Discussion Topic: Community

  1. New World Symphony Wallcasts

    The New World Symphony’s Wallcast concerts start up again this week in Miami. The Wallcasts are free simulcasts on a stunning, outdoor, 7,000-square-foot projection wall.

    Here is the official video:

    (more…)

    Topic: Audience, Community | Tags: , ,
    October 10, 2011 by Beth Hondl | Comments (2)

  2. Building a Sense of Value, One Family at a Time

    This is a guest post by Afa Sadykhly Dworkin, Vice President of Programming and Artistic Director of the Sphinx Organization. Ms. Dworkin will be a panelist at our live event in San Francisco on October 23.

    At Sphinx, we attempt to tackle issues of connecting the artist with the community through the prism of diversity, inclusiveness and integration.

    There is a notable divide between communities of color and classical music. We focus on bridging the gap by immersing classical music within the community. We market our concerts in a grassroots manner, working with community and faith based institutions, to establish common goals and synthesize our efforts. We have to build the sense of value and experience, one person, one family at a time. (more…)

    Topic: Audience, Community | Tags:
    October 7, 2011 by Beth Hondl | Comments (2)

  3. What it Takes to Keep Moving Forward

    What does it take for an orchestra to keep moving forward in the 21st-century? In a recent article, Boston Globe critic Jeremy Eichler emphasizes the need to look outward.

    Performing arts organizations don’t tend to idle in neutral — they either move forward or backward…. many forward-thinking orchestras have begun reexamining their broader missions. More groups are recognizing that the ceaseless pursuit of ensemble virtuosity alone simply does not constitute a governing artistic agenda. They have been angling outward in thoughtful ways to engage a public far beyond specialists and subscribers.

    …The orchestra must [strive] to carve an essential place for this art form in a fractured 21st-century landscape, to link a bunkered concert hall with the cultural and intellectual life of the society at large, and to entice the audience of the future not through pandering or gimmicks but through concerts that demand to be heard. Read the full article.

    Topic: Community, Creativity
    October 6, 2011 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  4. Take a Stand – A New Initiative for Educators

    The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Bard College and the Longy School of Music have announced a new initiative inspired by Venezuela’s famed music training program El Sistema. The new program, called Take A Stand, will offer regular conferences and workshops for educators, and a masters degree program. Gustavo Dudamel and Deborah Borda are both appearing at our October 23rd event and it will be interesting to hear more about their vision for the program.

    We believe this national alliance will inspire and lead change in music education, addressing both a public and musical imperative that is cried out for today. We are partnering to invest in the mission of music as a fundamental and essential human right. -Deborah Borda

    Read the press release | coverage in the LA Times.

    Topic: Community | Tags: , , ,
    October 5, 2011 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  5. Speaker spotlight: Afa Sadykhly Dworkin

    Afa Sadykhly Dworkin is the  Vice President of Programming and Artistic Director for the Sphinx Organization in Detroit. She will be joining us for our October 23 live event. Here is an introduction to the Sphinx Organization, featuring an interview with Ms. Dworkin. “Sphinx is working towards a future where every young person, regardless of their cultural background, can make classical music a part of their everyday life.”

    Topic: Community | Tags: , ,
    October 4, 2011 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  6. The Power of Community

    The Michigan Pops Orchestra puts on only a few concerts a year, yet regularly draws over 1500 paying audience members. Mark Clague, co-moderator of our live events and professor at the University of Michigan, takes a look at how community makes it possible:

    When orchestras are deeply integrated with their communities, the authentic connections that motivate listeners to action become increasingly likely. Today, I think these connections are likely more powerful person-to-person than institution-to-customer, so it’s vital that those involved with an orchestra share news of their love of the ensemble and its music… Read article.

    Topic: Community | Tags:
    October 3, 2011 by Beth Hondl | Comments (1)

  7. Inquiry, Conversation and Curiosity

    Steven Winn, arts journalist and critic, will be co-moderating our live events in San Francisco. In this post, he explores the nature of this under-taking and summarizes the American Orchestra Forum’s ultimate goal. “It’s not settled answers we’re after, but questions, even unsettling ones, that lead to more inquiry, conversation and curiosity. And then lead us back, when the talking ends, to the music.”

    Any performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 is a major communal undertaking. Ninety-five minutes of music (with no intermission), ranging from the raucous to the sublime, that requires a massive orchestral ensemble, a women’s chorus, a girl’s chorus and a vocal soloist. Not to mention an audience willing and ready to come along for the long and twisting ride. It may take a village to raise a child, but you need good-sized city to pull off Mahler’s Third and make it work.

    I happened to sit a whole closer to the stage than I normally do on Sept. 21, when Michael Tilson Thomas conducted the San Francisco Symphony’s first Mahler 3 in nine years. From my fifth row orchestra seat the marvel of all those musicians (and listeners) pulling together seemed more marvelous – and unlikely – than ever. Things that meld, aurally and visually from a distance, are riskier, more combustive and febrile up close. (more…)

    Topic: Community | Tags: , ,
    September 28, 2011 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  8. What is Community?

    Community. Admittedly a broad topic. Here Steven Winn — arts journalist, critic and co-moderator of our live events in San Francisco — poses some of the questions we’ll be asking as part of the American Orchestra Forum.

    From museum shows to publishing to Hollywood, the boom-or-bust blockbuster mentality has taken hold. Everyone wants to make the Big Impact and be the thing of the moment. But as many museums have discovered, overemphasizing the big special event (a major touring show) can create artificial expectations, attract one-time visitors who rarely return and detract from the core identity of the museum and its collection. Do orchestras run that risk by leaning too hard on special festivals, blow-out galas, anniversaries and noisy marketing strategies? How can an organization sustain its appeal and centrality over the long season and the long haul, with its inevitable ups and downs?

    Everyone probably agrees that education and cross-cultural outreach are the right things to do. But a lot of right things can feel like so much obligatory spinach. How can orchestras pursue their commitments in ways that refresh and reinvigorate the institution and the community? Is special programming, aimed at particular populations, the right approach? More music performed in neighborhoods, community centers, churches, schools? Should an education program be centered on the live experience for as many young listeners as possible? Does media (electronic, social, etc.) provide a more effective tool?

    Topic: Community | Tags:
    September 13, 2011 by admin | Comments (1)

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