Addressing Sidestepping Issues Head On

In the wake of a growing public relations quagmire over the US&O’s closed-then-open-but-now-twice-as-much subscription policy for Third Tier seats in the upcoming 2007-2008 season, the chairman of the organization’s marketing and public relations committee, E. Jeffery Smith, wrote a letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune to assure the local public that all was well. Unfortunately, the letter casually sidesteps many concerns subscribers have been publicly complaining about…

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TAFTO 2007 Contribution – Connie Linsler Valentine

As TAFTO 2007 comes to a close we bring the program around full circle: we started with a contribution from a manager and we’ll end with a contribution from a manager. Nashville Chamber Orchestra executive director Connie Linsler Valentine approaches the TAFTO idea be allowing you to walk a mile in her shoes. In particular, she takes you through the perspective of someone on the inside of a classical music ensemble and the paths taken when designing a concert experience…

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TAFTO 2007 Contribution – Henry Peyrebrune

The last entry in “The Three Bassists” series is Cleveland Orchestra bassist, Henry Peyrebrune; a musician who has as much command over the written word as he does the language of music. The result is an entirely thought provoking TAFTO contribution that focuses directly on some key concerns every patron should spend some time thinking about…

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TAFTO 2007 Contribution – Jason Heath

Imagine there was a website that had everything you could possibly want to know about the double bass presented in a fun format, like if Steve Jobs could re-invent the Groves Dictionary of Music (iGroves – don’t laugh, it’s probably in development already). Fortunately, you don’t have to imagine; instead, visit Jason Heath’s doublebassblog.com, the virtual repository for all things double bass.

The second in “The Three Bassists” series of TAFTO 2007 contributions, Jason uses his experience as an “orchestral infantryman” to come up with ideas for what musicians can do to make the concert experience better…

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TAFTO 2007 Contribution – Roger Ruggeri

POP QUIZ: What do rattlesnake hunting, taxidermy, and binge drinking have in common with orchestra concerts?!? To find out the answer, you’ll have to read Roger Ruggeri’s TAFTO 2007 contribution. The first in our Three Basses series, Milwaukee Symphony bassist, Roger Ruggeri, is not only a professional musician but he’s also an accomplished composer, program annotator, lecturer, and expert in orchestra governance.

After all, there’s nothing quite as comforting as having a guide who has “been there, done that” when you’re seriously thinking bout charting unknown waters and that’s precisely what TAFTO readers will find with Roger’s contribution. And since you might have dodge rattlesnakes on the way to the taxidermy shop all while nursing a killer hangover you acquired after attending your first orchestra concert, having a knowledgeable guide along just sounds better and better…

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