Blog

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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Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at 100

2013 is the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, and 2013 will see more than 270 performances of this iconic work of the early 20th century. Donald Rosenberg, long-time music critic and reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, has written a fascinating article about the Rite in this month’s Symphony magazine.[…]

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Sir Colin Davis Remembered

Due to the tumult of the bombing at the Boston Marathon, the world all but overlooked the passing of Sir Colin Davis, one of the great conductors of the 20thcentury, who died at age 85 one day before that terrible event took place.  To list his resumé as the music director and guest conductor of[…]

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Where no orchestra has gone before

The Minnesota Orchestra has once again made history; this time with a public threat by its music director to leave unless things are settled very soon: Osmo Vänskä says he will resign as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra if the ensemble loses a prestigious engagement at New York’s Carnegie Hall because of the current[…]

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Yo-Yo Ma’s Address to the Americans for the Arts Summit

On Monday, April 8, 2013, Yo-Yo Ma, along with former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum and Damian Woetzel, former principal dancer at New York City Ballet and the director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program, participated in the Americans for the Arts Summit in Washington DC, discussing the need to develop strong public policies[…]

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1
Sphinx Founder Aaron Dworkin’s Personal Story
2
Getting a Grip on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
3
Modern Times
4
Symphony Magazine, Spring 2013 Issue
5
New boss same as old boss
6
Improving the Orchestra’s Revenue Position: Practical Tactics and General Strategies
7
Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at 100
8
Sir Colin Davis Remembered
9
Where no orchestra has gone before
10
Yo-Yo Ma’s Address to the Americans for the Arts Summit