The Future: Page 10

This story didn’t show up on the usual arts blogging sites, but it might well have been the most important news for our field in a while: In what labor officials and lawyers view as a ground-breaking case involving workers and social media, the National Labor Relations Board has accused a company of illegally firing […]

Color me skeptical: In a bold venture that the Los Angeles Philharmonic hopes will boost its “national brand” recognition and help raise the profile of classical music from Manhattan to Orange County, the orchestra next year will transmit live performances of three of its concerts to more than 450 high-definition-equipped movie theaters throughout the United […]

Well let’s start with what isn’t a secret: Many orchestras are trying to reach out to future audiences (young people) and convince them that an orchestra concert should be on their shortlist of exciting weekend activities. An increasing number of orchestras (and other concert music organizations) are creating programs and concerts specifically catered to younger […]

“We play, you pay” is an not-so-old slogan amongst orchestra musicians. It simplistic and misinformed message does not benefit the field or respect the potential value-added skills of my colleagues. We need our field to have a deeper understanding of how the orchestra as a business runs, especially for all aspiring and current professional orchestra members. Otherwise, ignorance leads to fear of any change.

The NY Times has a story on what appears to be the inevitable strike in Detroit scheduled to start Monday: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has weathered decades of strikes, deficits, criticism over its racial makeup, mediocre concert homes, cuts in state aid and canceled tours. It has always bounced back, rescuing and restoring its beautiful […]

By Ashley Garofalo I recently encountered an article by Andrew Dubber of Birmingham City University addressing a fundamental approach to marketing music in today’s industry.  He calls it, “Hear/Like/Buy.” It’s the way of the world for music media consumption these days.  Those in the market to buy are seeking music which they can add to […]

This week I wrote a transcription of Saint-Saëns’ “The Swan” for tenor saxophone and piano.   After finishing the piece, I turned to YouTube to listen to various interpretations of the work.   I listened to a few cello & piano versions and then moved on to a couple of solo piano recordings, including one of Rachmaninoff […]

An article in the June 28th edition of the New York Times discussed Michael Kaiser, the advice he gives, and some negative reactions from the field: At a time of many questions in the world of culture, Mr. Kaiser is regarded by many as the man with most of the answers, a miracle worker credited […]

A few weeks ago the NEA published its, “2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.” In it, and most notable for music and musicians, is the reported decline in concert attendance. I won’t argue with their numbers. They sound reasonable to me. But being a professional musician, it doesn’t make me feel good to […]

About a week ago, my BBB Charles Noble linked to a post by former Seattle Symphony concertmaster Ilkka Talvi on what’s wrong with our business. According to Talvi, the answer is “quite a bit”: Shrink the size of an orchestra to about 60, large enough to play the classics we love, and hire extras when […]