Funny things pop into your head when you find yourself in less than desirable places. Tonight, it’s all about hearing words come out of your mouth that you never thought you’d ever say…
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Detroit Goes Public
After months of closed door and blackout negotiations, the musicians and management of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) went public last week to present their bargaining positions. On 7/30/2010, the DSO musicians leafleted a Meadow Brook Music Festival performance (copy, courtesy of the Detroit News) and both sides have presented their positions via an article by Lawrence B. Johnson in the 7/31/2010 edition of the Detroit News…
An Insider’s Look Into Shop Talk
Ever since this blog launched in 2003, readers have always been more inclined to share thoughts via private email. Even though those exchanges regularly contain insightful content, their very nature prohibits public consumption. Nonetheless, guest blogger Chris Blair and I ended up having a fascinating exchange in the process of determining whether or not Chris would participate in this year’s guest blogging and ultimately, Chris decided that sharing the email exchange was in and of itself, a good guest author post…
Educating for the Orchestra of the Future
Anyone attending the League of American Orchestra’s recent conference in Atlanta was surely struck by the industry’s determination to adapt and change. At the opening “Orchestra R/Evolution” session, attendees were polled and not a single vote supported the status quo. Russell Willis Taylor general session keynote the next day, “There Are No Crises, Only Tough Decisions,” took the reverse approach, lecturing attendees ironically on the best strategies for going out of business and fast.
Changes In The Model…Do We Need Revolution Or Evolution?
Sunday’s Charleston Post and Courier quotes a former board member of the Charleston Symphony as saying “The current business model has proven over 10 years not to be viable.” The recent travails and controversy at the Pasadena Symphony provoked a considerable amount of national discussion, including Terry Teachout asking, in The Wall Street Journal, “What, if anything, justifies the existence of a regional symphony orchestra in the 21st century?”