TAFTO 2013 Contribution: Holly Mulcahy

Six Fail-Safe Ways to Get Your Concert On By: Holly Mulcahy; violinist and author of Neo Classical, a blog about the future of classical music. During this season I’ve enjoyed the honor of playing in several orchestras as guest concertmaster and one of the more enjoyable fringe benefits is a direct view of and/or direct contact with the patrons. There was a wide variety; everything from parents with children, groups of …

Read more

TAFTO 2012 Contribution: David J. Loehr

TAFTO 2012 David Loehr

I’m just going to say this up front. The friend I’m talking about isn’t technically a friend, and I still haven’t taken him to an orchestra. (And Drew passes out.) The first part’s easy to explain. It’s my son. He’s ten, and in the last few years, he’s started to pay attention to the elements that go into the films, television, video games that he likes.

TAFTO 2012 Contribution: Maura Lafferty

TAFTO 2012 Maura Lafferty

When I first met Raul, I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into. He checked me out & asked me on a date after seeing me at church, and I was in the middle of a cross-country visit to DC. Our very first conversation revealed that he was everything I wasn’t in high school, not the least of which is his role as best friend to the guy who was the lead in my high school’s musical my freshman year (swoon).

TAFTO 2012 Contribution: Jonathan Becker

TAFTO 2012 Jonathan Becker

My whole life, I’ve worried that my Cleveland Browns would be in the Super Bowl the same night my hometown orchestra was performing Mahler’s 9th symphony. It’ll never happen, but what would I do? And why am I asking you? And why are live performances of classical music so enrapturing, nine out of 10 members of the Secret Service prefer them to Colombian escorts?

TAFTO 2012 Contribution: Paul Helfrich

TAFTO 2012 Paul Helfrich

I’m pleased to be part of TAFTO for 2012. I have to admit, though, I’ve often been a bit cynical about the endeavor. A lot of past contributions seem to fall in one of two camps. The first group typically focuses on the evangelical power of classical music, its ability to effect sudden conversions in listeners of a quasi-religious nature. These usually feature stories of truck drivers and jackhammer operators with tears in their eyes upon hearing their first classical concert. I call these “exceptions that prove the rule,” because we all know that oftentimes, a first exposure to a classical music concert does not bring about such an immediate conversion; in fact, sometimes the opposite happens, and is probably more likely.