How to Be Successful Using Great Communication Skills
October 21, 2014Storytelling is an essential part of every culture. People are always eager to hear or relate a story whether from a book, a film, a play, a remembrance from childhood or a recent vacation.
Art and Music Are Professions Worth Fighting for
October 13, 2014Nearly ten months ago now, recording artist, producer, and label owner Blake Morgan, posted “My New Year’s resolution is to stand up and speak out more,” in the Huffington Post, (12/18/13). Several points he made in the article really resonated with me, especially this one, “And yet I’ve never heard of anyone who’s been successful […]
New Classical Music Blog by Steve Metcalf
October 1, 2014I’d like to call your attention to a new weekly blog post by a renowned name in classical music writing. Steve Metcalf, former music critic of the Hartford Courant and curator of the Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series at The Hartt School, has started writing a weekly blog on classical music for Hartford’s local NPR station, […]
Job Posting: Director of the Institute for Music Leadership
September 23, 2014The Eastman School of Music invites applications for the position of Director of the Institute for Music Leadership, a senior leadership position reporting to the Dean. Eastman is recognized nationally and internationally for the quality, breadth, and intensity of its music education and for the unique emphasis on artistry, scholarship, teaching, and leadership. The Institute for Music Leadership serves as the hub of entrepreneurial activities at Eastman; it currently houses five divisions:
Who Won the Met Negotiations?
September 5, 2014According to Norman Lebrecht and Terry Teachout, the unions did: (Lebrecht) [Gelb]demanded 16-17% cuts from the orchestra and chorus and settled for 3.5 percent now, 3.5 percent later. No huge pain for the musicians, but huge gain. They have won the right to be party to major spending decisions, limiting Gelb’s powers as manager and […]
A Note to Me: D.C.
August 21, 2014What I Would Tell My Younger Self… As a university professor, I often tell my studio stories from my student days in order to make a point about something, usually practicing! I have been thinking about this topic quite a bit this summer, as the new performing/academic year is fast approaching. This is certainly not […]
Experimenting with the Concert Experience: How Orchestras Are Being Creative
July 30, 2014The spring issue of Symphony magazine explores how orchestras are varying what they present to concert-goers. Messing with the Model by Senior Editor Chester Lane explores new ideas from several orchestras across the country. I was somewhat surprised and quite pleased to see my own Hartford Symphony Orchestra prominently displayed in this article! The Chicago […]
Update on Ivory Ban
May 20, 2014Last Thursday, May 15, 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced changes intended to ease international travel with musical instruments under the new enforcement of the ban on bringing African ivory into the States. The recent policy decree banning the importation of African ivory caused great unintended consequences for traveling musicians whose instruments contain small […]
The Ever-present Past
April 26, 2014No matter how far removed we might be in time and technological distance from, say, Homer or Thucydides, Shakespeare, Holbein, or Beethoven, they speak to us of a human condition we recognize.
Millennial America
April 8, 2014Orchestras need to offer compelling reasons for millennials to make live symphonic music a part of their lives. After all, millennials are the largest generation in human history, and at nearly 90 million people they will very soon make up the vast majority of our orchestras’ stakeholders, constituents, audience, staff members and supporters – and […]