What better way to wrap up TAFTO 208 than with a contribution from a manager at an organization that has taken the lead on reaching out to new media. Gary Ginstling is Director of Communications and External Affairs at the San Francisco Symphony, an organization which hosted nearly 40 new media authors and their guests for a special blogger’s night concert event. Gary’s contribution examines the idea of TAFTO from the perspective of seeing nearly 1,500 first time concertgoers per week (that’s a lot of potential new friends) and when you’re working with that sort of frame of reference, you’re bound to end up somewhere good…
Month: April 2008
TAFTO 2008 Contribution: Chris Foley
Just when I think a TAFTO contributor can’t come up with
another original format someone proves me wrong and this time around it is
pianist Chris Foley. In his contribution, Chris provides a firsthand look into
the little known world of workshops, which rely on collaboration as a crucial
component of creating new works. And when it comes to collaboration, how can
you go wrong with a TAFTO contribution on the topic from someone who authors a blog named The Collaborative Piano Blog?
Exactly…
TAFTO 2008 Contribution: Jeremy Denk
Jeremy Denk doesn’t want much in his concerts, just “decorum and disorder, ecstatic chaos and reverent awe” (and perhaps the king of all food fights). Before you twist your mind too far around all of that just accept that Jeremy’s article is one of the most singular TAFTO contributions yet and I deny anyone who reads his contribution to walk away without a different perspective on classical music and the live concert event. I could go on but you have your reading cut out for you today and I don’t want to spoil any of what lies ahead…
TAFTO 2008 Contribution: Ron Spigelman
If there is such a thing as a natural born blogger, it is Sticks and Drones co-author conductor Ron Spigelman. Although he’s only been blogging for six months, Ron has taken advantage of the medium in new and engaging ways that have allowed him to develop an enthusiastic following. One of Ron’s regular blog offerings is to include material from a course he teaches at Drury University entitled The Audience Connection.
Ron brings his creativity in the classroom to TAFTO 2008 by sharing the concert experience through the eyes and ears of his students. Having them serve as embedded observers, Ron details their numerous objectives in attending a Springfield Symphony concert with the purpose of absorbing the concert experience from the patron’s perspective. The results are both informative and entertaining and serve as a welcome addition to TAFTO program.
TAFTO 2008 Contribution: Charles T. Downey
Charles T. Downey has become a fixture of Washington D.C. based culture and music and rightly so as he’s plugged into just about every aspect of a major metropolitan area’s classical music scene. As moderator of ionarts.org, Charles is a major figure on the new media front but he also has a hand in traditional media as well. Add to that active work on the academic scene as a teacher of music and art history and work as a professional pianist, organist, and choral singer and you have the makings for one well-rounded cultural figurehead. Charles’ TAFTO contribution touches on a number of points that are near and dear to my cultural conscious and I’m certain you’ll enjoy what he has to say…