Blog

New Research on Orchestra Fellowships Seeks Former Fellows

Orchestras around the nation have responded in a variety of ways to the challenges of becoming more diverse and accessible institutions. Some have developed fellowship programs designed to support African American and Latino musicians moving from their formal music education into the ranks of professional players. The League of American Orchestras, which has a long[…]

Read More

El Sistema for Choruses

The El Sistema movement has swept the American orchestral world, with a considerable number of the almost 120 after-school programs affiliated with a professional symphony orchestra. Polyphonic has written frequently about some of these orchestra-sponsored El Sistema programs. The Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids program and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s YOLA program are perhaps the best known,[…]

Read More

Roger Cline and the CSO Members’ Committee

Only people who serve on orchestra committees can really understand the impact of such volunteerism on their families. That impact can be substantial, both good and bad. One example of the positive impact of such service is this article by Jennifer Mondie, a member of the National Symphony Orchestra whose activism was clearly inspired and[…]

Read More

Getty Grant Awards Announced

22 Orchestras Receive Getty Education and Community Investment Grants from the League of American Orchestras Intended to help stimulate growth and excellence in education and community engagement programming, the grants will fund orchestras’ long-term in-school and after-school music programs with social development components, as well as orchestras’ health and wellness programs for populations including hospital[…]

Read More

Hartford Symphony Ratification: Two Views

The musicians of the Hartford Symphony took a very difficult vote last Sunday night, after a lengthy but collegial discussion. The result was ratification of management’s “best and final” offer, which includes very significant pay cuts for the Core musicians. The entire package was a 38% reduction in musician compensation. Musicians in Hartford are closely watching developments[…]

Read More

When Jean Sibelius Almost Taught at the Eastman School

File this one under the category of “fascinating music school history.” According to Vincent Lenti’s 2004 book, “For the Enrichment of Community Life: George Eastman and the Founding of the Eastman School of Music,” the famed Finnish composer Jean Sibelius very nearly became a faculty member of the Eastman School to teach music theory and[…]

Read More

Jimmy Greene’s “Beautiful Life” CD

During a recent conference call among the Polyphonic team, the question arose about whether orchestra musicians ever make musical political statements. Certainly many orchestras performed for “Musicians Against Nuclear Arms” (MANA) back in the 1970s and 1980s. I personally put together a concert with the Hartford Symphony and other area musicians in 1985, featuring Benita[…]

Read More

Most definitely not a viola joke

It’s not often a story this inspiring comes out of our business: Many people speak about the healing power of music, and I was lucky enough to be able to experience the truth of the idea. In the summer of 2013, I traveled with my now-wife then co-dreamer Lauren to the Middle East to bring[…]

Read More

Joseph Silverstein

Joseph (Joey) Silverstein passed away suddenly yesterday of an apparent heart attack at the age of 83. A student of Efrem Zimbalist, William Primrose, Josef Gingold and Mischa Mischakof, Mr Silverstein was a former prize winner at the Queen Elisabeth and Walter W Naumburg International Violin Competitions. He served as Concertmaster of the Boston Symphony for[…]

Read More
1
New Research on Orchestra Fellowships Seeks Former Fellows
2
El Sistema for Choruses
3
New York Philharmonic Names Jaap van Zweden as New Artistic Director
4
Roger Cline and the CSO Members’ Committee
5
Getty Grant Awards Announced
6
Hartford Symphony Ratification: Two Views
7
When Jean Sibelius Almost Taught at the Eastman School
8
Jimmy Greene’s “Beautiful Life” CD
9
Most definitely not a viola joke
10
Joseph Silverstein