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…….
Current Events
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.
Music Everywhere
It was just one weekend, but it proved to me that everything that we do has music at the heart of it, one way or another. Here are four highlights………
Super Music Tuesday
It’s primary season. I realize that this column is not about politics but for those of us living in the USA this is important, and I have a personal story to tell about one of the candidates.
Junichi Hirokami and the CSO: Empowering the Audience!
It was not a stunt on January 19 when 22 musicians didn’t return to their seats until intermission was nearly over. It was a demonstration of what the orchestra might look like if the Columbus Symphony Orchestra board proposals for deep cuts are adopted. It was as if they were saying to the audience:
Is this the orchestra you want to see? You decide.
It was an extraordinary move, and now the audience is now going to be a part of the decision, as they should be!…………….
Tears in the Mirror
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am one of the biggest J.R.R. Tolkien junkies on the planet. Whenever someone else tries to show off their Tolkien trivia knowledge I will look at them with a steely gaze and say: “I’ve done research at the Tolkien archives.” That usually shuts them up. So when we held Principal Trumpet auditions up here in Edmonton this week the analogy immediately came to me: we have peered into the Mirror of Galadriel and are not sure of what we have seen.
Start Funding the People!!!
I feel as though Joe Patti threw up a pass with his post Preserving the Moldy Old Arts. So I thought I would catch the ball and run with it for a while. I believe that the way the arts are funded by many agencies is deeply flawed in that the money goes towards supporting the arts groups and artists over the people they serve. Remember the famous bridge to nowhere in Alaska? I think the NEA realized that they did not want to cross that bridge!….
Calgary’s Brilliant Move…….
It’s a widely known fact – musicians are a little “different.” Actually most of us are bloody nuts, and that has consequences for both orchestras and musician’s families. So what’s going to happen when an orchestra actually does something about it?