Artistic Administration

#TBT How To Succeed At Artistic Planning Without Really Trying

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Orchestra Artistic Planning Visualized 2018

I can’t begin to express how satisfying it is to see so many readers connecting with Rob Deemer’s guest author article earlier this week announcing the official release of the Women Composers Database. I have no doubt it will go a long way toward improving the representation of women composers in mainstream artistic programming. Hopefully, it will help the field see less programming that resembles artistic decision making along the lines of …

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A Fully Operational Women Composers Database

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Adaptistration People 061

2017 is rightly being perceived as a watershed year for women’s issues throughout our society and in many parts of the world. One important aspect of this is the role of women composers in our culture. Just as Hollywood has slowly realized that the number of talented women who can write, direct, shoot, and edit films has far outpaced the number of women being hired to take on those roles, the …

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In Boston, XX Marks Anything But A Spot On The Program

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XX

There’s a fascinating article in the 12/20/2017 edition of the Boston Globe by Malcom Gay about the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) being taken to task by local musicians and academics over the institution’s lack of diversity in its 2017/18 programming. In an open letter, the group pointed out that though the symphony touts its diverse programming, the 2017-18 season “showcases neither diversity nor innovation.” Of the 73 pieces scheduled to be …

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#TBT Get Ready For An Update To The Women Composer Database Project

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Adaptistration People 043

In advance of an update article next week about composer and arts administrator Rob Deemer’s Women Composer Database Project, I wanted to make sure you knew what the project is all and just how important the database will be to the field as it continues to grow. To that end, this pair of articles will bring you up to speed on how Deemer started the idea and where it’s grown over …

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Cultural Empathy Requires More Than Soundbites

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Adaptistration People 016

In the weeks and months following the Trump travel ban I received several email requests from composers that were along the lines of the following: “I’m looking for melodies from the seven countries affected by the Trump travel ban.” …or… “[I’d like to write] arrangements of tunes sung by refugees (or more broadly, folk tunes/other culturally significant tunes) from the countries affected by the executive order. I am wondering if you …

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