Keeping a chamber orchestra alive, even in a city known for its vibrant cultural scene, is a tough assignment, and this week’s announcement that Seattle’s Northwest Chamber Orchestra would fold came as a harsh dose of reality, but not a big surprise. “There was a time when the loss of the Northwest Chamber Orchestra would have been grieved much more by the music community. The impact is less now, not only because its audiences were in a downward spiral, but because there are more opportunities to hear chamber orchestra repertory now.”
Blog
Wilkens Takes Ohio
Christopher Wilkens, music director of the Orlando Symphony and formerly of the San Antonio Symphony, has been appointed to lead the Akron Symphony in Ohio as well. “Wilkins’ audition concert caused a stir in the audience because of how Wilkins helped the orchestra overcome the famously dry acoustics of E.J. Thomas Hall to achieve a large, resonant sound.”
The Shire Has Its Day – But Will It Last?
It’s opening night in Toronto for the CAN$28 million stage production of Lord of the Rings, and seemingly everyone is holding his breath. “LOTR is unusual in being a show that is nearly impossible to define, because it simultaneously is and is not a musical, is and is not a play, is and is not a circus act, is and is not a vast spectacle. It’s a theatrical experience unlike any other. But how it is ultimately defined, by critics and audiences, will go a long way toward determining whether the show runs for one year — or many years.”
All Concertmasters Are Pretty Much Alike, Anyway
Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim’s appearance was to be the highlight of the year for California’s El Camino Youth Symphony, but this week, as Kim prepared to leave for Silicon Valley, one of his assistant principals in Philadelphia was in a car accident, another went into labor, and he was forced to stay behind lest the orchestra go leaderless. Nonetheless, after a few phone calls, Kim was able to rustle up a passable replacement soloist for the El Camino kids – his good friend Robert Chen, concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony.
Since We’re Not Bankrupt After All…
In the wake of the bitter, months-long battle that preceded the Louisville Orchestra’s contract settlement with its musicians this week, the orchestra knows it has some public fences to mend. So with its April performances back on (the board had threatened to cancel them,) the orchestra is offering free tickets to several shows, and giving subscribers who exchanged out of the April shows extra passes.
Honoring The Women In A Men’s World
The Detroit Symphony has created a new annual prize to recognize female composers. “The Elaine Lebenbom Award will be open to an international field and reward the winner with a $10,000 check and the world premiere performances of the selected work on the orchestra’s classical subscription series.”
Hare Skipping UK For Broadway
David Hare is skipping London and opening his new play in New York. “No fewer than 13 of Sir David’s previous works, including Racing Demon, Pravda and Plenty, have had their premieres at the National Theatre in London. However, Sir David said that his last stint there, for his play Stuff Happens two years ago, was ‘almost the most frustrating experience I have ever had in the theatre’. The National’s way of doing things, he said, was not helpful to playwrights.
MTV Canada – Anybody Care?
MTV’s previous entry into Canada was a bust. But MTV Canada returns to questions whether anyone will watch. “By sharp contrast, the newer, slicker version of MTV Canada will devote resources to original production; seven new homegrown series are already in the works. The network hopes to entice viewers with a zeitgeist-grabbing mix of entertainment, lifestyle and reality programming. But aren’t we already swimming in this kind of stuff? What is this drought you speak of, MTV Canada?”
Study: Link Between Kids And TV Sex
A new study says that children who watch programs with sexual content are more likely to have sex. “There is a direct relationship between the amount of sexual content a child sees and their level of sexual activity or their intentions to have sex in the future, the study found. Such media also has at least an equal influence on sexual behaviour as religion or a child’s relationship with their parents and peers, the study said.”
Smackdown: Kirov Vs. Bolshoi
The Bolshoi and the Kirov are two of the world’s premiere ballet companies. “This summer the two companies will play opposite each other in London’s West End, the Bolshoi at Covent Garden, the Kirov at the Coliseum. Both insist there is no box-office war, nothing more than a market opportunity to rake cash while the west effetely rests. But the haste with which the seasons have been cobbled together and the simultaneity of their launches exposes a breach in the entente and the outcome of the undeclared contest will leave casualties on both sides.”