More ASS in clASSical: The secret to enlightenment….BEER!

How could we have missed it, the answer to what ails Classical Music is in fact…..ale!  If all else fails then isn’t alcohol always the answer….hmmm.  This according to Louise Jury the “chief arts correspondent” for the London Evening Standard, which I remember as the paper (when I was a student in London) I never needed to buy simply because no one commuting home (it is sold outside tube stations) would ever keep it, so I always had my choice of copies to read!  Again here we go with the inane and the ridiculous and the worst of it is that it is not an original idea, and it has already failed before….

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Quick Takes: What is Success?

The word success is defined for many in the performing arts as the accomplishing of a personal goal, to be continuously engaged, to reach higher positions, to be critically acclaimed and all of the above. Is it really success when it is only about ourselves? Is success not something that also given from ourselves to others? To take a great work and to give it a great performance actually pales into insignificance compared to a performance resonating to the point that that it alters someone’s being, gives them pause to reflect on themselves or even potentially saves a life!…..I pose a question….

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Speed Dating BSO style and “I see Old people!”….

Is there still a school of thought that says just get them to the hall, you know the young ones and they will be hooked forever? Seems like the Boston Symphony marketing folks are doing their best to prove Einstein’s theory of insanity:

……..doing the same thing over and over again and expecting  different results…….

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Meshugass in Michigan!….

Pssst…paging Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), you might not have heard this but the economy is in the “tank” right now, so using the economic impact of the arts to convince the governor to not eliminate arts funding might not be the best tactic! It might make the arts go the way of the Sphinx…wait!…in fact Sphinx is actually the way you should go…..

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Arts Funding – Why?…..

In Audience Connection on Wednesday the big question of the week was:

How can you argue for Arts funding in front of someone that might be more interested in Health, Poverty or Education issues?

Big questions need big answers, but when you have 5 minutes in front of a donor to make the case, they can’t be long answers.  I liked what Amanda said, the clip is below……

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Marketing Managers – Take Note!….

In class last week we discussed marketing to the younger generations. For the those who have read this blog, you will know my feelings on the ridiculous gimmicks and tricks that organizations try to use to get the “young” to concerts. If you don’t know my feelings then click here! My students and I give their take in two clips below…someone airs some frustration, and there are some great ideas particularly with new media….

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