A tentative deal has been reached for a new musicians’ contract at the Utah Symphony & Opera, with both sides agreeing to recommend ratification. Previously, the musicians had soundly rejected a proposal that management had called its “last, best, and final offer” to avert a work stoppage. The main sticking point had been wages – the US&O is one of the lowest-paid full-time orchestras in the US.
Author: sbergman
American Indian Museum Names New Director
“The Smithsonian Institution yesterday named Kevin Gover, a lawyer and former Interior Department official with no museum experience, to succeed W. Richard West as director of the National Museum of the American Indian… [Officials said that] Gover’s lifelong work with Indian nations qualified him for the job.”
Cleveland Clinic Removes Painting After Complaints
” A controversial painting removed from display last week at the Cleveland Clinic includes depictions of blacks that many employees viewed as racially stereotypical, Clinic officials said Monday. Numerous employees at the Cleveland Clinic complained last week about the painting, ‘My Home Town,’ by Cleveland artist Michelangelo Lovelace, who is black. Lovelace, in turn, said last week that he had been censored when the Clinic replaced the work with another of his paintings.”
“Revolutionary” Off-Broadway Theater Facing Closure
“A state-of-the-art off-Broadway theater owned and operated by two of Broadway’s top producers is riddled with debt and faces possible foreclosure and bankruptcy… The theater – 37 Arts, recently home to In the Heights – was supposed to revolutionize off-Broadway when it opened to much fanfare in 2005.”
Wheeling & Dealing Big Business At TIFF
The acquisition and rights deals struck against the backdrop of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival are expected to surpass last year’s record of CAN$50m. “A small Canadian or foreign film sold to an international broadcaster may not seem like much of a headline grabber, but multiply that many times over and you get a sense of the volume of transactions.”
What’s The Career ERA On That Bassoonist?
Orchestras have long believed that the best way to get their audiences to feel personally connected to the organization is to introduce them to individual musicians. In Houston, that philosophy has taken an unusual turn, as the Houston Symphony unveils a set of 33 trading cards, complete with the personal “stats” of the featured musicians.
Mass. Doles Out $16.7m For Arts, But Stiffs Citi Center
“In a move hailed by arts leaders across Massachusetts, the state’s new Cultural Facilities Fund yesterday allocated an unprecedented $16.7 million worth of grants for building projects to more than 60 arts and cultural organizations throughout the state. But noticeably absent from the list of recipients was the Citi Performing Arts Center.”
Detroit Gets In Touch With Its Inner American
Promoters of new American music have long decried the reluctance of stateside ensembles to put their homegrown talent front and center, ahead of overplayed European masterworks. But in Detroit, this is looking like a distinctly American season. “It’s not clear why American music is suddenly taking center stage, though there is some evidence that local classical music leaders are beginning to connect the dots between contemporary music, revitalizing the largely staid repertoire and appealing to a wider audience.”
Who Knew Bach Even Had Music Videos?
“Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Air on the G String’ has become one of the most frequently aired pieces on Korean MTV recently, while girl groupies scream out of sheer joy at Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, noticing that their favorite boy band will soon come out on the stage to sing. Though it may sound impossible, classical music has become a major source of inspiration for the country’s songwriters, through the means of sampling.”
TIFF Looking For More Largesse
The board of the Toronto International Film Festival needs to step up the level of its donations, and convince more members of the community to join them. “TIFF certainly has an international cachet that makes Canada’s other arts institutions salivate with envy… [But] with a third of the $196-million fundraising target for the new festival headquarters outstanding, the pressure on board members to deliver has never been so intense.”