Rock and Rachmanioff

Back in January The Artful Manager linked to Peter Sellar’s speech before the American Symphony Orchestra League (text found here.) One of the comments he made was that Beethoven didn’t write polite music.

On the way into work the next day I heard an ad that said something to the effect of “this moment of calm is brought to you by…” and named the local symphony while playing some sedate music. I wryly thought to myself that they were taking the wrong approach and should be advertising that they performed impolite music by the bad boys of their day.

I almost immediately started wondering how symphonies defined what music they played. Is it music that has stood the test of time? If so, why don’t they try to adapt enduring music by groups like Led Zeppelin and the Doors. Some of the pieces might might not be appropriate, but “Kashmir” had orchestral backing and I think a symphony could do something interesting with “Riders on the Storm.” Some effort in arranging the music for a symphony might create the basis of an interesting program that might attract some new audiences. These artists were certainly not writing polite music and were bad boys of their day.

About two weeks later at the APAP convention I actually came across a group in a showcase that had arranged many classic rock tunes for chamber instruments. I have subsequently learned that the London Symphony Orchestra has performed an orchestral arrangement of “Kashmir” and The Who’s rock opera Tommy, which I had forgotten.

I suspect that symphonies define the music they play as falling within a certain aesthetic that bears similar elements to works by predecessors like Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc. This seems like a very limiting approach. Admittedly, there is some logic to this. Nora Jones is defined as a jazz artist based on similarities in song choice and vocal execution to Bille Holiday and Nina Simone.

I looked around at the websites of about 15 symphonies, both large and small, and saw that some were performing works by composers who are still very much alive and haven’t needed to stand any tests of time. The only person I knew enough about to call a “bad boy” was John Cage.

I don’t want to get into a whole elitism debate regarding orchestral music so I will simply say I can see why the music of Led Zeppelin, The Doors and The Who, while standing the test of time, might not be considered appropriate for the main season. So I started looking at the Pops seasons for each of the 15 groups I mentioned before. By and large, most of the pops programming seemed to consist of the orchestras performing with popular artists like Manhattan Transfer, The Chieftans and Marvin Hamlisch. Old standbys like Gershwin tunes and the 1812 Overture appeared in Pops seasons, too.

I don’t know if I was looking in the wrong places or if performing arrangements of these songs represents a trend that has passed, but there seems to be a missed opportunity by not performing more contemporary but enduring works, even if only in a Pops season. If video game themes and cell phone rings can be the subject of symphony performances, why not these works? There is some real power, majesty and craftsmanship in these songs (or at least opportunities to use orchestra instruments to infuse these things into them.)

One of the strengths musicians of any stripe have is the ability to choose from a wide variety of songs. In theatre and dance, unless you are doing a series of short plays or short dance pieces, you are usually tied to performing a show linearly as written. People go to the symphony expecting they will hear selections from different artists in programs with titles like “A Foreign Affair” and “Glances of Love”. I will be the first to admit that I have no idea how the music integrates with these titles. From my vantage, it appears as if some sort of randomization computer program is used to pick the titles.

My point is symphonies have a ready made format and an audience that probably only knows slightly more about the logic process that places these songs together on the same night. If someone advertised a program titled “Bach You Tonight” that featured Bach and “Stairway to Heaven” at the right price, people who had never attended a concert might be intrigued enough to attend. (I certainly would because I am having a hard time imagining them working together. Who knows.)

I am not going to suggest that people will come for the Zeppelin and be entranced enough to return for the “Strictly Strauss.” It may be that the new attendees never become comfortable with anything more than the annual “Rock N’ Rachmaninoff” series. (Yes, I am having fun making up these names. I promise to stop before something really goofy like Haydn and Halen). These type of programs would also need to be part of a larger effort to attract and welcome new people, to be sure.

Folks will say if I really understood how symphonies operate, I wouldn’t make such ludicrous suggestions. Yeah, admittedly this may all be akin to the suggestions on our surveys that I present Christina Aguilera in my little theatre. From my perspective it can’t be too far afield from what Pops programs already do. Even if I am off base, perhaps all this will inspire someone with the practical knowledge to make something similar happen.

The biggest problems I anticipate are 1) Some drunk guy standing up and yelling, “Play Freebird!” and 2) Existing patrons feeling that it is dumbing down the program to include it in the main season. Good monitoring at the bar will solve the first problem. The second problem–well even as unexperienced as I am with classical music, I know that it will take a lot of skill to arrange some of this music so it sounds awesome at a performance. Dumb ain’t gonna cut it.

While I am talking a lot about classic rock, I don’t want anyone to get their minds stuck on that. There is plenty of other enduring material to explore for rearranging like some of the works of Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, etc.

Not everything deserves to be arranged to be interpreted by a symphony. It should be more about showing off the symphony’s prowess than playing something just because it is easily recognizable. Yet something recognizable can also make it easier for a person with a low level of experience to appreciate the skill with which a piece is rendered.

Many people recognize the “Blue Danube Waltz” but might not be able to discern whether it is played well. On the other hand, an existing familiarity with “Gallows Pole” (which has absolutely endured centuries) provides a reference point from which to judge a symphony’s rendition.

Revisiting Interactivity for the Future

Back in November I had an idea for making theatre performances more interactive by inviting people to send or bring in music in support of a show. (Follow the link for the details.) I received a lot of support for the concept via email and links from other sites.

Even without the expressions of support, I was determined to see it attempted one way or another. Since the whole concept is experimental, I didn’t think I had the audience or people with the right artistic alignment to implement the idea at my facility. I broached the subject with a director who possesses both at another venue. He was intrigued with the idea but needs time to ponder it and find a show and approach that would make the idea viable.

I wanted to toss the whole concept out to the ether again. New people have started reading this blog since I first proposed it. I would be interested in any suggestions or ideas people may have to execute it.

From the technology perspective one would need a high speed internet connection in order to receive submissions via email or some file sharing software and then a computer with enough processing power to manipulate the music and then burn it on to a CD or other medium from which it can be played during a performance. Obviously, one would also need a speaker and amp system in place connected to said medium.

On the personnel side, a person in the technology integrator position I mentioned in my earlier entry would need to be part of the artistic team and involved in making choices among what is submitted. I suspect that one might be faced with the artistic choice of whether to use some fantastic pieces that don’t fit with the mood of the rest of the show or using some really good pieces that do fit.

One of the reasons I am proposing a separate position from the director and even the musical director is that while an arts organization might start by having people submit music in advance for use in one spot during the show, if the organization refines their technique they may be integrating music brought to the performance on an iPod 20 minutes before the show starts into the whole performance.

The novelty of having their musical choices included in a show may be enough to inspire people to send in material days in advance of the show at first. As the practice becomes more prevalent, people will make the decision to attend closer to the performance time and will want the opportunity to have their contribution included in the show. The person in charge of processing these submissions will have to be more like a club DJ than the traditional music director and be able to make decisions on the fly about what music works well with the director’s vision of the show but also doesn’t clash stylistically with the other music he/she is using that night.

This sort of scenario really infuses a live performance with a sense of excitement and danger. The actors never know what music is going to be played that night and how it is going to change the atmosphere and dynamic of the performance. It will become abundantly clear if actors are just reciting their lines and slightly altering their approach so it is more appropriate to the energy the music has created.

Stage managers and the tech integrator need to work incredibly closely so that the stage manager knows when to call the next cue. The music may be fading out later one night than it did earlier due to the integrator’s desire to sustain a motif a little longer.

Performing arts venues often promote the unpredictability of live performance as a selling point. Attempting what I propose will make this energy palpable to audiences.

Speaking of promoting events. I can’t imagine that an arts organization would have too much success explaining what they were trying to do and appealing to audiences for musical submissions through newspaper stories. This type of thing is so far removed from the usual experience that I fear newspapers would report the project incorrectly and readers wouldn’t quite understand the process.

Emails and letters to ticket buyers might be better. I suspect an appeal to people over social networking sites like Myspace by those involved with the production might initially produce the greatest yields until audiences had a chance to experience a performance.

As much as I hate to imply that someone my age may be too obtuse to be an early participant as a contributor, young as I am, I think the younger set would have a quicker, more intuitive understanding of what was involved and would contribute far more interesting compositions.

There are hundred of consequences and implications I have already envisioned. As I have already implied, some are a matter of upsetting an established order and can be resolved with flexibility and good planning. Other problems will be unique to each performance and require sound artistic judgment.

But what am I missing? What other technological tools and personnel requirements have I overlooked? What suggestions would make this concept better and more practical to execute? Is there a technology out there that seems ready-made for this type of idea?

Email me or comment below!

Management vs. Leadership Debate

Since I have been exploring leadership in the arts recently I was interested to see that Drew McManus over at Adaptistration was writing about three executive styles- managers, leaders and builders. Today he dealt with the first two. Initially, I didn’t feel the need to post about his entry other than a “Hey, check this out,” until I started pondering it.

The thing that struck me the most was that he didn’t characterize being a leader as the ideal and suggested that, in fact, such a person could be detrimental to organizational success.

Unfortunately, a Leader’s strengths often pull double duty by serving as their weakness. An over reliance on senior staff can put the administration in jeopardy if personnel turnover is too high. And since most Leaders tend to under-perform when directly managing certain aspects of the organization they end up spending inordinate amounts of time keeping the organization running. The result is an organization that suffers from continually falling short of their goals and an executive leader suffering from a severe case of burnout.

Usually I have seen managers and leaders compared as in this article where managers are listed as “Perpetuates group conflicts” and “Doesn’t insure imagination, creativity, or ethical behavior” vs. leaders who “Works to develop harmonious interpersonal relationships” and “Uses personal power to influence the thoughts and actions of others.” (Note: Yes, article was written in 1996, but it was updated a few months ago and an update article written in 2003 did not change this view.)

This site too, suggests that one should aim to be a leader rather than a manager.

What Drew was writing made sense to me. A lot more sense than the many articles I have read throughout my life urging one to eschew managing in favor of solely cultivating leadership traits. So I started looking around for what people were saying about leadership vs. management. Not only did I find the websites linked to above, but some sites that support Drew’s like Mulhauser Consulting, Ltd. which bases their view on empirical studies.

I also came across this entry on Management Craft blog which seemed to lay out the whole leadership vs. management debate practically. (Comments are very interested too) The writer, Lisa Haneberg makes an interesting observation that:

“There is a shortage of great management in many of today’s corporations. Perhaps the management vs. leadership mindset is one reason for this. Leadership is certainly the “sexier” of the two and I wonder if some have abandoned developing excellent management skills because they want to be a leader.”

(Note: Somehow I neglected the link to the Management Craft blog entry when I first wrote this entry.)

Technology Tip-Google Word Processing

Came across this bit of information before but forgot to write about it.

Google has a word processing program which is reputed to be as good as MS Word in terms of its features. One benefit it has over Word though is that multiple people can work on the same document simultaneously from different places. No more having to create a read-only copy if someone else is working on a document you want to view.

This has great potential for a lot of different people. Students can work on different sections of papers together while sitting side by side or in the comfort of their own homes, perhaps chatting about each segment using an instant messaging program.

Likewise for arts organizations, different people can work on different sections of a grant proposal narrative at the same time while referencing stats and language the lead writer is using. The online storage reportedly saves as information is being typed rather than at programmed intervals. Google Docs also allows people to telecommute from home or lets a traveling supervisor check on progress, proof and edit from different time zones without worrying about whether software at their destination will be compatible.

A number of years ago I was reading an article that suggested one day our personal computers would regress back to essentially being work stations again with all our software and information processing being accessed from central host locations over the Internet. It looks like that is drawing closer to being true.

On the other hand, given that Google seems to save information on every search conducted via their service, you may want to consider just how sensitive the information you are typing into their word processors and spreadsheets might be. Since most of your financial information is available on Guidestar if you are a non-profit, having that information floating around probably isn’t too big a concern. You probably want to forgo using Google Docs to write a report to a lawyer detailing financial malfeasance though.