I spent more time in the great country of Canada last week. I am particularly envious of them right now, for their Prime Minister called an election some 4 weeks ago and, lo and behold, it will be done on Tuesday. 37 days for an election, as opposed to the nearly immoral 2 freakin’ years it has taken us in the States. But that’s not really relevant here. Instead of heading towards the oil flats of Alberta I found myself wallowing in the salty waters of the Atlantic. It was my first trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and I hope it doesn’t turn out to be my last.
Apathetique – The class challenges me!
On Wednesday we discussed the strikes at Shreveport and Wisconsin. My students read the articles and my post and it seems that there is a divide amongst them. There is nothing like lively debate especially amongst future arts administrators who might have to deal with big issues in difficult time such as these! The clips are below….
Frankenstein is Dancing……..
It has been an exciting month in my life, which is why this is the first post in a very long time. Gala concert with Renée Fleming, opening concerts, guest conducting, etc. But last week the folks in Edmonton were treated to a Hallowe’en preview. Yes, Frankenstein was dancing.
Apathetique……
Having read about the strike actions with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Shreveport Symphony, right and wrong is not the issue that concerns me right now, apathy and irrelevance might be the battle both organizations face in a time when momentous events are taking place….hey what’s the chance someone will bring up the Arts in a debate? I would say zero, and that neither surprises me or even bothers me….what to do in this case?…..
Arts Funding – Why?…..
In Audience Connection on Wednesday the big question of the week was:
How can you argue for Arts funding in front of someone that might be more interested in Health, Poverty or Education issues?
Big questions need big answers, but when you have 5 minutes in front of a donor to make the case, they can’t be long answers. I liked what Amanda said, the clip is below……
Critical mASSacre
In last Sunday’s Deseret News the music critic Edward Reichel, delivered a stinging attack. Now, he accuses Keith Lockhart of only being able to see the “obvious”. On the surface his review is “obviously” about Keith, however I read the review completely differently. It wasn’t really about Keith at all…..
First request – keep them coming!…
David Preiser wrote this comment on my post Response to Bill – part 2:
In the interests of bringing new audiences to the concert hall, what other types of music might entice them outside of Classical works played in films? Original film music is one obvious answer, but how many orchestras try film scores from the more modern, non-James Horner/John Williams world? The same goes for music from video games (not cutesy Nintendo fluff, but more like Halo or Metal Gear Solid, or similar genres). That music often shares more in common (in terms of instrumental sounds and musical language) with contemporary Classical music, and not even with works by those considered to be the “important” composers of our era.
We broadened it out a little, the 2 clips in response are below….
Shhhhpeak up!
I am always fascinated by the dynamics of an audience and perceptions when certain behaviors are noticed. It’s all to easy to jump to a negative assumption as to why someone would get up and walk out, or talk, or be disruptive.