Year: 2005

Who are these musician people anyway?  They’re usually seen dressed in black like some sort of formal super hero with a secret identity we never get to learn.  Today’s Take a Friend to Orchestra contribution comes from one of those formal super heroes, Charles Noble,  the Assistant Principal violist for the Oregon Symphony.  His contribution serves to strip away some of the mystery so you can see that they have alter egos just like everyone else.

If you’re fortunate enough to already know some of the musicians in your local orchestra, make sure you try to find an opportunity where you can meet up with them at some point in the concert event and introduce them to your friend.

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John Luther Adams once said of Kyle Gann "[He] is a force of nature. Composer, performer, author, critic, scholar, educator  Like the weather, he seems to be everywhere at once – a commanding presence in the landscape of American music." Add to that list; blogger.  I’m fortunate to be right next door to Kyle’s blog, PostClassic, here at Arts Journal. 

Once you start reading what Kyle writes you just can’t stop and his TAFTO contribution is no exception.  He espouses listener empowerment and encourages everyone to learn how to appreciate music on their own terms.  If you were stranded on a desert island without internet access and had to take a friend to a concert (just go with it), a hard copy of Kyle’s contribution could easily serve as your bible.

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Since we all can’t be professional musicians or veteran orchestra managers with the confidence to take someone to an orchestra concert and show them the ropes it pays to look at things from the eyes of someone on the outside looking in.

The average experienced orchestra patron probably believes that they don’t know very much about music (although that’s usually not the case) or at least not enough to give them enough confidence to go out and serve as a guide for someone new to the experience. 

As such, we are fortunate to have George Hunka (an individual who is not involved with the world of classical music in any professional capacity) offer to share his thoughts.  George is a professional playwright with a degree in Languages and Literature from Bard College and has been writing his popular blog, Superfluities, for exactly one month longer than Adaptistration has been up.

Looking in from the outside is good

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U.K. based harpist extraordinaire, Helen Radice, is one of the most imaginative music bloggers around today.  Her weblog, Twang, Twang, Twang (I bet you don’t forget that name), contains paragraph after paragraph of razor edge wit and observation about the music world and other sundry items as she sees fit to include them.

Although much of that wit is undoubtedly natural, it must have certainly been refined during her time at Oxford, where she graduated with a first in English Literature.  Her contribution is a representative example of that refined proficiency and provides the Take a Friend to Orchestra program a heavyweight submission which touches every portion of this business yet seamlessly connects them together. It’s filled with numerous quotes you’ll be turning over in your head for weeks to come!

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