Columbus is getting a lot of attention in the blogosphere and as the situation unfolds many more of us will weigh in I’m sure. The current dispute in Shreveport is getting very little attention and there is something quite disconcerting going on there that I’m afraid might cause an audience disconnection…..(There is an update 3/28/03 at the bottom)
Arts Funding
What defines a healthy Orchestra?….
We are constantly strategizing to make our orchestras healthy. Precious little of any strategy has much to do with the actual health of the musicians in per-service orchestras, which are the majority of the League member orchestras. I wonder if this is something that needs a forum on a state or even national level. Certainly it can start in a small way at the Orchestra management level….
Arts Education or Arts for Education?
I’ll never forget one particular day during my senior year in high school in Sydney Australia, when in English class we had our first lesson on King Lear. Our teacher began to talk about the play. We were not paying much attention and suddenly he stood up, opened the door and asked us to follow him. Someone asked him where we were going, (to the Principal’s office I thought) to the theater he replied…..
Edumacation…….
Today I noticed a very scary article that was posted on ArtsJournal on Friday. The US society has gotten to the point where there are some States spending more on prisons then they are on higher education. If this doesn’t scare the livin’ bejesus out of you then……….
Here we go again with the Funding!
We read about funding cuts and immediately there is outrage, “how can they do this?”, “where is the soul in our government?”, “how can they devalue the arts like this?” and so on. We never look at ourselves or for that matter outside of our sphere to realize that we have not yet made ourselves a necessity. If we are vital to the world’s well being, providing a basic human need, then obviously we’ve not totally proved it yet, or they wouldn’t keep targeting the arts…….
At the “Knight”, it’s a new Dawn!
After my rant about the Heinz Endowments last week, it came as a complete but welcome surprise to read of how the Knight Foundation has changed their philosophy of giving, at least for three arts organizations in South Florida. I believe they will ultimately prove that vision always begins with common sense!….
Columbus: Facing the future with dignity and integrity
What continues to impress me about the Columbus Symphony musicians is their understanding of the situation, their hope and most of all their willingness to put a human face on what is at best an uncertain future. Again they are connecting to their city in a way that can be understood and appreciated by everyone…….
Gung Hei Fat Choy, Columbus…….
For those of you not up on your Mandarin that means “Happy New Year.” Today is the start of the Year of the Rat, and I figure that it’s as good a time as any to ask the question: “Whither Columbus?” (Remember – Chris was actually trying to find China on that voyage.) Teraquads of information have already been spilled on the conundrum that the Columbus Symphony faces. I don’t know if I’ll be able to give any insight but I shall give it my best shot.