Sticks and Drones – Page 59 – Two conductors, on the beat

CONDUCTOR SMACKDOWN! – More Musical Mistletoe Please!

January 25, 2016December 21, 2007 by Ron Spigelman

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

Silence is golden…..

December 20, 2007 by Bill Eddins

This will probably be my shortest post ever. Stop reading this blog and go here for another fabulous exposé of the myth of the Concert Hall as a sacred Temple.

More Jacksonville thoughts -Your mediator is already in the house!

December 19, 2007 by Ron Spigelman

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…..

Thoughts on the Jacksonville mess….

December 17, 2007 by Bill Eddins

The mess in Jacksonville is something about which I should probably keep my mouth shut. But since that has never been my strong suit here are some reflections on that situation, given by someone who was part of the Music Director Search a few years ago. Here goes nothing……..

Part 2 of 2: Putting the all in Hall, Audience Connections Final!

December 17, 2007 by Ron Spigelman

Ron_spigelman_3 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:

Random Acts Part Deux!

December 16, 2007 by Bill Eddins

With thanks to Ron for reminding me to blog about the wonderful ESWAT team at the Edmonton Symphony.

Part 1 of 2: Putting the all in Hall, Audience Connections Final!

December 14, 2007 by Ron Spigelman

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:

All roads do not lead to Rome!

December 12, 2007 by Ron Spigelman

Book me on the 6am, you never know what will happen in December but it will give me all day to get there if I need to find alternative routes…..

Concert in Rome NY at 8pm, Dec 10, starting point: Springfield MO.

Awake at 4:30am, 4 Airports, a cross-state car dash, an ice storm , snow, rain and semi-naked in the back of the car on the final leg! Concert Impossible!