Minnesota Not-So-Nice

In the Great White North the other shoe has dropped.  Those of us who were expecting it can officially say……. well, we can’t say anything nasty, of course, because we live in Minnesota.  So…… how ’bout dem Vikings?

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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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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 the laptop with the Apple logo and then I thought – “What Would Jobs Do?”

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Build a Bridge, NOT a Lighthouse!

It occurs to me that the state of the economy seems to shift only incrementally either way, yet orchestras continue to hope that innovation and drastic action will let the good times roll.  We may be stuck with the current economic conditions for years to come, and unless we have a multi billion dollar angel of mercy, we have to deal and invest with REALITY and not throw money away on hope….

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But Nigel, This One Goes to 11 …

I was trolling through The Internets yesterday and stumbled upon a little controversy brewing in the world of classical violinistry.  I’m shocked (shocked!) that it hasn’t already kicked the economic crisis off of the front page of the New York Times so I thought I’d give it a little boost.  This one, as they say, goes to eleven.

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Good Luck With That…

I was all set to write a blog on my little sojourn into Shangri-La and then some exciting news popped up on the radar.  It seems that, indeed, the lunatics are running the asylum.

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