TAFTO 2007 Contribution – Frank J. Oteri

Although Take A Friend To Orchestra is in its third year, there has only been one instance of a contributor actually taking someone to a concert event. Fortunately, Frank J. Oteri marches to the beat of a quarter tone drummer and I’m glad to say that he jumped right into the spirit of TAFTO with both feet and took a friend to a concert in only the way he could…

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TAFTO 2007 Contribution – Paul Alter

It isn’t a TAFTO month if there isn’t an entry from someone who isn’t a musician, manager, or critic. As such, Paul Alter, a self described “practicing music addict”, contributes to TAFTO 2007 with a round of practical advice. Moreover, Paul takes us back into U.S. orchestral history. Way back. All the way back to the days of 78-rpm records and Victrolas.

Having such a comprehensive look at how orchestras and their concert environments have changed over the decades is a real treat and seeing it from the perspective of someone in the audience makes it even more special…

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TAFTO 2007 Contribution – Galen H. Brown

Some people don’t think about classical music at all while others think about it occasionally. Then there are people like composer and blogger Galen Brown who think about classical music a lot. Really, I can’t understate that point: a lot. And when classical music is on the brain to that degree, it is difficult to separate it from the other aspects of life; instead, it intertwines with all that you experience.

Case in point, Galen’s TAFTO contribution does a wonderful job at taking you through a lifetime of defining moments and key observations which conspire to create something entirely useful and fascinating. Then again, what else would you expect from a composer…

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TAFTO 2007 Contribution – Kim Pensinger Witman

The second offering in our pair of Take A Friend To The Orchestra Opera contributions is from Kim Witman, who holds the distinct honor of being an arts manager who got in on the ground floor of “behind the scenes” arts blogging. Her blog aims to allow both patrons and aspiring opera performers to see what’s really happening on the other side of the footlights and the audition table. Sometimes it’s exactly what you expect, other times it isn’t.

Regardless, Kim’s blog, as well as her TAFTO contribution, assure that you’ll learn something new and fascinating which will bring you closer to one of the few live performing art forms which allow patrons to revel equally in both sight and sound…

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