Those Who Can’t Do Redux – Maestro Myths
As I expected there was some very interesting feedback from my recent conductor rants. Personally, I find the fact that the secret society of The Golden Baton didn’t send the Mahler Ninjas to disrupt my concerts last week quite surprising – whether that means that I’m just too small time to merit their attention is a subject for another posting. But back to the feedback – boy, there are still some serious Maestro Myths out there.
Passing the Buck(eye)….
Why is it always surrender? Why can’t it be retreat to re-engage, re- strategize to re-connect with a community, or rebuilding instead of tearing down? The Columbus Symphony is going a very strange route and is in danger of being on a one-way street with no turning back allowed by essentially giving over day to day operations (and possibly more) to another group. The problem is indicative as the orchestra world grapples with economic realities, but again I say let’s stop being victims and start taking action. We need to stop waiting for the tide to turn and start making some waves!…..
More ASS in clASSical – Unexplain This!
So I’m late in getting to the widely panned Philly marketing campaign Unexpect Yourself. Now to their credit it has created a lot of buzz in the blogosphere but whether it translates into sales and repeat business….well time will tell. What marketing in general seems to lack is creating a connection to relevancy with this and many other tag lines going for a just try it kind of E Harmony vibe. There is an incredible study out there that marketers should take note of that is not sexy but is relevant and might change the philosophy of sending out the message into sending out the messenger(s)…..
Even More STATisfying! – part 2
Yesterday I wrote of our 80%+ concerts that are free of charge, today I want to take my hat off to the biggest donor group (outside of our board) so far this season. This is another stat that made us very proud, and it was also a surprise to them! They are……..
Very STATisfying! – part 1
It’s about Artistic excellence, We want to be the best orchestra this side of the…(insert iconic river or Great Lake here!), We’ve practiced, practiced, practiced…now we want to go to Carnegie Hall. How many times do you hear how great an Executive and/or Music Director wants their orchestra to be, but what does great actually mean. I contend that for an organization to be great it is others that need to bestow that adjective upon us, not ourselves. After all Olympians never judge themselves. I contend that the goal should always be Organizational Excellence, I want to share a stat…you be the judge….
Lest We….Lebrecht!
I have always been a fan of Norman Lebrecht. His book Mahler Remembered is an anthology of recollections from friends, colleagues, observers, critics and the like. The personal nature of the book drew me in giving me some sense of Mahler the man along with the times he lived in, going beyond his musical prowess. It therefore puzzled me to read his blog post dismissing 10 or so current conductors personal takes on Mahler…..
Bill Eddins wrote:
patty wrote:
Drew McManus wrote:
Ron Spigelman wrote:
Larry Fried wrote: