Recently, conductor Bill Eddins commented on the decision by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) to dismiss music director, Junichi Hirokami for what he described as ‘[looking] around, saw a bad situation, and spoke out on behalf of the organization and, most importantly, the welfare of his musicians. The response: ‘Sayonara, Junichi!'” Bill couldn’t be more correct in his analysis and I wanted to examine this situation from another perspective…
Year: 2008
The (New) Realities of Orchestral Life
Recently, Cincinnati based pianist and blogger, Joshua Nemith, posted an excellent pair of articles that provide detailed advice on how musicians who are not employed in a salaried position can survive and thrive in what he defines as “the new economy.” Along with very practical recommendations, Joshua touches on a subject not discussed here in some time: the lack of adequate preparation at the college level for those entering the orchestra business…
When Politics And Arts Management Collide
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…
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 …