Posts Tagged ‘mason bates’

  1. Video: The Changing Landscape

    How has the relationship between the orchestra and its community changed over the past century? (more…)

    Topic: Audience, Community, Creativity | Tags: , , , , , , ,
    October 16, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  2. Video: Technology and Engaged Audiences

    How can orchestras use technology to engage with audiences? (more…)

    Topic: Audience, Creativity | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
    October 15, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  3. A New Concert Experience in Chicago

    Mason Bates and Anna Clyne are both Mead Composers-in-Residence for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. (They’ve also both joined us for conversations as part of the American Orchestra Forum.) In Chicago, they curate a program called “MusicNOW” which is experimenting with new ways to present contemporary music. A brochure for the upcoming 2012-2013 season promises concertgoers “the most exciting new music experience” in Chicago.

    Andrew Patner wrote about a recent concert in the Chicago Sun-Times:

    Over the years, a large, youthful and attentive audience has gravitated to these four new music programs… Free pizza and beer after the shows truly seem to be conversation enablers rather than the ticket-sale enticements they started out to be. Literally hundreds of people are in the Harris’ lobby going at it about music, composers and performance for at least an hour post-concert.

    What is Chicago doing to attract this audience? The short answer is (more…)

    Topic: Audience, Creativity | Tags: , ,
    June 12, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (4)

  4. Podcast: Chapter Six – The Creative Challenge, Off the Stage

    In a culture that exalts the individual, creativity is thought of first and foremost as the distinctive stamp of a personality, the outpouring of a specific genius or talent. But organizations can and must be creative, too, if they hope to endure and thrive. In the face of financial woes, aging audiences, dwindling arts education and the momentum of an increasingly digital universe, orchestras are challenged as never before to find creative ways of making music and making it matter to their communities.

    This podcast was developed from our public forum in March 2012, Talking About Creativity and a “Conducting Business” podcast by New York radio station WQXR.

    Chapter Six – The Creative Challenge, Off the Stage

    Play | Download | Transcript

    (more…)

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
    May 24, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  5. Podcast: Chapter Five – Orchestral Creativity, on the Stage

    Where does the marvel of musical creativity come from and how does it work? What parts do muses and inspiration, intuition and the subconscious, hard work and happy accident play in the process? In this podcast, we examine the ways in which creativity can flourish, falter and forge new pathways in the symphony orchestra hall.

    This podcast was developed from our public forum in March 2012, Talking About Creativity.

    Chapter Five – Orchestral Creativity, on the Stage

    Play | Download | Transcript

    (more…)

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , , , , ,
    May 23, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  6. Event video: Talking About Creativity Roundtable and Audience Q&A

    One last video from our Talking About Creativity event in San Francisco is now available for viewing — the roundtable discussion and audience Q&A.

    Read the Talking About Creativity Roundtable transcript (pdf)

    Participants include: Mark Clague, Professor of Music, University of Michigan; Ed Sanders, Group Marketing Manager, Creative Lab at Google; Margo Drakos, cellist and Co-founder, InstantEncore; John Adams, composer; Mason Bates, composer; Brent Assink, Executive Director, San Francisco Symphony; and Steven Winn, San Francisco arts journalist and critic.

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , , , , , , ,
    April 23, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  7. Event video: John Adams, Mason Bates, Mark Clague – Talking About Creativity

    This is Spotlight Conversation #1 from our Talking About Creativity event in San Francisco, March 17, 2012.

    Composers John Adams and Mason Bates talk about writing music for the modern orchestra, perceptions about classical music, tweeting in the concert hall, the role of technology and more. Moderated by Professor Mark Clague of the University of Michigan.

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , , ,
    March 20, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  8. The Concert Hall and Creativity

    In this post, Susan Key—special projects director for the San Francisco Symphony—examines the role the physical concert hall plays in creativity. It’s a question inspired by tonight’s performance by Mason Bates at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. Join us tomorrow for our live event with Mason Bates!

    Tonight, Mason Bates wears two very different hats at Davies Symphony Hall. First, he will appear onstage with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and organist Paul Jacobs to perform his new composition, Mass Transmission. Once the concert is over, he’ll move to the Second Tier lobby-turned-lounge for an event called Davies After Hours. In a nightclub-like atmosphere, he’ll spin electronic tracks and beats as “DJ Masonic” with friends David Arend on upright bass, Aaron Kahn on trumpet and Gloria Justen on electric violin.

    In a recent conversation, Mason reflected on the impact different spaces have on the audience’s experience. The concert hall encourages a hyper-focused type of listening while the nightclub/lounge vibe is certainly more informal. (more…)

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , ,
    March 16, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (1)

  9. Speaker Spotlight: Mason Bates, a composer/DJ taking the orchestral world by storm

    Mason BatesAs The Bay Citizen puts it, “For nearly a decade, composer Mason Bates has been hailed as one of the young saviors of classical music.”

    He works with two major American orchestras in a formal capacity–as Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony and as Project San Francisco composer at the San Francisco Symphony–and audiences love his modern take on the orchestral sound. After a recent San Francisco performance of his piece “Alternative Energy” one fan on Twitter was offering $50 for a bootleg recording of the (so far) unreleased piece.

    So, what is it about Mason Bates’ approach that is taking the orchestral world by storm?

    Edmund Campion, a composer and professor of music at the University of California, Berkeley, said Bates was a much-needed bridge between musical worlds. “The orchestra today is fighting with its identity as a historical elephant,” Campion said. “Mason provides a sense of renewal, a connection to social and cultural things in contemporary life.” Read the full article on The Bay Citizen.

    Indeed, trained at Juilliard and schooled in the clubs of San Francisco, neither the “electronica” nor the “classical” in Bates’ music seems forced. He’s not a crossover artist, just an artist, using the tools at hand to create what Michael Tilson Thomas calls, those “beautiful notes.”

    On Saturday, March 17, composer Mason Bates will take part in our Talking About Creativity event in San Francisco. Paired in conversation with composer John Adams, it will be interesting to hear both of their thoughts on “Creativity” in the American orchestral world.

    Register now for our free, live event on Saturday, March 17 with Mason Bates. Attendees will receive a free copy of the book/CD set American Mavericks. Learn more.

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , ,
    February 28, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  10. Speaker Spotlight: Mason Bates on changes at the Detroit Symphony

    We’re looking forward to welcoming composer Mason Bates (a.k.a. DJ Masonic) to our free live event in March. He just recently completed a series of concerts at the Detroit Symphony and has an interesting write-up on his blog.

    Attention, American orchestras: look to Detroit for a way forward.

    Wait a minute — the Detroit Symphony? The storied orchestra that collapsed in an acrimonious labor dispute last year, forcing the cancellation of its season? Yes. Because it’s possible to rise from the ashes with a much stronger foundation. …

    (more…)

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , ,
    December 13, 2011 by Beth Hondl | Comments (2)