I consider myself fortunate to come across individuals like Frank Manheim during my lifetime.  Frank is the benchmark for a “knowledgeable nonprofessional classical music activist”.  His passion for the art moves him well beyond pontification into that realm of activism. His personal research and effort into a variety of endeavors to benefit classical music in

What can I say about Sam Bergman?  Well, the facts are he’s a violist in the Minnesota Orchestra, serves in a leadership position with the musician’s orchestra committee, the news editor for Arts Journal, mini-blogger extraordinaire, rabid baseball fan, and proprietor of Urtext v2.0.  Plus, he’s funny.  Sam’s Take a Friend to Orchestra contribution utilizes

Who are these musician people anyway?  They’re usually seen dressed in black like some sort of formal super hero with a secret identity we never get to learn.  Today’s Take a Friend to Orchestra contribution comes from one of those formal super heroes, Charles Noble,  the Assistant Principal violist for the Oregon Symphony.  His contribution

John Luther Adams once said of Kyle Gann "[He] is a force of nature. Composer, performer, author, critic, scholar, educator  Like the weather, he seems to be everywhere at once – a commanding presence in the landscape of American music." Add to that list; blogger.  I’m fortunate to be right next door to Kyle’s blog,

Since we all can’t be professional musicians or veteran orchestra managers with the confidence to take someone to an orchestra concert and show them the ropes it pays to look at things from the eyes of someone on the outside looking in. The average experienced orchestra patron probably believes that they don’t know very much

U.K. based harpist extraordinaire, Helen Radice, is one of the most imaginative music bloggers around today.  Her weblog, Twang, Twang, Twang (I bet you don’t forget that name), contains paragraph after paragraph of razor edge wit and observation about the music world and other sundry items as she sees fit to include them. Although much

TAFTO contributor, Patricia Emerson Mitchell, posted a bit of a follow up to her contribution from Tuesday, May 4th on her weblog, www.oboeinsight.com.  It’s a compelling piece worth your taking the time to read.  Here’s a snippet to get you hooked: “I remember listening to a recording of a work with a friend once. The

An Adaptistration reader who wishes to remain anonymous submitted the following question to Henry Fogel after reading his TAFTO contribution. Question:  Do the ASOL members have future plans to institute some form of this middle-class- friendly ticket policy for orchestra level seats?  Or are orchestras only interested in nurturing rich and affluent, and generally suburban,