Archive - May 2013

1
Flora, Fauna, and Fiddles: Which Ones Require International Permits?
2
Île de Saint-Louis: An Homage for Henri Dutilleux (1916–2013)
3
Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids 2013 Spring Bash!
4
Another take on job satisfaction
5
Sphinx Founder Aaron Dworkin’s Personal Story
6
Getting a Grip on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
7
Modern Times
8
Symphony Magazine, Spring 2013 Issue
9
New boss same as old boss
10
Improving the Orchestra’s Revenue Position: Practical Tactics and General Strategies

Flora, Fauna, and Fiddles: Which Ones Require International Permits?

An on-demand webinar is now available providing an introduction to the special permit process required for international travel with certain musical instruments containing protected species, such as ivory, rosewood, tortoise shell, and other material. On May 14th, the League of American Orchestras, in partnership with the American Federation of Musicians, The Recording Academy, and NAMM,[…]

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Île de Saint-Louis: An Homage for Henri Dutilleux (1916–2013)

It was the First Symphony (1951) of Henri Dutilleux, a composer who was entirely new to me then. I came to know the work well and it started me along a road of discovery of one of the finest composers of the 20th Century.

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Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids 2013 Spring Bash!

I traveled down to Baltimore last week to spend some time with the Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids program and experience their final concert for this academic year — their Spring Bash. I first observed the OrchKids program, the BSO’s after-school intensive El Sistema program, in 2010 when they were in their second year at the Lockerman-Bundy[…]

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Another take on job satisfaction

The question of job satisfaction in our field has long been an interest of mine, both for obvious personal reasons and because the sources of much dissatisfaction lie in an area of research – stress – I heard lots about over family dinners. So I  found this article in yesterday’s New York Times to be[…]

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Sphinx Founder Aaron Dworkin’s Personal Story

In sorting through my mail last evening, I came across the Sphinx spring newsletter, with a lovely photo of Sphinx founder Aaron Dworkin and his wife Afi Sadykhly Dworkin. I noticed with interest that Sphinx has honored Stanford Thompson, among others, with a Medal of Excellence. Stan was a graduate of the first class of[…]

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Getting a Grip on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

The most recent release of International Musician, the official journal of the American Federation of Musicians, contains an article about carpal tunnel syndrome.  The article addresses causes of carpal tunnel, treatments that are available, and preventive measures specifically geared towards musicians.  Click here to read the article.

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Modern Times

Half of the fun of watching Mad Men is observing how dramatically American society has changed since the 1960’s.  The characters’ constant drinking and homophobia make us blush, and we notice how far attitudes have shifted towards everything from smoking to sexism.  Our lives in America have changed so thoroughly since then that looking back[…]

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Symphony Magazine, Spring 2013 Issue

The spring issue of Symphony magazine is now available online. As usual, the magazine contains a variety of interesting articles. Chester Lane, Senior Editor at Symphony magazine, presents a fascinating article about the health and wellness programs springing up in orchestras. Many of these programs have been funded by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation[…]

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New boss same as old boss

This really shouldn’t have been a surprise: After a season marred by a bitter contract dispute and a musician lockout, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra got some positive news Tuesday, May 7.The committee looking for a new president for the organization unanimously recommended the return of former SPCO president Bruce Coppock, who was president and[…]

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Improving the Orchestra’s Revenue Position: Practical Tactics and General Strategies

My Editor’s Choice for this go-round is from 1997—sixteen years ago. Here’s a little background just to put it in context. Our website, Polyphonic.org is part of the Orchestra Musician Forum, that was created in 2004 when Paul R. Judy made a gift of the financial and intellectual assets of the Symphony Orchestra Institute to[…]

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