Current Events – Page 62

Venezuelan National Guard Smashes Protester’s Violin

Monday, June 5th, 2017 by Drew McManus

Last month, we learned about Wuilly Arteaga, a 23 year old protester in Caracas, Venezuela, who was plays his violin during demonstrations against government crackdowns. On May 31, 2017, the young musician had his violin smashed by a Venezuelan National Guardsman. BBC, CNN, and FoxNews have published reports about the incident and it appears that during a protest, a guardsman approached Arteaga on motorcycle, wrestled his violin away from him and …

Happy Memorial Day!

Monday, May 29th, 2017 by Drew McManus

Whether you’re home all day enjoying the holiday with family and friends or your orchestra is putting on a performance today, try to take a few moments to remember the reason for the holiday. Band Facts

Old Dogs = 0, New Tricks = 1

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017 by Drew McManus

At a time where mashups and, licensing, and fair use rights are usually points of “aggressive debate,” the Danny Elfman Project contributes a new perspective. It allows filmmakers to use selections from Elfman’s new album, Rabbit and Rogue, in their short film projects…free of charge…but for a specific creative purpose. The available soundtrack is 12:12 in length and is completely free for indie filmmakers to use. In turn, they can also …

The Role Of Music Inside Venezuela’s Unrest

Wednesday, May 10th, 2017 by Drew McManus

The 5/4/2017 edition of NPR published an article by Anastasia Tsioulcas that reports Conductor Gustavo Dudamel decision to take a public position on the recent unrest in his native country, Venezuela. In his letter, Dudamel calls on government leaders to cease acts of repression and the cycle of increasing violence that recently resulted in the death of a violinist and aspiring medical professional. My entire life has been devoted to music and …

Content Rules

Friday, May 5th, 2017 by Drew McManus

In the wake of their 2017 Content Competition, the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) asked each of the adjudicators to write an article reflecting on the ideas related to the competition, how they relate to the orchestra field, and main takeaways, particularly for those teaching the next generation of arts administrators. AAAE recently published my contribution at artsadministration.org which reinforces why content is still king. The arts are all about …