As a former musician in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and current Director of Education and Community Partnerships at The Philadelphia Orchestra, I’m keenly aware of the cultural and fiscal challenges facing symphony orchestras in the 21st century. As a musicologist, (Ph.D.’07 from ESM), I’ve always been interested in learning from the past in order to[…]
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Dr. William Mesa is a professor of management and accounting at Colorado Christian University and an amateur musician who plays percussion in two community orchestras in Denver. His interest in both music and business lead him to a doctoral dissertation that, in part, discussed, organized and categorized the articles found in Harmony. (A MAP TO READING AND FINDING TOPICS IN HARMONY: Eight Years of Research, Studies, and Articles)
This series of four articles, published in installments here, represent his research interests in strategic management and organizational behavior, and applying that knowledge to the two community orchestras in which he plays. In Dr. Mesa’s words, “Understanding the significance of how IC (intellectual capital) is a resource for organizations, particularly NPOs (non-profit organizations) (like community orchestras), means recognizing the significance of what is at root of what motivates volunteers in the NPO or community orchestra. Why do community orchestras exist? Why do they perform?”
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Dr. William Mesa is a professor of management and accounting at Colorado Christian University and an amateur musician who plays percussion in two community orchestras in Denver. His interest in both music and business lead him to a doctoral dissertation that, in part, discussed, organized and categorized the articles found in Harmony. (A MAP TO READING AND FINDING TOPICS IN HARMONY: Eight Years of Research, Studies, and Articles)
This series of four articles, published in installments here, represent his research interests in strategic management and organizational behavior, and applying that knowledge to the two community orchestras in which he plays. In Dr. Mesa’s words, “Understanding the significance of how IC (intellectual capital) is a resource for organizations, particularly NPOs (non-profit organizations) (like community orchestras), means recognizing the significance of what is at root of what motivates volunteers in the NPO or community orchestra. Why do community orchestras exist? Why do they perform?”
Read More
Dr. William Mesa is a professor of management and accounting at Colorado Christian University and an amateur musician who plays percussion in two community orchestras in Denver. His interest in both music and business lead him to a doctoral dissertation that, in part, discussed, organized and categorized the articles found in Harmony. (A MAP TO READING AND FINDING TOPICS IN HARMONY: Eight Years of Research, Studies, and Articles)
This series of four articles, published in installments here, represent his research interests in strategic management and organizational behavior, and applying that knowledge to the two community orchestras in which he plays. In Dr. Mesa’s words, “Understanding the significance of how IC (intellectual capital) is a resource for organizations, particularly NPOs (non-profit organizations) (like community orchestras), means recognizing the significance of what is at root of what motivates volunteers in the NPO or community orchestra. Why do community orchestras exist? Why do they perform?”
Read More
Dr. William Mesa is a professor of management and accounting at Colorado Christian University and an amateur musician who plays percussion in two community orchestras in Denver. His interest in both music and business lead him to a doctoral dissertation that, in part, discussed, organized and categorized the articles found in Harmony. (A MAP TO READING AND FINDING TOPICS IN HARMONY: Eight Years of Research, Studies, and Articles)
This series of four articles, published in installments here, represent his research interests in strategic management and organizational behavior, and applying that knowledge to the two community orchestras in which he plays. In Dr. Mesa’s words, “Understanding the significance of how IC (intellectual capital) is a resource for organizations, particularly NPOs (non-profit organizations) (like community orchestras), means recognizing the significance of what is at root of what motivates volunteers in the NPO or community orchestra. Why do community orchestras exist? Why do they perform?”
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Justin Locke spent 18 years playing with the Boston Pops, the Boston Ballet, and all the other many freelance gigs in New England. He is now an author and speaker, and in his musical memoir, “Real Men Don’t Rehearse,” he shares some truly outrageous and hilarious gig disaster stories. One of several excerpts appears below. “Real Men Don’t Rehearse” is now in its sixth printing. You can see more at his website, www.justinlocke.com.
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Justin Locke spent 18 years playing with the Boston Pops, the Boston Ballet, and all the other many freelance gigs in New England. He is now an author and speaker, and in his musical memoir, “Real Men Don’t Rehearse,” he shares some truly outrageous and hilarious gig disaster stories. The first of several excerpts appears below. “Real Men Don’t Rehearse” is now in its sixth printing. You can see more at his website, www.justinlocke.com
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Mary McGeer, is a freelance musician who has carved out a unique niche in Toronto’s rich music scene by creating Talisker Players Chamber Music, an organization that presents chamber works for voice and small instrumental ensembles. The article explores the benefits and challenges of creating and maintaining a small budget performance organization as one part of an urban freelance career. Laura finds that although the rewards are significant in terms of creative expression, community connection, and the satisfaction of providing meaningful work for professional musicians, the price for those at the helm can be high. Countless hours of unpaid work are often required in order to maintain standards and stay within budget.
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Dan Trahey, Artistic Director of OrchKids, worked for the Education Department at the Hartford Symphony for many years; he contacted me and suggested that I come down and take a look at the OrchKids program for Polyphonic. I spent 3 days at the Lockerman- Bundy Elementary School, home of OrchKids, in April, 2010, and decided the best article I could write for Polyphonic would describe the nitty-gritty of how OrchKids engages the kids, both during regular school hours and in the after-school program. In other words, what does the program actually do with all the kids?
CBS’ 60 Minutes aired a story about Gustavo Dudamel, YOLA (Youth Orchestra LA) and OrchKids on May 16; you can watch it by visiting www.cbsnews.com.
The Baltimore Symphony also has a video about OrchKids on their website: OrchKids.
I must apologize for the quality of the photos. My digital camera died on the way to Baltimore (may it rest in peace) and I bought a throw-away camera at CVS. I think it’s more important to give you a sense of how the program works than to worry about the horrible graininess of the photos, so I’ve used some of them here.
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The Knights are not your typical orchestra. A hip young collective of New York City musicians, The Knights challenge the boundaries of convention through their innovative structure, communal rehearsal process, and creative programming. Collaborating with artists ranging from Dawn Upshaw and Gil Shaham to singer-songwriter Christina Courtin and fiddler Mark O’Connor to Middle Eastern musicians, The Knights have appeared at venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, Central Park, Le Poisson Rouge, the Dresden Musikfestspiele, and the National Gallery in Dublin, and will soon debut at Ravinia and at the Caramoor Festival with Yo-Yo Ma. The Knights have recorded two albums for SONY Classical, the second of which, New Worlds, was just released in the U.S. (New Worlds is available by clicking here).
I had the pleasure of speaking with the charismatic young conductor and cellist of The Knights, Eric Jacobsen, who formed the orchestra with his brother, violinist Colin Jacobsen. Eric describes how the orchestra gradually emerged from a group of friends reading chamber music into a critically-acclaimed ensemble that embraces the spirit of collectivity and collaboration and expands the possibilities of contemporary orchestral performance. For more information about Eric Jacobsen and The Knights, please visit http://www.jacobseneric.com/ and http://www.theknightsnyc.com/index.php.
– Kirsten Jermé
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