Among the 29th Annual Conductors Guild Conference sessions, one that stuck out in particular was the Auditioning Players panel discussion featuring musicians from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) talking about how to audition musicians, what to listen for, best practices, challenges and solutions to common issues, etc. Anecdotally, the SLSO is genuinely known for [...]

Loving A Cello Shouldn’t Be This Rough
There’s a wonderfully clever short film making the rounds by cellist Nicholas Canellakis titled the musician’s breakup that reinforces the bond between musician and instrument that’s different than the usual take by taking more of an anthropomorphic approach that is both humorous and touching. It’s well worth your time.

Are You In St. Louis This Weekend?
I’ll be at the 29th Annual Conductors Guild Conference from Saturday, 6/15/13 through Monday, 6/17/2013 serving as a mentor so if you’re in the area and would like to touch base, feel free to get in touch via the following info. Likewise, if you’re a Guild member, don;t miss the special conference discount for new [...]

Nashville Gets Some Big Sponsorship Love
For an orchestra that Bank of America (BoA) deemed so unsustainable that it decided to foreclosure on its primary venue, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO) still manages to secure large corporate sponsors for their flagship concert series. On 6/13/2013, the NSO announced that Aegis Sciences Corporation has sponsored the orchestra’s 2013/14 Classical Concert series to [...]

Heading To St. Louis
I’m off to the 29th Annual Conductors Guild Conference, I’ll be there from Saturday, 6/15/13 through Monday, 6/17/2013 serving as a mentor for one-on-one sessions with conference attendees. I’ll be available to discuss the finer points of career development, starting and managing your own ensemble, networking, and more. If you’re attending the conference, you can [...]

Some Initial Thoughts On Nashville
I’ve been deliberately holding off writing anything about the real-time game of chicken going on between the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and Bank of America over the latter’s decision to foreclose on the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in order to see if the situation resolved itself. But since that didn’t happen over the weekend, it is [...]

Krystian Zimerman Will Have Bigger Things To Worry About
Last week’s post about the uproar surrounding pianist Krystian Zimerman’s decision to cut a recital short because he spotted a patron allegedly recording the performance with a Smartphone generated some terrific feedback from readers. In particular, readers focused on issues surrounding copyright infringement and patron interaction. First up, was a comment from reader Rochelle Skolnick [...]

Charges Of Financial Irregularities At Symphony Of The Americas
When joining the board of a nonprofit performing arts organization, most folks don’t assume the job will include a political battle fought in the public arena for doing nothing more than acting as a steward of public trust. But according to a report in the 6/4/2013 edition of WPLG’s Local10.com by Bob Norman, that appears [...]
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"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but...more100% Reader Supported!
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