Archive - 2014

1
Detroit Symphony Flash Mob at IKEA in Canton, Michigan
2
League Announces 2014 Conference Details
3
Orchestra saved from collapse is apparently not interesting news
4
Us as a sitcom
5
Memphis Symphony Crisis Management
6
Michael Kaiser’s Arts in Crisis Symposium
7
Machiavelli wasn’t a Finn
8
Lessons from the Great Strad Robbery
9
In Memoriam
10
Why you don’t want your orchestra’s name to start with “M”

Detroit Symphony Flash Mob at IKEA in Canton, Michigan

Rachel Martin of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday ” did an interesting piece about the Detroit Symphony’s comeback after the work stoppage. She talks about the beautiful acoustics at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall, and questions what happens when you take the symphony out of that perfect acoustic and put them in — well — an IKEA warehouse![…]

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League Announces 2014 Conference Details

The League of American Orchestras has announced its 2014 Conference, which will take place in Seattle, June 4-6.   The theme of the 2014 conference is “Critical Questions, Countless Solutions.”    The League announcement proclaims, “From Gabriel Prokofiev to Claire Chase, Joshua Roman to Alan Brown, we’re bringing the best minds and talent together to saturate you[…]

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Orchestra saved from collapse is apparently not interesting news

As many of you know, the Milwaukee Symphony needed to raise a boatload of new money in order to make it through the winter, much less the rest of our season. Contrary to the expectations of many, both within and without the organization, the $5 million campaign succeeded. This is a very significant story for[…]

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Us as a sitcom

Most readers of this blog will remember the furor over Mozart in the Jungle, oboist and journalist Blair Tindall’s memoir of her days as a New York freelancer. I quite enjoyed it, but some didn’t (especially those who believed that they were featured in the story in an uncomplimentary way) I went onto the Amazon[…]

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Memphis Symphony Crisis Management

Michael Barar is a violist with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and serves as their representative to ROPA. Exactly one week ago from the time I am writing this, the board of directors of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra was holding its regular quarterly meeting. Most readers who follow arts journalism and the blogosphere surrounding goings on[…]

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Michael Kaiser’s Arts in Crisis Symposium

Michael Kaiser has been called “the turnaround king” because of his success with several arts organizations, including the Kansas City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theater, and London’s Royal Opera House. Indeed, his 2008 book is titled The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations. In this article from[…]

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Machiavelli wasn’t a Finn

The former battlefield known as the Minnesota Orchestral Association continues its explorations of the very outer limits of the envelope: Musicians returned to playing concerts for the Minnesota Orchestra this weekend, but the turmoil that has followed the organization for more than 16 months resurfaced Saturday. After a homecoming concert Friday at Orchestra Hall, musicians[…]

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Lessons from the Great Strad Robbery

As anyone who’s picked up a newspaper in the last few days probably knows, the Stradivarius on loan to Frank Almond, my orchestra’s concertmaster, was recovered last week and the alleged thieves detained by police: Salah Salahadyn, 41, and Universal Knowledge Allah, 36, arrested this week, are each charged with robbery, as party to a[…]

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In Memoriam

It’s always humbling to write the annual In Memoriam feature for Polyphonic, but never more so than this year. The number of highly accomplished people associated with our field who were also remarkable human beings will be daunting for anyone who’s considered what their own obituary might look like. Many of those who left us[…]

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Why you don’t want your orchestra’s name to start with “M”

First Minnesota, then Milwaukee, and now … Memphis: Following in the tumultuous footsteps of its Nashville counterpart, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra announced that it is facing a financial crisis that will require “aggressive steps” to complete the current season. “The Memphis Symphony Orchestra celebrates decades of accomplishments thanks to a committed group of patrons, musicians[…]

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