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Reader Response: What Do You Consider Professional

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Recently I received an email from B.R. in Santa Fe who wrote in to ask about an article back from November entitled What Do You Consider Professional?.  B.R. was wondering if there was ever any additional conversation on the topic or if it ever extended to “what is considered a professional musician”.  B.R. says, “I read with interest your writing in Adaptistration on what is a professional orchestra. I have had …

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Why the NSJO Strad Fiasco is Bad For Pittsburgh

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If you’ve been following this fantastic saga about Herbert R. Axelrod, the New Jersey Symphony orchestra, and a gaggle of really old, expensive string instruments, then I hope you caught Arts Journal’s Sunday Music headlines.  The principal headline featured the article in the NY Times by Richard Lezin Jones about the Axelrod’s “gift” to the NJSO, but if you skipped the secondary headline do yourself a favor and go give it …

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Who’s Who In Orchestra Administration

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So does the department director report to the jr. vice president? Or should they report to the general manager?  How about the orchestra manager, do they have authority over the box office customer service representatives?  Is the general manager also a vice president?  Can an executive director report to a CFO?

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Cleveland Orchestra Without a Date For The Proms

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I’m sitting here this morning working on the Klaus Heymann interview that will go up next week and I took a break to read the article posted on today’s Arts Journal headlines from Norman Lebrecht.  In the article, Norm blasts the players of the Cleveland Orchestra for refusing to play at this year’s Proms (if you aren’t familiar with what the Proms are, join the crowd, I had to go to …

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Music As A Defining Attribute Of Humanity

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In a recent piece I wrote for The Partial Observer, I focus on two new robots, one from Toyota and one from Sony, that are supposedly the latest in humanoid robotics.  When researching the article I discovered that both companies use musical qualities to help define the humanistic qualities of their new product.  The Sony robot can conduct an orchestra and dances to music while the robot from Toyota plays a trumpet.

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