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!…………….
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!….
During the Jacksonville lockout, I posted an opinion on December 19, 2007 regarding the music director’s role during such times. To read it click here. It is great news that the lockout is over and today, I received a letter from Fabio Mechetti. I am posting it below unedited:
Drew’s post regarding ownership of a Symphony got me thinking. Those involved with a Symphony in any way be it managers, musicians, board members or audience members are in essence caretakers charged with delivering the orchestra to the next generation and beyond. Also, whilst there is not equal pay, there should however be equal say…..
How is it even possible that I like Christmas music? I am Jewish and I grew up (well the jury is still out on that one!) in Sydney Australia where at this time of year it’s 100 degrees. There, none of the songs such as Let it Snow, White Christmas but especially Baby It’s Cold Outside make any sense whilst having a Christmas barbecue on the beach! By the time this weekend is over, I will have conducted 30 Holiday concerts since November 23 including 2 productions of the Nutcracker and 5 … Continue Reading
It is a path well traveled and it always seems to lead to a dead end. An orchestra hires a shiny new Music Director. He or she is hailed by the staff, the board and the orchestra as the great unifier who will bring all parts of the organization together for the common purpose of bringing great music to a city, developing a unified mission for the community’s cultural and economic goals, the face, the voice, the one….yeah right!
Has anyone seen or heard from Fabio Mechetti?
Let me set one thing straight right off the bat: I am not calling Fabio out, well not exactly. He is not the problem. However, if the now paper thin assertions I mentioned above about the position of Music Director were actually true, he might be the solution because of the fact that a music director is a unified and many times unanimous choice…..
Welcome to The Underground!
What really surprised me about this concept is something that inadvertently came up during the final presentation. This Hall might actually provide a solution for saving money whilst working in concert with the environment, the community and the audience!…..Here is my summary and grading of Paper # 2:
The idea is to build a performing arts center that truly does accommodate the needs of a community. Just saying it does or will, is not enough! For their final, my Audience Connections class of 4 divided into 2 groups and were charged with creating a concept design. If we want to attract the 20 somethings, shouldn’t they have a say too!…….Here is my summary and grading of Paper # 1: