The last entry in “The Three Bassists” series is Cleveland Orchestra bassist, Henry Peyrebrune; a musician who has as much command over the written word as he does the language of music. The result is an entirely thought provoking TAFTO contribution that focuses directly on some key concerns every patron should spend some time thinking

Imagine there was a website that had everything you could possibly want to know about the double bass presented in a fun format, like if Steve Jobs could re-invent the Groves Dictionary of Music (iGroves – don’t laugh, it’s probably in development already). Fortunately, you don’t have to imagine; instead, visit Jason Heath’s doublebassblog.com, the

POP QUIZ: What do rattlesnake hunting, taxidermy, and binge drinking have in common with orchestra concerts?!? To find out the answer, you’ll have to read Roger Ruggeri’s TAFTO 2007 contribution. The first in our Three Basses series, Milwaukee Symphony bassist, Roger Ruggeri, is not only a professional musician but he’s also an accomplished composer, program

Although Take A Friend To Orchestra is in its third year, there has only been one instance of a contributor actually taking someone to a concert event. Fortunately, Frank J. Oteri marches to the beat of a quarter tone drummer and I’m glad to say that he jumped right into the spirit of TAFTO with

It isn’t a TAFTO month if there isn’t an entry from someone who isn’t a musician, manager, or critic. As such, Paul Alter, a self described “practicing music addict”, contributes to TAFTO 2007 with a round of practical advice. Moreover, Paul takes us back into U.S. orchestral history. Way back. All the way back to

Some people don’t think about classical music at all while others think about it occasionally. Then there are people like composer and blogger Galen Brown who think about classical music a lot. Really, I can’t understate that point: a lot. And when classical music is on the brain to that degree, it is difficult to

The second offering in our pair of Take A Friend To The Orchestra Opera contributions is from Kim Witman, who holds the distinct honor of being an arts manager who got in on the ground floor of “behind the scenes” arts blogging. Her blog aims to allow both patrons and aspiring opera performers to see

You know what? There’s more to the world of large classical music ensembles than just orchestras. In fact, much like the vocal celebrities they feature, opera organizations don’t like it very much when you don’t pay them the attention they deserve. As such, TAFTO 2007 is featuring a special mini-series that focuses the spotlight firmly

Is TAFTO, or any other word of mouth audience development program, genuinely capable of having any measurable impact on concert attendance? To help figure out a quantifiable answer to that question Bill Harris, a friend and colleague of mine, came up with a brilliant solution to address these issues which grew into the TAFTO contribution