Debating The Cinema Craze On Soundcheck Smackdown

I’ll be appearing today on WNYC’s Soundcheck with John Schaefer at 2:00 p.m. ET for a debate about simulcasts and what they hold for performing arts groups. Most folks are likely well aware of The Metropolitan Opera, which pioneered the efforts but this season sees the influx of big budget orchestras into the mix including the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic…

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Detroit Enters The Eleventh Hour

Today marks the final week of the current collective bargaining agreement between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and its musicians. Over the past few days, a few articles of note have popped up that are worth your time. The first is from an unusual source in that it is a blog post from someone outside the field…

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A Conversation With An Orchestra Website

Properdiscord.com recently posted a video entitled A conversation with an orchestra website preceded by the following description: “I was looking at orchestra websites today. They annoyed me. I started to wonder what they would say if they could talk.” True that. And the resulting video is laugh out loud hilarious. With the annual orchestra website reviews about a month away this video couldn’t appear at a better time so take a moment and watch the video…

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Culture Dinosaurs

I have to admit that the whole Golden Age vs. the Prophets of Doom nonsense put me in a bit of a cynical funk over the past week but it worked out for the best as that sarcastic energy was channeled into something creative. I’ve been updating the graphic designs at most of the Inside The Arts blogs and the latest round of pixel pushing was Joe Patti’s Butts In The Seats blog. One idea led to another and the end result was a new mascot that pokes a little fun at the declinism perspective…

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Detroit; In Their Own Words

Chris Felcyn of Detroit’s WRCJ 90.9 FM recently sat down with representatives from Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO) management and musicians and allowed them to present statements about the current negotiations. Felcyn then presented those comments from DSO Cellist Haden McKay and DSO President and Executive Director Anne Parsons on his program, The Well-Tempered Wireless.  In an age where print outlets continue to dominate, having an audio resource where listeners can take inflection and tone into account is a luxury…

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