Issue: June 2021
I remember that when I first arrived in Milwaukee in January of 1988, I went to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra offices. They were located in the office building above an old movie theater, in a part of downtown that could have used a little sprucing up. Thirty-three years later, the MSO offices are back in the same building above the theater, but everything else is different. The 1931 art deco … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2020
Detroit Moves Fast The last two weeks of January were eventful ones for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. On January 22, the DSO announced that Italian conductor Jader Bignamini has been appointed Music Director, beginning with the 2020-2021 season. Bignamini was first introduced to the DSO in the spring of 2018, stepping in at the last minute for Leonard Slatkin in concert performances of … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2019
At both the 2016 AFM convention in Las Vegas and the 2016 ICSOM Conference in Washington, DC, resolutions were adopted in support of substitute musicians receiving the same per-service base pay as the regularly contracted musicians in our orchestras. I thought that it would be important to visit this topic three years later to see the progress that ICSOM has made in this area, as well as to … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2018
Si Otsedoha: We’re Still Here The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) gave powerful, emotional performances of the new work Si Otsedoha (We’re Still Here) across the state of North Carolina during one week in October. Cherokee Central Schools students from the Cherokee Chamber Singers performed in traditional Cherokee garments. Audiences in Raleigh, Wilmington, Boone, and Cherokee gave the work … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2017
ICSOM at the Grammys At the 59th annual Grammy awards on February 12, the Nashville Symphony’s album Daugherty: Tales Of Hemingway; American Gothic; Once Upon A Castle won awards in three categories: Best Classical Compendium, Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and Best Classical Instrumental Solo. The last two awards were specifically for Tales of Hemingway, featuring cellist Zuill Bailey. … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2015
ICSOM at the Grammys On February 8, the St. Louis Symphony’s recording of John Adams’ City Noir won the Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance. The recording, with David Robertson conducting, is on the Nonesuch label, and includes two recent Adams compositions: City Noir, and the Saxophone Concerto, featuring soloist Timothy McAllister. Both were recorded live at Powell Symphony Hall … [Read more...]
Issue: May 2014
During the summer of 2013 it became increasingly clear to the management and board of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra that there would be a substantial operating deficit for the 2012–2013 fiscal year (which ended on August 31). This was due in large part to the withdrawal of several major annual gifts that functioned as bridge funding. A large annual deficit would be a problem in and of itself; … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2013
At the recent 55th Annual Grammy Awards there were a number of ICSOM orchestra recordings that won or were nominated for awards. Congratulations to these ICSOM orchestras, listed here along with the award categories in which they were recognized. Producer of the Year, Classical Blanton Alspaugh (winner), credits include: Davis: Río De Sangre (Joseph Rescigno, Vale Rideout, Ava Pine, … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2013
Delegate Rachel Goldstein reports that the Chicago Symphony started a 19-day tour of Asia in late January. It included the cso’s first appearances in Taipei, Tianjin, and Seoul, as well as performances in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. CSO members also participated in educational activities such as children’s concerts and master classes. Music Director Riccardo Muti was forced by illness to … [Read more...]
Issue: November 2011
The San Francisco Opera Company completed an immensely successful Ring Cycle in July—the first Ring Cycle in San Francisco since 1999. At a time when the relevance and significance of the art form are being seriously and repeatedly questioned, the measure of this production’s success is not confined to the numerous accolades garnered by the company and everyone associated with it, as this Ring … [Read more...]
