Selecting repertoire for student orchestras is subjective and controversial. Some conductors prefer to program a wide range of music, including numerous contemporary pieces, concertos, and music by composers on the fringe of the mainstream. I disagree with this approach. Music students must become grounded in fundamental principles and techniques of orchestra playing—a lengthy and challenging process. […]
The Challenge of Programming
Spring
Serious music programming is an ongoing challenge. Creating programs that are inventive, interesting and have a chance to sell well is increasingly difficult, considering that contemporary audiences seem to be neither as culturally literate nor as intellectually curious as their counterparts from 50 years ago. How do we preserve the integrity of art music, and […]
Rethinking the Concert Program Toward a New Paradigm
FallIn the last three decades, the once anomalous summer chamber music festival has become the most common venue for chamber music performances in the U.S. While fiscal exigency has forced regular season series in major cities to scale back or in some cases discontinue their programs, summer music festivals have sprung up and flourished in […]