on the record: October 2007 Archives

I recently was engaged in a discussion with someone whom I would have expected to be a regular attender of symphony concerts. This was someone who spent a great deal of time thinking about culture in America, someone who attended the theater a great deal, opera more than occasionally, movies frequently, and art museums regularly. But this person said that to himself and his friends (he is in his early forties), symphony concerts were not part of their lives because symphonic music seemed somehow unconnected with their lives...

If you believe, as I do, that for orchestras to continue to survive and thrive, they have to be true community resources--they need to make connections to their community that go beyond giving subscription concerts, no matter how good those concerts are--the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra may be a model for our field. I spent two days with them in early October, and came away invigorated, stimulated, and filled with visions of how orchestras can accomplish this. The ASO is an integral part of so much of Atlanta that it is, in truth, a genuinely important resource for all of Atlanta...

Early this month I was asked by the management of the New World Symphony to come and speak to the members of the orchestra (Fellows, as they are called) about the orchestra business. This group represents, in a very real way, the future of this art form. The New World Symphony (NWS) is a pre-professional training orchestra. Its musicians are mainly just out of music school, and spend a maximum of three years with NWS. Michael Tilson Thomas is their music director. Guest conductors, soloists, and guest musicians from great orchestras provide a broad range of performance and training experiences. This is certainly the best orchestral preparation a young musician can get...