Inside The Arts

Who Doesn?t Like Timelines And Big Audiences?

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:30:16 GMT

I always enjoy it when an orchestra website includes some worthwhile info about their history at their website. Case in point, the New York Philharmonic recently released a fascinating searchable database of their performances going all the back to 1842 (BTW, they performed Beethoven’s fifth but it was only 35 years old at that time). [...]

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Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:18:17 GMT

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James Russell Gets It

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:30:12 GMT

The 6/28/09 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) published a guest column by James Russell, the architecture critic for Bloomberg. For my money, Russell is one of the rare visionary writers in this country. His onetime blog, Sticks and Stones, was a beacon of insight and reason that not only predicted the 2008 housing fiasco [...]

Response to Joe: Bursting the Programming Bubble?on the road again!

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:00:39 GMT

Joe over on Butts in Seats challenged our blogging community regarding programming and Bill as usual hit a slam dunk. My take is that we place too much faith in programming as being the answer to our woes when the real problems lie in the attitudes and motivations behind the programming.? This notion we have [...]

Cliburn Soundoff! ? It?s OVER ? wrap with James and wild closing!

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:52:52 GMT

I wanted to post Monday, but it was such a blur!? For the final post from this year’s Cliburn, I post the final two parts of my conversation with James Conlon, and I edited a two part audio clip of the closing ceremony complete with wild (and very frank) opinions, Van speaking, the awarding of [...]

Top 10 Ways To Annoy Your Orchestra Website Visitors

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:30:35 GMT

What started out as pet peeves eventually turned into the annual orchestra website reviews, a resource that has contributed to improved website design throughout the entire orchestra business. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean webpage annoyances have gone away, they’ve just become more refined. As such, I’ve compiled a Top 10 list of the recent offenses? Create [...]

Sweet Home Chicago

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:56:18 GMT

After a week out of the office, I’m back in Chicago and getting caught up on the ubiquitous pile of email messages, voicemail, etc. that accompany extended departures. As such, I’ll be back on track with regular blogging tomorrow; in the meantime, make sure you didn’t overlook this morsel from the 6/23/2009 edition of the [...]

Speedlinking June 26, 2009

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:02:39 GMT

Due to the time commitments of work here in Springfield, MO with the Springfield symphony and Springfield Regional Arts Council (BTW, the Symphony’s board retreat on Wednesday went wonderfully, what a great group – you’ll be reading more about this project soon), I only have time to post a few links for sites around the [...]

?Hoops, there it is!? ? a response to Joe

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:50:31 GMT

Our blog-brother Joe (Butts In The Seats) has posted a most interesting question in his last blog and it just screams out for a response.? Fortunately I can compress my response down to two words: Michael Jordan. Look, if the Good Lord came down right now and said: “Bill, I’ve chosen you to be the champion [...]

The Empire Strikes Back

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:44:41 GMT

Crisis management public relations is never easy and there is a good reason entire PR firms exist for the sole purpose of helping individuals and organizations’ deal with negative press in a way that marginalizes damage and ultimately brings about favorable public opinion. Traditionally, orchestras tend to deal with negative press using one a few [...]

Why Do Orchestras Do That?

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:30:58 GMT

Joe Patti, my blogging cohort at Butts In The Seats, posted an open? to the Inside The Arts bloggers that I think is best suited for just about anyone that has a connection to orchestras. Joe asks “Orchestras have some of the best trained and skilled musicians around. Why do they primarily confine themselves to [...]

The New Golden Age ? Defending the Jury pt. 2

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:00:15 GMT

With so much attention being paid to Tsujii (including from me) I wanted to be sure to not overlook the other gold medalist Haochen Zhang, his extraordinary ability and unbelievable upside potential. If not breaking barriers like Tsujii he certainly dispelled a myth and if some feel that the jury took a chance with him, [...]

Is it time for the Revolution?

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:08:21 GMT

Newsflash – Endowments are down the toilet; Arts orgs. are laying off people at record pace; donations are down; the NYCity Opera got sold a bag of rotten turnips; ponzi scheems are playing havoc with donors; orchestras/dnace companies/opera companies/etc. are folding ……… Folks, is it time for the next Revolution? In all seriousness the economic mess [...]

Cliburn: Striking Human Gold! ? Defending the Jury part 1

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:29:21 GMT

There are so many things people are hoping for in the winner of the Cliburn. Every 4 years this veritable Piano Olympiad usually picks a winner who possesses pure virtuosity, stage presence and superb musicianship. Expectations are high for the Pianists and the pressure is intense to say the least.? This year was different and [...]

The Customer is always???

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:20:31 GMT

It has been an interesting few weeks closing out the ESO’s 08-09 season. Like most orchestras we get a fair amount of feedback about the concerts we present, but unlike many orchestras every email that we receive gets distributed throughout the staff, and posted by the musician’s lounge. This leads to some interesting [...]

Cliburn: An article beyond the pale?poison Iv(r)y

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:26:57 GMT

Just how far behind the times is the Wall Street Journal’s Benjamin Ivry?? Close to 10 years, and bravo (not!) to him for proclaiming that the blind should not be allowed to play concertos, so does he have a problem with the deaf writing music also?? You have to read his article to believe it… So [...]