All musicians don’t have to be performers. Though they may start by singing or playing an instrument, some musicians transition to composing or studying music history or theory. An amateur does this for recreation and fun. A professional may do that too, but the difference is this: professionals are paid for what they do (and[…]
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It’s a beer bottle orchestra, and it’s not a bad idea on lots of levels: It humanizes the orchestra, makes the players seem “normal,” gives the orchestra some media exposure and hopefully brings in some money to the coffers. Doesn’t about every mid-size city and larger have a favorite local beer? Note to orchestra marketing[…]
Read MoreI suppose that most of the readers of the Polyphonic blog are aware that Leonard Slatkin suffered a heart attack 5 or 6 weeks ago. I don’t usually pay much attention to reports like that, but since I’m just about the same age as Slatkin, I read his account of the incident with great interest. […]
Read MoreLegos. You know what they are, little pieces of plastic that have an interlocking system that allows the user to combine them in an infinite number of ways. With Legos you can make things like buildings or vehicles. If you don’t like what you make, you can continually try to improve it by rearranging the[…]
Read MoreUniversity Turns iPhones Into Musical Instruments NEW YORK (Reuters) – Welcome to an orchestra of the 21st century. iPhones are being used as musical instruments in a new course at an American university. Students at the University of Michigan are learning to design, build and play instruments on their Apple Inc. smartphones, with a public[…]
Read MoreMusic educators have been doing a fantastic job. The level of musicianship of college-age music majors continues to rise each year. Jazz players are entering as freshmen at skill levels equal to graduate students of years past, and “classical” musicians always seem to raise the bar with their technical prowess. Of course, one can always[…]
Read MoreIsraeli conductor Itay Talgam uses leadership on the podium as a metaphor for leadership in business. Some good stuff here, worth watching, especially the last clip of Bernstein.
Read MoreFor the past four days I’ve been in San Diego, CA where the Eastman School’s Institute for Music Leadership, of which I am Director, presented a pre-meeting workshop at the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) annual meeting. The title of the workshop was, “The Entrepreneurial Music School in a Challenging Economy.” Since it’s[…]
Read MoreThis past week the Broadway show “Chicago,” was in Rochester. It was the national touring production, and I contracted it and also played it. It’s a great show. Those Bob Fosse choreographed dance segments are spectacular. What a genius that man was. His choreography is unmistakable. Talk about having a style! The music is 1920’s[…]
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No explanation needed. Forgive me, but I’m just the messenger. And he’s got more of these. . . .
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