The 5/1/2009 edition of Bloomberg published a commentary by Norman Lebrecht that examines some of the early response within artist management circles to the Barrett Wissman scandal. Wissman, a hedge fund manager who also serves as Chairman of IMG Artists, pled guilty to securities fraud and agreed to pay $12 million in penalties in connection with an alleged kickback scheme involving a New York state pension fund…
Assessing Cultural Confidence As Seasons’ End Approaches
The latest polling cycle indicates cultural confidence levels are sinking slowly as the percentage of respondents indicating they believe economic conditions by the end of the season will be poor increased by the largest percentage since early February. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that with only several weeks left in most orchestra’s 2008/09 season, almost fifty percent of respondents indicated that current economic conditions will slip from “only fair” to “poor” during that time span…
TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Oh Snap!
It was bound to happen sometime and it looks like the 2009 Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) month will have to come up one contribution short. My apologies to everyone stopping by for today’s contribution from Andrew Patner but due to a series of wacky events, we’ll have to leave you hanging. Nonetheless, you’ll feel better after reading Matthew Guerrieri’s brilliant (really, brilliant) TAFTO cartoon again and before you know it, you won’t even remember about the TAFTO contribution that got away.
TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Philip Paschke
It’s always a pleasure to see orchestras get involved with Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) month and it’s equally thrilling to see the idea spread across the border to Canada. In today’s contribution, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) New Media Specialist (I like how orchestras are defining these new positions), Philip Paschke, chronicles his organization’s recent TAFTO event. And true to his New Media Specialist title, Philip includes a video of the bloggers, tweeters, and other new media folk the ESO invited to their event as they share their observations about orchestras and new media…
TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Curt Long
Curt Long is a perfect example of the sort of fantastic orchestra executives you don’t hear enough about. After a long and successful tenure as Dayton Philharmonic’s executive director, he recently assumed the same duties with the Alabama Symphony. Curt’s Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) contribution focuses on how orchestras need to get outside of what he defines as the “comfortable, insulated insiders’ view of what audiences want” and work toward creating an environment that attracts and retains new listeners…