Blog

Unions Are a Musician’s Friend

This past spring I received an email signed by a dozen or so Eastman students. It was sent to Eastman School jazz students and faculty. This group had met out of frustration. It seems that within the student jazz community at Eastman, there has not been much discussion or communication between them about how to […]

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AFM wins in court; won't matter much

The AFM (or at least its lawyers) had a good win in labor law land the other day: The AFM has won a significant victory affecting orchestra media negotiations. The AFM has consistently taken the position that orchestra managements who are signatory to AFM media agreements (such as the Symphony, Opera or Ballet Audio Visual[…]

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An orchestra of 300 million

Last Saturday I was on my way to New York, which in practice is pretty much an all-day business. So I saw almost nothing about the Tucson shootings until I heard about them during the League seminar I was helping out with on Sunday. What I heard then caught me off-guard; apparently one of the[…]

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Devastating Impact

I recently purchased an Internet radio, so am now about to access (without charge) my favorite public radio stations from throughout the US.  One theme that I hear on all of them is that proposed public (government) funding cuts will have a devast…

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Musicians Can Now Sell Directly on Facebook With This New App

If you have a band and are trying to get your name around, Moontoast might be something to consider.  They’ve come up with an app that allows musicians to connect with their fans and sell directly on Facebook.  Check out the article here:
http://ma…

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What's the difference between practicing and child abuse?

It’s not very often that practice techniques make the Wall Street Journal. It’s even less often that they become the stuff of vitriolic debate, but that’s what’s happened in response to this: A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many[…]

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Movement in Detroit: PS

It’s understandable why the musicians might be wary in light of DSO management’s public statements regarding their new “offer”: DSO officials said it would up the orchestra budget to $36 million, $2 million more in player pay and benefits than its late November offer. But the offer is contingent on musicians accepting work rule changes[…]

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Movement in Detroit?

Maybe: The striking musicians and management of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra traded barbs and accusations on today while a settlement to the 15-week-old strike remained elusive — even as management appeared to sweeten its offer for the first time since November. The musicians called a news conference to accuse management of threatening to cancel the[…]

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CSO Live (not sure about the conductor, though)

In honor of yesterday’s inaugural broadcast to movie theaters of “LA Phil Live,” here’s what cutting-edge media technology looked like 50 years ago. I love the downbeat to the third bar.

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Arts in the suburbs

Anne Midgette had an interesting piece in Friday’s Washington Post on the boom in arts facilities in the DC area: If the 1970s saw an increase in performing arts organizations, the 1990s and 2000s have seen a notable increase in places built to house them. The boom is reflected nowhere better than in the Washington[…]

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1
Unions Are a Musician’s Friend
2
AFM wins in court; won't matter much
3
An orchestra of 300 million
4
Devastating Impact
5
Musicians Can Now Sell Directly on Facebook With This New App
6
What's the difference between practicing and child abuse?
7
Movement in Detroit: PS
8
Movement in Detroit?
9
CSO Live (not sure about the conductor, though)
10
Arts in the suburbs