[box type=”info”]A note from Inside The Arts Editor: Sticks and Drones officially retired on Tuesday, 1/26/2016. The About the Blog content below was applicable during the period when the blog was active (9/14/2007 – 1/26/2016); as such, thank you for taking that into consideration.[/box]
I believe that for Orchestras and music per-se to evolve into becoming relevant then we need to put everything on the table. The professional side of our business needs an intervention, the academic side a revolution. Overall we need a re-orchestration! I very much want to start an on-going discussion about this and not just create a “monoblog”. The biggest problems we are having are with the lack of sincerity and with the lack of a personal connection to not just our audiences, but to our communities as a whole. I don’t believe the Arts can change the world, it is people who change the world, but it is the Arts that can change people. The challenge is: how do we get to the people? That is what I want to discuss because I personally don’t believe I am in the music business….I am in the people business. Conducting/Painting/Composing/Acting/Playing/Writing/Dancing etc… are not jobs, they are skills. Our job, is to touch people’s lives with those skills.
I am very excited to be sharing a blog with Bill Eddins, a brilliant musician and a terrific writer, plus Drew who invited us in, and who has constantly inspired me. This blog will also be interwoven into my Audience Connections Class at Drury University. The future generations of administrators and Arts professionals will be invited (required with my class!) to have a part in the debate.
– Ron Spigelman