Pre-Concert Book Club Chat!
by:
Holly Mulcahy
What would happen if you gave a classical music appreciating audience a reading assignment? I was invited to give the pre-concert lectures for the first two weeks at the Grand Teton Music Festival and decided I would try something different: a “book club style” pre-concert chat. A week before we were to perform Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), I gave a few reading and YouTube suggestions to audience members who were planning on coming to following week’s pre-concert talk. But, I also mentioned that just like ... Continue Reading
Classical Music Is Cancelled!
by:
Holly Mulcahy
“Well if that’s your story, then classical music is cancelled!” That what I would jokingly say every time someone would say, “Nobody knows or even cares there is an orchestra in our city. Nobody understands us or our worth.” It’s a common sentiment shared by many people in orchestras all over the country. Upon reading the April issue of Entrepreneur I found a very similar phrase in the editor’s note aimed at business professionals. Amy Cosper, Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur said in her note, “One of the most frequent comments I ... Continue Reading
Why Is The Timpani Player Smelling His Drums and seven other awesome questions from the audience
by:
Holly Mulcahy
After publishing the articles What to Wear to the Symphony and When to Clap at the Symphony, there were a flood of comments questioning why these topics were even relevant. For When to Clap, there were comments saying, “Whatever! Everyone already knows this!” And for What to Wear, “Wear what you want. End of discussion.” But it’s not the end of the discussion and not everyone knows this! Of the many reasons I wrote those two articles, one of them was the enormous volume of search terms that kept coming up when ... Continue Reading
When To Clap At The Symphony: A Guideline
by:
Holly Mulcahy
One of the most popular debates about orchestra concerts is when to clap. There are two types of clapping experts; one that assures you that clapping between movements is ok and that there are really no rules and the expert that says only to clap when the piece is completely finished. Ironically, both types of experts have historical and/or traditional elements and facts that can justify their beliefs. But instead of arguing what is best and why, I wanted to share some general guidelines I’ve observed both from the stage and as ... Continue Reading
Risk and a Big Reward
by:
Holly Mulcahy
You can almost always tell when an orchestra programs music out of fear. The urgency and desperation to sell tickets to most familiar works often dictates a season. The understandable but predictable reasons are: fear of losing patrons, fear of offending newcomers, fear of turning away people, and fear of the unknown. But sometimes the opposite effect happens and people get a “been there, done that” attitude and tickets don’t sell as well. When it came time to pick my first concerto with my relatively new concertmaster position in the Chattanooga Symphony ... Continue Reading
