WE all know there’s nothing wrong with arts managers having strong political opinions and those opinions are of no business to the organization where they work. At the same time, how a manager expresses those opinions does impact the organization and a good manager needs to be aware of this when exercising his/her right to political expression. Case in point, the California Musical Theatre (CMT) fiasco which unfolded earlier this week…
Month: November 2008
Breaking News: Hirokami “Departs” Columbus Symphony
The Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) released a statement today announcing what was described as the “departure” of Junichi Hirokami as the organization’s music director. It is not yet clear if Junichi resigned for the position of if he was dismissed by the CSO board, however, based on a comment from CSO board chair, Martin Inglis, it looks as though the decision came from within the organization, “…as we move forward into the new season, we have agreed with Mr. Hirokami that we will do so under the leadership of a new Music Director,” said Inglis. “And we are currently in the process of recruiting a new Music Director for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.”
UPDATE 4:25PM CT: According to a letter from Hirokami, he was dismissed by the CSO board…
Examining Chicago’s Beyond The Score Program
Now in its fourth year, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) Beyond The Score programs continue to draw large audiences and positive reviews. The brainchild of Gerard McBurney, CSO Artistic Programming Advisor, the series of concerts features a presentation format that draws on live musical examples to illustrate the structure of each composition in the first half of the concert and after intermission, the orchestra performs the piece in its entirety. I …
Negotiation News From Wisconsin
According to statements from the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO) and the Musicians of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the organization is planning to present their Holiday Pops Concert scheduled for November 29 and 30, 2008. WCO musicians have been on strike since the beginning of October but both sides agreed to presenting the holiday concerts due to progress made in recent bargaining sessions…
Cultural Confidence Update
The latest cycle in the ongoing Cultural Confidence poll finished up this weekend and the Cultural Confidence Indicator has been updated accordingly. Results from that poll cycle indicate the current mood toward cultural institution’s finances is similar to the previous two week period whereas the economic outlook improved a bit. Worth noting is this period covered immediately before and after the presidential election…