Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Let’s play a little word association, I’ll give you a phrase and you make a list of the first five things that come to mind. Here we go: arts org archives. Here’s what I came up with: Cardboard boxes. Lots of photos stuffed in filing cabinets waiting to be digitized. An office without any windows. “So which expense category does the archive go?” “Tell me again why the archivist isn’t included …
It’s been awhile since the last entry into this series and the latest head-scratcher comes from the Hartford Wagner Festival (HWF). If you haven’t heard of them before, it’s likely because the group is a nonprofit startup and has yet to present an event. Long story short; their apparent goal is/was to present annual productions of Wager’s “Ring” Cycle using a mixture of established and early career level singers accompanied by …
The 6/15/14 edition of the Toronto Star published an article by Allan Woods that reports the Quebec members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) voted to separate from the parent union. Granted, the vote was nothing but close, a reported 53.3 percent majority, but the decision throws all sorts of wrenches into the governance works of the AFM thanks to a series of laws and regulations in Quebec that contradict, …
The 11/29/2013 edition of BBC News published an article by Alison Feeney-Hart where she interviewed conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and asked about his tips for becoming a great conductor. By and large, Salonen’s advice is superb; it’s not only grounded but downright populist when compared to the traditional Maestro Mystique. Having said that, there was one bit that pestered at me to the point of writing this post. First and foremost, go …
She may be on the way out to run the Kennedy Center for the Arts but Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) President Deborah Rutter certainly knows how to leave them wanting more. The organization announced they had secured the two largest gifts in their history during a 6/12/2014 board meeting. The 6/12/2014 edition of the Chicago Tribune published an article by John von Rhein which reports the gifts will endow the CSO’s …