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…
Year: 2008
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…
TAFTO 2008 Contribution: Ben Smith
TAFTO wouldn’t be complete without a
patron contribution and this year that role is being filled by Ben Smith. Everything you need to know about Ben can be summed up in the name of his website: classicalconvert.com. As Ben describes it, he wanted to create a beginner’s guide to classical music, by someone who switched at 23. There is nothing I can convey about Ben that is better than the opening paragraph which welcomes all those who find their way to his website:
"This site is aimed at people who want to get into classical music. It’s
hopefully just right for someone who can recognize a couple of pieces
(the da-da-da-dum of Beethoven’s fifth for example), and who might
stick on a CD for a pleasant background to work to, but would basically
consider themselves a beginner when it comes to classical music."
Ben embodies everything that is TAFTO and if classical music has a bright future in store, it will be due in large part because of folks just like him…
TAFTO 2008 Contribution: Laurie Niles
The word for today is "popular" and to help build
a frame of reference for its definition I want to point you toward
violinist.com. Without a doubt, Laurie Niles’ creation has been a smash hit
among casual violin enthusiasts and uber-geeks alike as a place they can talk
shop, it’s like a virtual violin convention that never closes. Along with violin
oriented blogs from more than a dozen U.S. violinists, the website boasts
regular bloggers from Australia, Canada, Germany, Iran, Japan, Netherlands, and
Turkey. Consequently, TAFTO 2008 is fortunate to have such an enterprising,
enthusiastic professional among its contributors as Laurie Niles.