Editor’s Choice: Page 3

As musicians it is quite natural for us to occasionally question our career decisions, but what if we are thrown a curve ball and something unexpected gets in the way of our well-ordered plans?  This is, in fact, what the author of this Editor’s Choice article faced at an early point in her career. How […]

The recent death of Lorin Maazel caused me to remember an article I wrote for Harmony in 2001 about the role of the Music Director, in part because his selection as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic was discussed in the article. Maazel was, with Bernstein, one of the very first Americans to be […]

At Polyphonic we always look forward to receiving one of Peter Sachon’s articles. This one is from 18 months ago and in it Peter gives us good “food for thought” around orchestral programming. It’s worth revisiting again as an Editor’s Choice.  Click here to read Peter Sachon’s “Separate but Equal.”  

Back when he was Principal Flute of the Utah Symphony and President of AFM Local 104, Erich Graf wrote a fascinating and heart-felt article about how he learned to be both an excellent symphonic musician and an effective union leader. He talks about his own journey to self-discovery, begun by writing a Conscientious Objector letter, the […]

This month Polyphonic.org turns eight years old! Thank you to all of our readers, contributors, and editors for making Polyphonic.org a great resource for musicians!  Enjoy one of our favorite renditions of “Happy Birthday” below:

While probably not as exciting as being John Malkovich, being your Orchestra Committee’s Treasurer can be a pretty interesting gig. As we enter the “homestretch” of our 2013-14 seasons, orchestras are reassessing themselves internally, and looking towards the future. If you’re Orchestra Committee Treasurer is “making noises” about stepping down, consider the possibility of your […]

In 2010 Robert Levine posted this blog on Polyphonic–“Why Orchestra Management is Hard.” Robert was referring to a blog of Joseph Horowitz and he took issue with some of his points. But that isn’t why I’m making this blog an Editor’s Choice. I love the xtranormal video link that Robert included in the last sentence. […]

I read a first draft of Robert Levine’s primer on Robert’s Rules of Order at a break in rehearsal — my colleagues refused to believe that an article about parliamentary procedure had caused me to laugh out loud. But indeed, Robert’s description of how to use Robert’s Rules to run an orchestra meeting is very […]

Michael Kaiser has been called “the turnaround king” because of his success with several arts organizations, including the Kansas City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theater, and London’s Royal Opera House. Indeed, his 2008 book is titled The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations. In this article from […]

As we all celebrate the end of the 15-month lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra and welcome their return to performances next month, I’d like to remind the orchestral community that another orchestra suffered a 14-month lockout back in the early 90s, and has learned a lot by that experience. My own Hartford Symphony was locked […]