Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Perhaps classical music isn’t so far removed form cultural consciousness than we thought. On last evening’s episode of The Simpsons, the town of Springfield’s Cultural Advisory Board determines that the best way to raise their cultural standing compared to their refined neighbors in Shelbyville is to build a new concert hall. To put themselves at the cusp of the cultural edge they contact Frank Gehry to design their hall (Mr. Gehry …
In response to the Friday’s post about an orchestra memo banning firearms in the workplace I received this note from oboist and blogger Patty Mitchell, NO firearms to rehearsals or runouts? Geesh. They sure take the fun out of everything! (But they can’t take away our reed knives.) Patty is always successful at making me smile. And for those of you who have been writing in asking if that memo really …
April promises to be a month chocked full of great issues: An examination of Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s 10 year strategic plan including an in depth interview with DSO President & CEO Fred Bronstein. A fascinating discussion with a fascinating individual in this business, Richard Kessler. We’ll discuss issues related to executive oversight, board development & governance, and his work with the Center for Arts Education and the American Music Center. A …
Sometimes I really don’t get certain ideas that come along. One of the recent ideas I’m clueless about is the concept behind the Canton Symphony’s releasing a calendar which apparently features pictures of orchestra musicians, administrators, board members, and volunteers in risque situations.
Earlier this week, The Partial Observer published one of my Neo Classical articles which examines how many of the problems classical music faced 100 years ago are the same problems it faces today. The historical material for the article came from the October, 1918 edition of The Etude, which I used for a few previous articles (here and here). The one unique aspect is that in 1918, the people perceived these …