I have the blood of Africa running through my veins, and now I’ll be leaving some of that same blood on the old continent. More about that later.
If I may make a suggestion – if you ever get the chance to go on tour somewhere exotic on the coattails of Renée Fleming – TAKE IT! Renée and her family (daughters, brother & family, mom, personal assistant) got into Durban, South Africa on Tuesday morning. Tuesday at lunch we had our “presentation.” This is when the schedule was revealed.
Just a quick note today to say that I am totally thrilled to announce that I have been appointed the Music Director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta!!!!!! I recently wrote about my time up there and I am excited that I (with my family!) will be getting to spend 6 weeks in the summers collaborating with a terrific Orchestra in one of the most glorious places on earth! Later this week I will post a book review (my first ever) of The Savvy Musician by David Cutler
South Africa has always been an important part in my history and now I’m going back, this time on the coattails of Renée Fleming. Nothing to do now but grab the bags and head to the airport. After a long day arguing with Delta airlines I end up …….. sleeping in my own bed? This is not a good start.
This has been the summer of my discontent. Practically the only thing that hasn’t gone wrong is that my wife didn’t file for divorce and neither of my children ran away to the circus. We need to get away. Enter the Zulu nation…
Next week my class The Audience Connection starts up again and like last year it will be podcast and I will post highlights at Houndbite. This class deals with current affairs in the arts world and so just like last year, I am asking for topic requests. Either send one as a comment on this post or send me an email. I will post highlights from these discussions. Below is a clip from one of last year’s requested topics…..
The Savvy Musician, a book by Dr. David Cutler comes out in November. There is some publicity being generated about the book’s upcoming release and the potential impact it might have on those musicians seeking careers in non traditional venues. I haven’t read it (advanced copies are available) but an article about it raises some questions for me as to the motives of schools that think that entrepreneurship is the answer for musicians who are not finding work in “traditional” musical settings. The potential problem in music schools creating stand alone entrepreneurship programs, is that it treats it a little like alternative medicine…..i.e not taking it seriously
It’s summer, in case you haven’t noticed, and I’m finding it hard to sit down and write the 3,000 word exposé. I’m sure I’ll get back into it in a few weeks. In the interim – more random thoughts.
Tagging onto Bill’s random thoughts, some things have been rattling round my head, along with some things I picked up on our trip and online, starting with an intriguing question from a member of the Syracuse Symphony as we were preparing to play a concert in Rome NY…..