Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
One of the chief complaints I have about this business is its apparent inability to establish an appropriate frame of reference. For example, things change slowly in the world of orchestra management, so slowly that it seems like even an evolutionary timeline measures change in smaller intervals. Adequate levels of adaptation have been absent for so long that even the slightest introduction of change is heralded by some as “significant progress”. …
Preparations for Take a Friend to Orchestra month are in full swing. There are a few more names to add to the existing list of guest contributors: Paul Bailey: Musician & composer Henry Fogel: President, American Symphony Orchestra League Kyle Gann: Composer, musicologist, and music critic; The Village Voice Frank Manheim: Knowledgeable nonprofessional classical music activist Charles Noble: Assistant principal violist, Oregon Symphony & classical music blogger Plus there’s a few …
A few days ago, Greg Sandow presented a scenario and posed a good question regarding whether or not the average patron would be interested in all of the non artistic issues within their local orchestra. In particular, he was wondering if a concert review of a last minute change in repertoire (which as a result increased the cost of the performance) should be worth mentioning in a concert review, I’ve been …
I received the sad news yesterday that the Nashville Symphony’s long time music director, Kenneth Schermerhorn passed away early at the Vanderbilt Medical Center on Monday, April 18th, 2005. Maestro Schermerhorn led the Nashville Symphony for 22 years and oversaw everything from the organization filing for bankruptcy in the 1980’s through their recent grand accomplishment of commencing construction on their new $120 million dedicated concert hall which is named for the …
As odd as it may seem, some of the most intriguing signs that classical music isn’t entirely removed from the cultural consciousness are coming from the FOX television network. In an episode of their sitcom Malcolm in the Middle they included classical music as an integral part of the story line. Last night’s episode had the show’s title character, Malcolm (a teenage academic genius), enroll in a music appreciation class at …