Diversity and the theater world
January 6, 2012Tom Loughlin, who is chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at SUNY Fredonia and has considerable performing experience in professional theater, takes on the diversity issue in his world and comes to some conclusions that could fairly be called politically incorrect: According to The Broadway League 2010-11 Demographic Report, the Great White Way […]
Journalist in need of Fisking
January 5, 2012It’s hard to read most of the arts reporting in this country and not wonder what else the media gets wrong. The latest example of this, an article on the Dallas Symphony’s current situation titled How Long Can The Dallas Symphony Afford To Play In The Red? popped up yesterday: That the symphony is in […]
A different view of orchestra economics
January 3, 2012In Los Angeles at least, one observer believes it’s all about the parking: Anyone scanning Disney Hall’s debut calendar in the fall of 2003 would have noticed the size of that first season’s schedule, 128 shows in all. That’s a weighty number for a new hall—one might have assumed it was chosen by venue management […]
NLRB says we can be unionized – for now
December 30, 2011In what may be the last NLRB decision in a long time, a few days ago the Board ruled that musicians in several per-service orchestras were employees and not independent contractors, and thus could force their employer to recognize their union as bargaining agent: The National Labor Relations Board has found that musicians playing for […]
O sweet mystery of life
December 28, 2011…or one of them at least – is what conductors actually do. I thought it was all about the hair; Justin Davidson thinks it’s more than that: “Knowing the score”—the expression implies mastery, but it doesn’t suggest the sustained and solitary study that’s required to achieve it. There are a few miles of roadway that […]
My 2012 Professional Resolutions
December 20, 2011As I contemplate the new year, 2012, these are my professional resolutions.I will:
1. Get involved politically, making donations as I can to the political candidates I support. Too often I’ve promised to do this, but haven’t. This year, as it appear…
Of choirs and orchestras
December 16, 2011There was a story the other day on our local public radio story that got me thinking about one of the key differences between choirs and orchestras: their relationship to the beat: We revisit our conversation with classical choral composer Eric Whitacre, who has just been nominated for a Grammy for his latest CD “Light […]
For the musician with self-esteem issues
December 14, 2011This study is about visual artists, but I think it should apply to us as well: According to some scientists, even human beings are just trying to make it in the animal kingdom, and everything we do can be traced back to basic survival. Man hunt, man fight, man eat, man… paint? In 2000,Geoffrey Miller […]
The Cuckoo Clock
December 8, 2011Years ago there was an interview with the great British film director Alfred Hitchcock about a movie that he always wanted to make but never quite did. The movie is set at La Scala Milan, the great opera house of … Continue reading →
Darth Vader vs. the Jedi Cellos
December 6, 2011Ok, ok, I admit it. I’m a complete Star Wars geek. But even if you don’t know Chewbacca from Midi-Chlorian, this epic video by The Piano Guys is not to be missed. You won’t be disappointed.
Here’s what they have to say about…