Thursday, I’ll be away for several days as I’ve been invited to Caracas, Venezuela to follow Benjamin Zander and the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra at the New England Conservatory as they perform along side the Venezuelan National Youth Orchestra. Although the trip has been put together last minute, I’m fully expecting it to be a very rewarding experience. Furthermore, the trip should produce some timely follow up material to the articles about …