March 2007 Archives

In my previous posting, I wrote about the remarkable degree of change, over the forty year span that I have been involved with orchestras, in the relationship between musicians and managements (and boards). I noted the growing involvement of musicians in many governance issues, in music director and executive director searches, and direct or indirect involvement of musicians with boards of directors.

Another area where the role of musicians has changed dramatically over that time span is in musicians' roles with the public and with the community that their orchestra serves...

Some recent conversations at various orchestras, and with students in a class I teach at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts, have made me realize how much the role of musicians in today's American orchestras has changed over the past three or four decades...

Over the weekend I gave a speech at the 2007 MENC Eastern Division Conference in Hartford, Connecticut to a group of more than 1,600 music educators - many of whom are preparing for or have recently started their teaching careers- on the importance of collaborative advocacy on behalf of music education in today's schools. Both the League and MENC are dedicated to arts advocacy efforts to ensure that music education is a core component of every child's education, and strong resources in the schools and talented, professional music teachers are essential. What follows are some thoughts on how orchestras and music educators can work together to improve the status of music education in America's schools:

In yesterday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Matthew Erikson writes that for many people, "going to a classical concert may be a source of much social anxiety. Clap at the wrong moments -- and it may seem like most moments are wrong -- and you look like a hick. Must classical-concert etiquette be so bewildering and counterintuitive?"

This issue of not applauding between movements is one of my pet peeves...