“It was so exciting to be in a jam-packed arena…..I was impressed by the ferocity of the crowd’s emotions. There was such a personal investment and identification with the players. And the mood can change very, very quickly.”
This is a quote by Kent Nagano that appeared recently in the Toronto Globe and Mail. He’s not talking about a concert though…….
For today’s post I have a very special guest: Allan Gilliland is a composer based in Edmonton, and tonight the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is giving the World Premiere of his newest work – Dreaming of the Masters II: Rhapsody GEB. In Allan’s own words this is what it’s all about………
A blogger wrote the above comment in a post about a performance I conducted 18 months ago at our annual “Firefall” festival, a patriotic extravaganza with incredible fireworks. I think the blogger was right in this case since when I talked, the fireworks paused! When judging whether or not talking to an audience is a good idea, I believe what is said by a conductor is secondary to their motivation to talk…..
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…….
When I go to Syracuse I sometimes stay with a wonderful couple, Todd and Debbie Cornell. They are Symphony subscribers, donors, and volunteers. Whenever I am with them we have long discussions (usually while gorging on Debbie’s incredible blueberry pancakes) about the orchestra world, and as audience members they recently expressed to me two very different desires for the concert experience………
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!….
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…….
I was working with the Syracuse Symphony last week and was able to take a trip to Eastman to meet with Greg Sandow, who is teaching there once a week for seven weeks. Our talk went all over the map and we shared many ideas. He suggested I check out the Heinz Endowments and their grants for audience initiatives. It just so happens that the program was also in the news last week. The news is not good though, not good at all!….