Blog: Page 45

They say some new music is too wierd for audiences. They say it could never sell. They say people only like the tunes they already know and love, written by good faithful Europeans centuries ago.
Well, I say humbug. That all depends on presentation. In…

Dear Taylor,
Last Monday, at the end of the class on entrepreneurship you asked a difficult question, how do I develop ideas? I have thought long and hard about this and have come up with suggestions for you – and others. And after I developed these…

Today, as the world mourns the loss of visionary leader Steve Jobs—responsible for creating Apple, the Macintosh computer, iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Pixar Animation Studios—is an ideal opportunity to reflect and grow as individuals. This article o…

Kudos to the Los Angeles Philharmonic for doing something both important and innovative: The Los Angeles Philharmonic has seized the initiative in guiding a national teaching program based on El Sistema, the Venezuelan-based movement that weds music teaching and social work. The orchestra announced on Tuesday that it would open an office, host yearly conferences […]

Buried in an article in yesterday’s Courier-Journal article about the state of the Louisville negotiations (which are being mediated by Ralph Craviso, as discussed in this post) was this gem: In an essay that appeared on the Forum page in The Courier-Journal last month, orchestra board president Chuck Maisch laid responsibility for the orchestra’s woes […]

Len Leibowitz, whose tenure as ICSOM Counsel was so long and distinguished that his name tag and table tent at ICSOM Conferences, by popular consensus, read “Leonard Leibowitz, Distinguished ICSOM Legal Counsel,” died this morning in Boca Raton, Florida. He had suffered from a string of serious health issues in recent years, but – as […]

For over 70 years, since a boy, I have been an engaged and passionate listener of classical music.  For over 40 years I have had an affiliation with a major symphony orchestra organization, and for the last half of that … Continue reading →

The appointment of Ralph Craviso to mediate the Louisville Orchestra labor dispute has caused some head-scratching in the orchestra industry, a public example of which was Drew McManus’ post of a few days ago: The only question in my mind upon hearing the news was “What, was Governor Scott Walker busy?” Word on the street, […]

Two recent experiences have triggered my thinking in regard to one of the central questions facing higher education music institutions today: how to revise the curriculum, so that students are prepared to survive and thrive in the new and future world …

There’s an old saying in our business that contains a great deal of truth: The only thing you need to know about competitions is that Mozart never won one. I remembered it this morning when I read of the latest winners of the MacArthur Fellows (better known as recipients of “Genuis Grants”). It was an […]