Alex Ross Is Absolutely Right

The 2/3/2010 edition of the New Yorker published a piece by Alex Ross that examines attendance trends throughout the nonprofit performing arts. Unlike most of the shoulder shrugging set in this field, Ross decides to look at the issues in practical terms and concludes that in order to begin attracting members from Generation X to replace those from previous generations, it will take far more direct contact and one-on-one efforts. I couldn’t agree more…

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Damn You Alex Ross!

For years now, I’ve been enjoying the benefits of seatguru.com, which until it was picked up by TripAdvisor.com in 2007, was a fairly well kept secret. After that, the associated spike in traffic meant more travelers with inside info but for whatever reason, the handful of business colleagues I tipped off to seatguru had never heard of it before. Well, that’s all gone now since cultural uber-blogger Alex Ross posted a little something in praise of the service a few days ago at The Rest Is Noise

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Following Up On Access And Affordability

Never one to avoid putting his money where his mouth is, Alex Ross posted a follow-up article to his “Cheap Seats” post which highlights some affordable concert offerings in the New York City area as well as throughout the US and UK. Alex also takes a moment to point out the benefit of having centralized concert listings which include affordable options. In a different outlook on this topic, Marc Geelhoed posted an article at Deceptively Simple expressing his dismay over a lack of effort on behalf of those searching for affordable concert events…

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Ross And Ma Are Tops. Maazel, Not So Much

This week’s poll asking readers to vote for whether Yo-Yo Ma, Lorin Maazel, or Alex Ross best represents classical music to the general public based on their respective Colbert Report appearances generated a great deal of interest. The results (as of the evening of 10/30/08) were intriguing…

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Take Your Pick: Ma, Maazel, Or Ross

After watching Yo-Yo Ma’s appearance earlier this week on the Colbert Report it dawned on me that throughout 2008, that program featured three prominent classical music figures: Yo-Yo Ma, Lorin Maazel, and (classical music’s newest G-Man) Alex Ross. Each appearance left me with a distinctly different impression and I’m curious to know if readers think any of the personalities projects a better image for classical music in the United States. Fortunately, the Colbert Nation website makes judging easy by providing clips for each appearance. So have some fun in your day and take a moment to watch each clip and vote for which personality you feel best represents classical music to the general public…

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