“Japanese researchers have come up with a novel alternative to the car radio, with the invention of a musical road surface… This quirky musical invention came about after a bulldozer driver accidentally scraped notches into a road, drove over them, and heard a series of notes.”
Author: sbergman
Lockout In Jacksonville
The Jacksonville Symphony has locked out its musicians and canceled performances after contract talks broke down earlier this week. JSO management is looking for wage freezes and benefit cuts from musicians, who say that they’ve already taken cuts to stabilize the organization.
Zukerman Bemoans The State Of His Art
Conductor/violinist Pinchas Zukerman is feeling gloomy about classical music’s future. “We’re really not doing anything cohesive… If it’s not synonymous with our existence, or at least 5 to 6 percent of the population, then society will become a jungle.”
Layoffs Coming To Finnish Opera
Finnish National Opera will reduce its staff by 54 through attrition and layoffs in order to fulfill a board mandate that it trim annual expenses by €2.8m. Despite good attendance numbers, the company has been struggling financially in recent seasons.
Steinway, Wyeth, Paul To Get Arts Medals
“Les Paul, the guitar innovator; Henry Ziegler Steinway, whose family handcrafted thousands of pianos; and Andrew Wyeth, the master painter of American scenes, will receive the National Medal of Arts today.”
Will US Music Schools Copy Venezuela?
What does Gustavo Dudamel’s suddenly famous Venezuelan youth orchestra mean for the future of the American orchestral scene? Well, it could signal “the dawn of the monster orchestra – made possible by nonunion youths who play at an extremely high level…”
Writers Aren’t Backing Down From This Fight
Conventional wisdom says that the striking TV writers are fighting a losing battle in an age when online content is fast overtaking other media. But the reality is that entertainment companies will eventually find a way to make buckets of money from online ventures, and the writers are determined not to lose out.
Canadian TV Industry Feeling The Pinch From Strike
“British Columbia’s television industry is in crisis as repercussions from the U.S. writers’ strike make their way north. One show has already shut down and at least five more are expected to prematurely stop production in the coming months.”
Field Museum Hikes Admission Fees
Chicago’s Field Museum has gotten approval from the city Parks Board to raise its admission fees. Fees for senior and student entrance will jump more than 66%.
Talks Scheduled In Broadway Strike
“The producers’ league and the stagehands’ union have agreed to meet on Saturday for negotiations for the first time since talks ended last Thursday and the stagehands then went on strike… There was no indication that the meeting would mean an end to the stagehands’ strike.”