One of the most appealing aspects of blogging is the ability to riff on an idea or topic initiated by a blogging colleague. To a large extent, that’s one of the reasons Inside The Arts was established. Locating several cultural blogs in closely aligned fields of performing arts at one hub will hopefully increase the likelihood of cross-blogging discussions. Ideally, cross-blogging topics will gain enough mass to attract some of the other heavenly bodies in the greater cultural blogging universe. Consequently, I wanted to take a post to weigh in on some of the fascinating topics making the rounds through my Inside The Arts blogging neighbors…
The Future
What Bill Said…
Bill Eddins posted a great piece yesterday at Sticks and Drones about the New York Philharmonic’s decision to perform in North Korea. In a way that is so uniquely “Bill”, he made a number of points that demonstrate the value of Occam’s razor in examining seemingly complex issues… This is precisely what I suggested back at the end of October when I posted something in response to voices opposing the New …
Walking In Eyes Wide Open
The Partial Observer published an article today by Holly Mulcahy which examines how aspiring musicians learn about their desired career path. More to the point, she talks about how high school and undergraduate students don’t learn enough about the realities of becoming a professional musician unless they are fortunate enough to encounter a private teacher or other professor who assumes the responsibility for laying it all out there…
Tangentially Related
Although the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike isn’t directly related to the orchestra business, the core issue they are striking over is. At the heart of the matter is what sort of share will writers get of revenue from new media. In this business the revenues simply haven’t been large enough to necessitate any serious considerations by any players’ association or management to induce a work stoppage but in Hollywood, it is a different story…
Wag The Dog
A variation on a classic joke: Which came first, the grant or the program? A groaner for sure but an unfortunate reality for too many orchestras. The simple fact is that funding sources are limited and as a result, orchestras will design programs based more on grant guidelines than institutional vision…