England’s Royal Northern College of Music is trying to change the traditional conservatory model, under which students are drilled in the technical and musical demands of the profession, but left largely unprepared for a music world in which the supply of quality musicians far outstrips the demand. “Each and every student learns about the business end of music as part of the standard BMus degree programme. The course includes a strand known as supporting professional studies, which aims to impart business knowledge, communication skills, and a spirit of entrepreneurialism: all the aspects demanded of 21st-century professional musicians.”
Author: sbergman
If Music Were Just Noise
Imagine if music didn’t sound good to you. Not just some music, but all music. Now imagine that the world reacts to your condition by assuming that you’re either an idiot or a killjoy. Welcome to the world occupied by sufferers of amusia, a neurological condition under which subjects are “profoundly impaired in recognizing melodies and in pitch discrimination, unable to distinguish between adjacent tones and semitones.”
Kreizberg To Monte Carlo
Russian-American conductor Yakov Kreizberg has been named the next music director of the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, succeeding Marek Janowski. “Kreizberg is music director of the Netherlands Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra, and principal guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony.” He’ll take the reins of Monte Carlo in 2009.
Motions Filed To Block Randolph Art Sale
“A group of students, alumnae, art donors and former employees filed motions in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Tuesday seeking to keep financially ailing Randolph College from selling four paintings from its museum collection next month. The paintings are scheduled to be sold through Christie’s auction house. College officials estimate they will receive at least $32 million, which will go into the college’s endowment.” The art world has been aflame over the plan ever since it was announced.
Fisk Says It Must Sell O’Keeffe Stake To Stay Open
“Fisk University could run out of money if it is unable to sell its stake in an art collection donated by Georgia O’Keeffe, a lawyer for the historically black school told a judge Tuesday. Even with new revenue from next semester’s student tuition, the school wouldn’t be able to operate beyond February.” The university has been trying to get permission to sell its stake over objections from O’Keeffe’s estate.
13% Of Library Of Congress Goes Missing
An investigation has revealed that fully 1/6 of the Library of Congress’s collection of books and periodicals cannot be located at the present time. “Officials at the library say they believe most of the missing materials are misplaced, not stolen or lost.” Still, the revelation is being called “deeply troubling” by those in charge of the nation’s primary print archive.
Did Pollock Have Secret Paints?
“Jackson Pollock, famous for his dripped and poured paintings, was one of the most explosively innovative American artists of the 20th century. But was he also decades ahead of his time in terms of the paints he used? Did he have access to pigments and resins that weren’t marketed or patented until well after his death in 1956?” The question arose after several supposedly authenticated Pollocks were found to contain such pigments.
Historical Commission Says Yes To Curtis
“The Curtis Institute of Music’s proposed demolition of all or part of several Locust Street buildings – including the interiors of two historic townhouses – won the approval yesterday of the Philadelphia Historical Commission’s architectural committee… The committee took a pass on requiring Curtis to rework its architectural plans to preserve the interiors of two significant 19th-century buildings.”
Handicapping The Tonys: It’s Never Too Early
It hasn’t exactly been a breakout fall for the new crop of Broadway musicals, and observers are starting to wonder whether any of the new shows could truly be considered a Tony frontrunner. “Once upon a time, Young Frankenstein looked unbeatable. But with two weeks of previews under its belt, the show is hardly shaking up Shubert Alley,” and several other high-profile shows are considered iffy as well. So is it conceivable that the new stage adaptation of John Waters’s cult film, Cry-Baby, starring none other than Johnny Depp, could sneak into a frontrunner role?
Using Serious Technology To Hunt For High Art
“Analyzing 500-year-old bricks, engineers in California are searching for a lost Leonardo da Vinci fresco that some researchers believe is behind a wall in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio… Laser scanners, thermal imaging, radar and neutrons will be employed in the project that Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli said is expected to take about a year.”