Tag Archives | Current Events

Kicking the Dependency, Part 1 – Saving the Past

There is a petition circulating on causes.com that should be a no-brainer – “President Obama, save the house that Ives built.”  I hereby officially state that I am against this petition.  Read on.

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The search for the perfect (Cease) Business Model!

It seems that there is a lot of energy being put into finding ways to either shut an orchestra down or seriously compromise it’s existence.  I don’t remember receiving an invitation to the “20,000 (Orchestra) Leagues Under the Sea” conference.  The plans range from bankruptcy (Syracuse), canceling a season (Delaware), to trying to hire “new” [...]

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The Sinking of the Minnesota

Great orchestras are like great ships of the line.  They cruise regally above the waves, guns/brass blaring, a mighty vision of sight and sound to all who bear witness.  But it’s below decks where trouble starts, and no amount of noise on deck can stop a leaking hull.

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NEC Races For A Cure

The last couple of weeks has given us an interesting contrast in crisis management.  We have seen two institutions make missteps that have significantly enraged their constituencies, and once the backlash turned into a frontlash (so to speak) these situations have been managed in polar opposite ways.  It’s a pity that the music world continues [...]

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The 2011 Report Card

Good Morning!   It’s time for the Year in Review, where orchestras that were in the news in 2011 receive their year-end  grades from SticksandDrones. In the Biz we would call them “Mid-Term Juries,” and I’m sure that expression just put a shiver up the spine of the two musicians who actually read this blog.  [...]

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Flogging the Wrong Horse

It has been an interesting couple of weeks on the orchestral front.  New ED in Colorado, pissing match between a top soloist and a top conductor.  Oh, and an orchestra that has lost it’s mind.  Same as it ever was.

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Thus Thought Zarathustra….

It’s time to get up on my high horse again.  This time I’m inspired by an article on Sir Colin Davis, and a very particular idea at the front of it.

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WWJD?

It was near the end of the first set, one of three scheduled for that night, when it happened.  The band launched into their next chart and we heard the unmistakable strains of Stravinsky’s Firebird,  several audience members around me shouted “YES!!!,” and my wife broke into a broad grin.  I looked on stage at [...]

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