Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
The argument of old music vs. new music has been raging for decades and in recent years it’s taken a severe turn as orchestras scramble to keep their audiences. As a result, some artistic managers are pushing to program standard repertoire and other works they believe will be the most “audience friendly”. In the end, this strategy will only be self defeating as the real value of classical music is how …
I received a press release this morning from the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra announcing that their president & CEO, Simon Woods, has accepted a position as the Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and will leave the organization by July 1st, 2005. The press release goes on to state that the orchestra’s board chair, Dr. Victor Parsonnet, will be assuming the executive role in a supervisory position until a …
At the end of last week, I published an article which examined a new marketing initiative from the Canton Symphony. Since then, quite a few readers took the time to send an email about the idea of a calendar like this. Additionally, I took the time to call the Canton Symphony president & CEO, Linda Moorhouse, to talk to her about the project. Drew McManus: What are the motives behind the …
As the Utah Symphony & Opera begins their European tour, they’ll be traveling without one of their long time members; violinist Misha Boguslavsky. Mr. Boguslavsky passed away last month from complications due to diabetes and heart disease. Mr. Boguslavsky was one of the handful of musicians who came to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union during the days of the Cold War. I remember growing up in latter half of …
Perhaps classical music isn’t so far removed form cultural consciousness than we thought. On last evening’s episode of The Simpsons, the town of Springfield’s Cultural Advisory Board determines that the best way to raise their cultural standing compared to their refined neighbors in Shelbyville is to build a new concert hall. To put themselves at the cusp of the cultural edge they contact Frank Gehry to design their hall (Mr. Gehry …