The 6/28/09 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) published a guest column by James Russell, the architecture critic for Bloomberg. For my money, Russell is one of the rare visionary writers in this country. His onetime blog, Sticks and Stones, was a beacon of insight and reason that not only predicted the 2008 housing fiasco years in advance, but it regularly covered issues related to architecture and concert hall design. Russell’s AJC piece examines the pros and cons related to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s (ASO) decision to shelve plans for the Santiago Calatrava designed concert hall…
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Sweet Home Chicago
After a week out of the office, I’m back in Chicago and getting caught up on the ubiquitous pile of email messages, voicemail, etc. that accompany extended departures. As such, I’ll be back on track with regular blogging tomorrow; in the meantime, make sure you didn’t overlook this morsel from the 6/23/2009 edition of the New York Times that reports Barrett Wissman has stepped down as Chairman of IMG Artists. This …
The Empire Strikes Back
Crisis management public relations is never easy and there is a good reason entire PR firms exist for the sole purpose of helping individuals and organizations’ deal with negative press in a way that marginalizes damage and ultimately brings about favorable public opinion. Traditionally, orchestras tend to deal with negative press using one a few blunt tools that aren’t very effective in bringing about the sort of change appropriate crisis PR management can accomplish. One common example is to responding to negative public attention that doesn’t merit much hope for changing views is to lash out against the author, which is known as argumentum ad hominem, a logical fallacy often employed by politics as a propaganda tool…
Why Do Orchestras Do That?
Joe Patti, my blogging cohort at Butts In The Seats, posted an open to the Inside The Arts bloggers that I think is best suited for just about anyone that has a connection to orchestras. Joe asks “Orchestras have some of the best trained and skilled musicians around. Why do they primarily confine themselves to a certain genre and periods of music? Why aren’t they playing all the best music out there? I know most groups have a pops series, but that still barely scratches the surface of the available material and it is separate from their main product. And really, why are the pops separate?”…
Gambling On The Lowest Common Denominator?
According to an opinon post on 6/19/2009 by Perry Tannenbaum at Charlotte’s Creative Loafing Arts and Entertainment blog, that seems to be exactly what is being suggested with regard to the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) decision to appoint Christopher Warren-Green as their new music director…