Archive - 2011

1
NLRB says we can be unionized – for now
2
O sweet mystery of life
3
Invisible Musicians
4
My 2012 Professional Resolutions
5
Of choirs and orchestras
6
For the musician with self-esteem issues
7
The Cuckoo Clock
8
Darth Vader vs. the Jedi Cellos
9
Defending Arts Entrepreneurship
10
Re-Imagining the Orchestra

NLRB says we can be unionized – for now

In what may be the last NLRB decision in a long time, a few days ago the Board ruled that musicians in several per-service orchestras were employees and not independent contractors, and thus could force their employer to recognize their union as bargaining agent: The National Labor Relations Board has found that musicians playing for[…]

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O sweet mystery of life

…or one of them at least – is what conductors actually do. I thought it was all about the hair; Justin Davidson thinks it’s more than that: “Knowing the score”—the expression implies mastery, but it doesn’t suggest the sustained and solitary study that’s required to achieve it. There are a few miles of roadway that[…]

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Invisible Musicians

At the end of this blog is a letter to the editor that was published in the December 13 Louisville 
Courier-Journal. In it the writer laments the absence of an orchestra at this year’s Nutcracker performance. The tone of her letter is typical of what I had read in the past when ballets have opted […]

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My 2012 Professional Resolutions

As I contemplate the new year, 2012, these are my professional resolutions.I will:

1. Get involved politically, making donations as I can to the political candidates I support. Too often I’ve promised to do this, but haven’t. This year, as it appear…

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Of choirs and orchestras

There was a story the other day on our local public radio story that got me thinking about one of the key differences between choirs and orchestras: their relationship to the beat: We revisit our conversation with classical choral composer Eric Whitacre, who has just been nominated for a Grammy for his latest CD “Light[…]

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For the musician with self-esteem issues

This study is about visual artists, but I think it should apply to us as well: According to some scientists, even human beings are just trying to make it in the animal kingdom, and everything we do can be traced back to basic survival. Man hunt, man fight, man eat, man… paint? In 2000,Geoffrey Miller[…]

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The Cuckoo Clock

Years ago there was an interview with the great British film director Alfred Hitchcock about a movie that he always wanted to make but never quite did. The movie is set at La Scala Milan, the great opera house of … Continue reading

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Defending Arts Entrepreneurship

As I interact more with arts entrepreneurship professionals, especially those in music (my home field), I am appalled at how often and consistently these professionals are asked to defend their discipline. What could be more important today than equip…

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Re-Imagining the Orchestra

The fact that many American orchestras struggle to survive is no secret. In the past few years, top-tier ensembles in Philadelphia, Syracuse, Honolulu, Detroit, Louisville, Dallas, and New Mexico have cancelled concerts, issued pay cuts, declared bankr…

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