Articles

Benjamin Franklin, the Composer

Ben Franklin
Sep 28 2015
Browse archives for September 28, 2015
Michael Korn
Michael Korn

Growing up in Siberia in the family of musicians, Michael Korn studied with outstanding Soviet violin pedagogues G.Turchaninova, Z. Bron, and M. Lieberman as Novosibirsk violin school rose to fame and produced such violinists as V. Repin and M.Vengerov. Michael took his violin skills to the new heights due to the thousands of hours of practice in the cold, and learning about music from many world class musicians who performed in Novosibirsk as well as his teachers and parents. Later, he also attended Gnessin Music Institute in Moscow where his mentors included violinist G.Zhislin and members of the Borodin Quartet.

Michael immigrated with his family to Israel in 1990 where he continued his studies at the Rubin Music Academy in Tel-Aviv with Y.Kless and I.Svetlova, served in the Chamber Orchestra of the Israeli Army, and began his professional career with the ensemble "Soloists of Galilee" patronized by late I. Stern. After playing with orchestras in Israel, France, Spain, and Germany, widely concertizing in dozens of countries in Europe and Northern Africa, performing with numerous artists including Lorin Maazel, Semyon Bychkov, Leopold Hager, Mstislav Rostropovich, Lukas Foss, Michel Tabachnik, Noa, Shlomo Gronich, and Gypsy Kings, and gathering lifetime impressions and experience, Michael moved to the United States in 1997.

In this country he first became a member of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Ray Charles, and Tony Bennett. Also, in Cullman, AL, Michael founded "String Summit," first chamber music festival for children in Alabama. In addition, he was one of the original members of the critically acclaimed Chagall Trio which performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Alabama Symphony and appeared throughout Southern United States. Furthermore, as an enthusiastic advocate of new music, Michael collaborated with such composers as D.Lang, S. Hodkinson, G. Shapiro, and D. Hindman. In 2005, Michael embarked on a path of being a freelance musician in Boston. Currently, Michael greatly enjoys his tenure as Music Director of the Sharon Community Chamber Orchestra and the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra, performs regularly as a soloist to keep his "chops" in shape and with Boston Classical Orchestra, teaches at the Community Music Center of Boston, Oliver Ames High School in Easton, and at his private studio in Sharon, MA.

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Michael is Music Director of the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra and Sharon Community Chamber Orchestra in Massachusetts. He regularly teaches young students in orchestral settings and conducts Oliver Ames High School orchestras in Easton and Sharon Community Chamber Youth Orchestra. Since moving to the United States Michael performed with the Alabama Symphony, Boston Lyric Opera, and Boston Classical Orchestra. Michael Korn has appeared as a soloist with orchestras throughout the former Soviet Union, in Israel, Europe, Africa, and the US. He also founded the critically-acclaimed Chagall Trio, “String Summit,” the first chamber music festival for youth in Alabama, and now is organizing a new chamber music festival in Easton, Massachusetts.

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Listening – A Musician’s Necessary Skill

Jul 30 2015
Browse archives for July 30, 2015
Bill Cahn
Bill Cahn

Bill Cahn has been a member of the NEXUS percussion group since its formation in 1971, performing in concerts, films, recordings, and broadcasts all over the world. He was also the Principal Percussionist in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 1968 to 1995, and he has appeared as soloist with symphony orchestras and at music festivals worldwide.

Bill has produced eight CDs, written books and articles about music and percussion, and he has written and conducted Pops and educational programs for symphony orchestras. His book Creative Music Making, on the subject of freeform improvisation, was published in March 2005 by Taylor & Francis/ Routledge Books. His chamber and orchestral compositions featuring percussion are widely performed.

Bill’s workshops include the subjects of improvisation, percussion performance, careers in music, and the business of music. He was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society’s Hall Of Fame in November, 1999.

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Bill Cahn was a long-time member of the Rochester Philharmonic, and a founding member of NEXUS, a Toronto-based percussion ensemble. Bill has written for Polyphonic in the past, about the use of improvisation in performances and educational programs, and about the impact of social and economic issues on music and the arts. He is the author of ”Creative Music Making,” and teaches a course of the same name at music schools and conservatories. Bill shares with us some of his insights from his most recent course, particularly around the issue of listening and the lack of any formal training for most music majors on HOW to listen.

Bill proposes three levels of listening, describes each in detail, and suggests that the “ideal scenario” is to have all three listening levels at work during an ensemble’s performance.

Ann Drinan
July, 2015

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An Interview with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Los Angeles’ New Assistant Conductor

Disney Hall
Jul 20 2015
Browse archives for July 20, 2015
Ann Drinan
Ann Drinan

Ann Drinan, Senior Editor, has been a member of the Hartford Symphony viola section for over 30 years. She is a former Chair of the Orchestra Committee, former member of the HSO Board, and has served on many HSO committees. She is also the Executive Director of CONCORA (CT Choral Artists), a professional chorus based in Hartford and New Britain, founded by Artistic Director Richard Coffey. Ann was a member of the Advisory Board of the Symphony Orchestra Institute (SOI), and was the HSO ROPA delegate for 14 years, serving as both Vice President and President of ROPA. In addition to playing the viola and running CONCORA, Ann is a professional writer and editor, and has worked as a consultant and technical writer for software companies in a wide variety of industries for over 3 decades. (She worked for the Yale Computer Science Department in the late 70s, and thus has been on the Internet, then called the DARPAnet, since 1977!) She is married to Algis Kaupas, a sound recordist, and lives a block from Long Island Sound in Branford CT. Together they create websites for musicians: shortbeachwebdesign.com.

Ann holds a BA in Music from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MA in International Relations from Yale University.

Read Ann Drinan's blog here. web.esm.rochester.edu/poly/author/ann-drinan

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On March 1, a group of more than 30 California Lithuanians gathered at the Los Angeles Walt Disney Concert Hall for an evening of Mozart, Stravinsky and Beethoven. They unfurled a Lithuanian flag on the steps in honor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s recently-appointed Assistant Conductor, Lithuanian Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. The 29-year-old conductor has impressed Los Angeles audiences and music critics since her debut concert in August 2014 at the Hollywood Bowl and continues to do so.

Alexandra Kudukis interviewed the new Maestra for Draugas News, an English-language Lithuanian newspaper.

Reprinted by permission of Draugas News.

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Yale Symposium 2015: Music in the Schools

Jun 29 2015
Browse archives for June 29, 2015
Ann Drinan
Ann Drinan

Ann Drinan, Senior Editor, has been a member of the Hartford Symphony viola section for over 30 years. She is a former Chair of the Orchestra Committee, former member of the HSO Board, and has served on many HSO committees. She is also the Executive Director of CONCORA (CT Choral Artists), a professional chorus based in Hartford and New Britain, founded by Artistic Director Richard Coffey. Ann was a member of the Advisory Board of the Symphony Orchestra Institute (SOI), and was the HSO ROPA delegate for 14 years, serving as both Vice President and President of ROPA. In addition to playing the viola and running CONCORA, Ann is a professional writer and editor, and has worked as a consultant and technical writer for software companies in a wide variety of industries for over 3 decades. (She worked for the Yale Computer Science Department in the late 70s, and thus has been on the Internet, then called the DARPAnet, since 1977!) She is married to Algis Kaupas, a sound recordist, and lives a block from Long Island Sound in Branford CT. Together they create websites for musicians: shortbeachwebdesign.com.

Ann holds a BA in Music from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MA in International Relations from Yale University.

Read Ann Drinan's blog here. web.esm.rochester.edu/poly/author/ann-drinan

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The Yale School of Music held its fifth Symposium on Music in the Schools on June 5 & 6, 2015 in New Haven to explore the role of music partnerships. Associate Dean Michael Yaffe invited Polyphonic to attend the opening day session on June 6th, to which New Haven public music school teachers were also invited. 39 partnership programs from across the country also participated, 25 (64%) of which involved a partnership with a symphony orchestra or opera company. The charge of the symposium was to consider ” Why” — to ensure that we have a strong case for the value of music education.

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A Week with the Paradise Orchestra

Mar 06 2015
Browse archives for March 06, 2015
Robert Levine
Robert Levine

Robert Levine has been the Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony since September 1987. Before coming to Milwaukee Mr. Levine had been a member of the Orford String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, with whom he toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and South America. Prior to joining the Orford Quartet, Mr. Levine had served as Principal Violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for six years. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, and the Oklahoma City Symphony, as well as serving as guest principal with the orchestras of Indianapolis and Hong Kong.

He has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, the Midsummer Mozart Festival (San Francisco), and numerous community orchestras in Northern California and Minnesota. He has also been featured on American Public Radio's nationally broadcast show "St. Paul Sunday Morning" on several occasions.

Mr. Levine has been an active chamber musician, having performed at the Festival Rolandseck in Germany, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Palm Beach Festival, the "Strings in the Mountains" Festival in Colorado, and numerous concerts in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee. He has also been active in the field of new music, having commissioned and premiered works for viola and orchestra from Minnesota composers Janika Vandervelde and Libby Larsen.

Mr. Levine was chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 1996 to 2002 and currently serves as President of the Milwaukee Musicians Association, Local 8 of the American Federation of Musicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras. He has written extensively about issues concerning orchestra musicians for publications of ICSOM, the AFM, the Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the League of American Orchestras.

Mr. Levine attended Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. His primary teachers were Aaron Sten and Pamela Goldsmith. He also studied with Paul Doctor, Walter Trampler, Bruno Giuranna, and David Abel.

He lives with his wife Emily and his son Sam in Glendale.

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Polyphonic.org – The Orchestra Musician Forum – What I did on my summer vacation

[…] Quite literally what I did for two weeks last summer. […]

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(With apologies to Frederick Delius and in the full understanding that his “Paradise Garden” was actually a seedy country pub.)

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We’re In This Together

Jan 26 2015
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Polly Kahn
Polly Kahn

Polly Kahn has long played a local and national leadership role in the arts community. Ms. Kahn joined the League of American Orchestras – the service organization for American orchestras - in March of 2000. As Vice President for Learning & Leadership Development, she oversaw the League’s artistic, learning, and leadership development programs and services, including the Orchestra Leadership Academy, Emerging Leaders Program, National Conference, Getty Education and Community Investment Grants, Music Alive new music program, constituent services, programs for emerging orchestra executives, online learning, and self-assessment tools for orchestras.

Prior to joining the League, Ms. Kahn served as the Director of Education for the New York Philharmonic, where she revised and significantly expanded the New York Philharmonic’s education programs. Previously, she served as Director of Education for the Tisch Center for the Arts at the 92nd Street Y and as Assistant Director of the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education. Ms. Kahn has also been a consultant to cultural and philanthropic organizations nationally, and sat on the boards of the Ethical Culture-Fieldston Schools, the Center for Arts Education, the Center for Educational Partnerships in Music, and the New York City Arts-In-Education Roundtable, of which she was a founding member. Currently she serves on the Board of Advisors for the Sphinx Organization and for American Voices. Ms. Kahn was honored as the recipient of the InterSchools Orchestras Award for Outstanding Contributions to Arts Education in New York City, and her 2014 articles were published as part of Americans for the Arts Animating Democracy series and in Symphony Magazine.

In June of 2014 Ms. Kahn stepped down from the League. She is now principal of PK Art Solutions/PK Orchestra Solutions, a consulting firm specializing in organizational and departmental planning; executive search; meeting and conference planning and facilitation; and career counseling for arts professionals. She also serves as adjunct faculty for the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Among her clients in 2014-15 are: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington Performing Arts.

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David Myers

Insightful, masterfully said, and at the core of what we need to hear and think about over and over until…

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For the past 14 years, Polly Kahn has served as Vice President for Learning & Leadership Development at the League of American Orchestras, where she oversaw the League’s artistic, learning, and leadership development programs and services, including the Orchestra Leadership Academy, Emerging Leaders Program, National Conference, Getty Education and Community Investment Grants, Music Alive new music program, constituent services, programs for emerging orchestra executives, online learning, and self-assessment tools for orchestras. Prior to her time with the League, Polly was Director of Education at the New York Philharmonic, and worked in education positions at the 92nd Street Y and Lincoln Center.

As Polly prepared to step down from her position at the League, she wrote a wonderful piece for Symphony magazine, which I featured on Polyphonic a few months ago. She described many of the ongoing symphonic community engagement programs around the country, and spoke with such an optimistic voice.

I asked Polly to write something for Polyphonic, reflecting on her many years working in our industry in so many areas. The article she wrote is deeply personal, raises some difficult questions, but beautifully describes the passion that brought us all to our professions.

–Ann Drinan, January 12, 2015

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How Loud is That?

Dec 02 2014
Browse archives for December 02, 2014
Stephen Danyew
Stephen Danyew

Steve Danyew is a composer, saxophonist, teacher, and arts administrator based in Rochester, NY. Danyew composes works for chamber ensembles, large instrumental ensembles, choirs and more, and currently serves as Managing Editor of Polyphonic.org. His music has been hailed as “startlingly beautiful” and “undeniably well crafted and communicative” by the Miami Herald, and has been praised as possessing “sensitivity, skill and tremendous sophistication” by the Kansas City Independent. Steve received a B.M. cum laude, Pi Kappa Lambda from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and holds an M.M. in Composition and Certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music.

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John R. Beck is a percussionist, faculty member at the UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC, and President of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS). Earlier this year, John wrote an article that was published in “Rhythm Scene,” the PAS newsletter. In the article, Beck discusses recent experiments that aim to measure sound levels in various musical environments, and provides information on earplug effectiveness and options. Ultimately, he calls for percussionists and all musicians to be proactive about their hearing health, and provides some useful links for additional resources.

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The Absolute #1 Best Music School for You (and why I can’t tell you what it is)

Oct 10 2014
Browse archives for October 10, 2014
Matthew Ardizzone
Matthew Ardizzone

Matthew joined the Eastman Admissions team as the Associate Dean of Admissions in 2009. An Eastman alumnus, he was the first guitarist to receive the Doctor of Musical Arts degree (1997) and was also awarded the Performer’s Certificate. Prior to attending Eastman, he received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in guitar performance from Ithaca College. His extensive background as a performer includes numerous concert and festival appearances across North America. He has been on the faculties of Bowling Green State University, Nazareth College, and the Eastman Community Music School.

Matthew has also held positions as Executive Director of Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates, and as the Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He is pleased to be back at his alma mater helping young musicians pursue their educations and careers.

During his free time, Matthew enjoys working in his urban community garden with his wife and daughter and practicing guitar.

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Barbra Weidlein

Thank you for this thoughtful article! We side with you in our work with prospective music majors, to encourage them…

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Below is a thoughtful and informative article by Eastman School of Music Director of Admissions Matthew Ardizzone (not pictured!) on why college rankings “get his goat.” He also provides advice for prospective students as they think about which college/university/conservatory may be the best fit for them. This article first appeared on the Eastman School of Music Admissions Blog, and is reprinted here with permission.

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Connecting Curriculum: Rethinking the Design and Scope of Outreach Education Programs

May 14 2014
Browse archives for May 14, 2014
Terry Wolkowicz
Terry Wolkowicz

I serve as the Education Coordinator for the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. I am an alumni from New England Conservatory of Music and Harvard University.

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In the article below, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra Education Director Terry Wolkowicz summarizes the yearlong educational program that was undertaken by the NBSO this year. The orchestra’s innovative education program aimed to go beyond simply presenting children’s concerts of classical music, and to integrate classical music within the academic curriculum – creating synergies and connections for students and teachers. It sounds like it was a great success!

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Is a Symphony Orchestra Musician a Commodity?

Apr 28 2014
Browse archives for April 28, 2014
Polyphonic Administrator
Polyphonic Administrator All posts from Polyphonic Administrator
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Michael Drapkin’s recent article “The Commoditization of Orchestra Musicians” seems to have struck a nerve and promoted lively debate. We have since found an article which discusses the commoditization issue in the context of orchestra labor disputes. In addition, we learned of some recent scholarly research that seems relevant to this topic. Below we have provided links to all of these articles as well as excerpts from each. What is your reaction to this topic? We want to hear from you – do you think an orchestra musician is a commodity?

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1
Benjamin Franklin, the Composer
2
Listening – A Musician’s Necessary Skill
3
An Interview with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Los Angeles’ New Assistant Conductor
4
Yale Symposium 2015: Music in the Schools
5
A Week with the Paradise Orchestra
6
We’re In This Together
7
How Loud is That?
8
The Absolute #1 Best Music School for You (and why I can’t tell you what it is)
9
Connecting Curriculum: Rethinking the Design and Scope of Outreach Education Programs
10
Is a Symphony Orchestra Musician a Commodity?