“There Are No Words”

A day before President Obama’s inauguration, the writers at Inside The Arts published “Dear President letters” from their unique perspective. Most of the letters were generally to do with the arts and how each writer wanted the next administration to handle the arts during the next four years. My letter was geared toward pointing out the necessary ways which classical music fills our lives during times of shared experiences. As I watched the inauguration, I found it particularly interesting that there were points where just about every reporter or newscaster would say, … Continue Reading

How To Alienate Your Audience in 10 Easy Steps: Audiences

A satirical look at how regular concert goers negatively impact the future of classical music.

An engaged, enthusiastic, and diverse audience is one of the strongest measurements for justifying an orchestra’s value. During my years as a violinist in various orchestras around the country, I have witnessed audiences lose their enthusiasm for live concerts and turn their backs to orchestras as the result of behavior not just from those inside the ensemble but from those around them.

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How To Alienate Your Audience In 10 Easy Steps: Managers

An engaged, enthusiastic, and diverse audience is one of the strongest standards for justifying an orchestra’s value. During my years as a violinist in various orchestras around the country, I have witnessed audiences lose their enthusiasm for live concerts and turn their backs to orchestras as the result of behavior from those inside the ensemble.

The last two months I covered how music directors and musicians alienate audiences, and this month’s article will focus on managers. Unlike the previous two groups, managers are somewhat different in that they are not as visible to concert goers. However, they just as much if not more influence on how audience members experience a concert so out-of-sight, out-of-mind doesn’t really apply here. As such, here’s a step-by-step guide managers can use to identify the problems along with some practical advice on how to avoid the traps.

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How To Alienate Your Audience in 10 Easy Steps: Musicians

An engaged, enthusiastic, and diverse audience is one of the strongest measurements for justifying an orchestra’s value. During my years as a violinist in various orchestras around the country, I have witnessed audiences lose their enthusiasm for live concerts and turn their backs to orchestras as the result of behavior from those inside the ensemble.

Last month’s article showed how conductors alienate audiences through certain behaviors and this month is the musician’s turn. Of course, not every musician is guilty of the transgressions below but they happen often enough that they contribute to alienating an audience, so I’ve created this step-by-step guide to identify the problems along with some practical advice on how to avoid the traps.

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How To Alienate Your Audience In 10 Easy Steps: Music Directors

An engaged, enthusiastic, and diverse audience is one of the strongest measurements for justifying an orchestra’ value. During my years as a violinist in various orchestras around the country, I have witnessed audiences lose their enthusiasm for live concerts and turn their backs to orchestras as the result of behavior from those inside the ensemble.

A growing reality is nobody seems to learn from these mistakes and instead, treats them as though they should be expected behavior. Concerts and rehearsals are becoming as predictable as bad sitcoms but instead of turning preachy about how each group needs to avoid making the mistakes, I’ve created this step-by-step guide to identify the problems which contribute to alienating an audience along with some practical advice on how to avoid the traps.

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