It's been six months since I graduated
from college and what do I miss the most? Well, that might be a
trick question. But one thing I do miss A LOT is student ticket
prices. Gone are the days when I can attend world class arts events
on the cheap. Or are they?
With Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Cyber Monday special, all
(well, most) tickets to Classical, Pops, Symphonic Hits and Happy
Hour performances are priced at the student rate of $12. Now, I
don't mean to get preachy, but this is a...
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I urge you to
purchase tickets now for the Nov. 11-12 Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra premiere of Joseph Schwantner's Concerto for Section
Percussion and Timpani and Orchestra!
Joe is a Pulitizer Prize winning composer. He was
commissioned by the Percussive Arts Society (an International
organization) to write this composition. We met with Joe
about three years ago and have been practicing since July 1.
As a group of 4 timpani/percussionists I believe we have put
in more than 50 hours. The...
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It's a big day at the Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra on Monday, Aug. 8 at 9 a.m. That's when the flood
gates open and single ticket purchasers can "have at it" and secure
the best seat in the house for virtually any concert of their
choice (except
Yuletide Celebration - you'll have to wait
for late September, folks).
Which begs the question...what concert are you looking forward to
the most?
I know my picks. I blogged about
this particular piece of musica year ago. Thank goodness I get to...
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This year, I am honored to be conducting the Indianapolis Symphony
at
Spotlight 2011, the
Indianapolis Performing Arts Community's annual benefit for HIV
education and prevention in Indiana. Created by David Hochoy
of
Dance Kaleidoscope and Rob McPherson
formerly of IRT 18 years ago, Spotlight has grown over the years
and now encompasses most of Indianapolis' major arts organizations,
all of whom volunteer their time for this
project.
Tonight, the Indianapolis Symphony string section will be...
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In
this
weekend's concerts, the ISO is performing John Adams'
Lollapalooza, Saint-Saens' Second Piano Concerto (featuring
Ingrid Fliter), Debussy's La Mer, and a piece never before
performed by the ISO: Aaron Copland's Second
Symphony. It's not very often that this occurs, so I
have included Marianne's thoughts from the program book on
Copland's "Short Symphony."
Marianne Williams Tobias has authored the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra's program notes for more than 20
years.
When I entered...
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Wow.
I cannot believe that I've been the communications intern at the
ISO for three
weeks now! It has been a great experience so far and I'm sure it
will only continue to get better.
To commemorate my first three weeks at the ISO, I'm sharing "Three
in Three," three things I've learned about the symphony in my first
three weeks--and three things that you should know, too!
1. The ISO's music is truly phenomenal.
I must ashamedly admit that I had never been to an
ISO performance before starting my...
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Today was a good day.
It has been said that the most challenging part of the classical
music business these days is trying to bring in new, excited people
to build the next generation of concert goers in order to help
sustain the future of our art form. And in a world of endless
entertainment choices just a mouse or remote control click away,
its no wonder that we have to work harder to make sure the beauty
and power of classical music is available to everyone that wants
it.
So I thought to...
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Here's round two from our guest blogger and Pink Martini
super-fan, Jayne Glick. Jayne is a student at IUPUI at the Herron
School of Art & Design, majoring in Visual Communication
Design. She has been a Pink Martini fan for about five
years.
I’ve been a Pink Martini fan for a while and although I know their
albums well, I didn’t really know too much about the people in the
band and how it all began. So I decided to do some research and
share my results. Believe it or not, how they got started is...
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In between all the amazing performances of the International Violin
Competition of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra opens its Printing Partners Pops
Series this weekend!
Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly has invited back former
Yuletide Celebration hostess Ann Hampton Callaway and her sister
Liz Callaway for their cabaret-style "Sibling Revelry" show.
I was thinking about doing a Q&A with Ann and her sister,
but local performing arts writer Tom Alvarez from the examiner.com
be...
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This
morning the rarest of occurrences for a new parent took place in my
home. My wife and young daughter were leaving the house for
the morning, and since my 2 month old boy was a bit under the
weather, I stayed home with him. As soon as the girls were
gone, my boy presented me with a precious gift. He fell
asleep for two whole hours! Now anyone reading this who has a
child knows that these moments where the house is silent are
fleeting and to be cherished.
Given my sudden and unexpected,...
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For
me, the best part about the Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra's patriotic concerts July 2-4
isn't Tchaikovsky's magnificent 1812 Overture, or
the inspiring suite from
Gettysburg or
even the spectacular fireworks at the end.
I'm more affectionate for the
Servicemen on Paradepiece. The Indianapolis Symphony plays this medley of
songs representing the branches of the military: Navy, Air
Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Army. We ask that any patron who
has served in the military to stand when his...
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For
16 years, Indianapolis' arts institutions have come together for
one night and staged an incredible concert experience --
all for the benefit of the Indiana AIDS Fund.
Held at Clowes Memorial Hall on the campus of Butler University,
the event is called "Spotlight
Indianapolis." And it's the one place where you can
see and experience the cultural side of Indy.
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra has been a part of this great
tradition for many years. Tonight, 21 ISO musicians have
volunteered...
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I
just wanted to follow through and answer "how does someone train to
be an orchestral librarian." Our librarian staff are all trained
professional musicians with years of private lessons. I do
not think they planned on such a career but by becoming
knowledgeable about orchestral music, notation, and music history,
and coincidentally, they became orchestra librarians.
And now about a world premiere - yes, a premiere and also YES -
this piece, once the ISO great horn section performs...
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I'm
quite excited to post my first blog! I'm not at all savvy
about anything electronic, including but not limited to computers,
i-pods, phones and remote controls. One of my colleagues
reminded me of my "one to one" session with a "genius" at the
Apple store where I learned how to turn on my i-pod. My
husband, Jerry, who is the 3rd horn here in the Indianapolis
Symphony, has thrown his hands up in despair after each of my
button pushing marathons with the TV remote control. However,
I'm...
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Phones buzzing, people viewing their screens, or getting up from a
performance are all distractions. The audience is made up of people
who paid to witness a performance. Unless you're on stage, leave
the devices at home or off. And I mean "OFF" off, as in totally
inoperational. If a group wishes to have some interactive terminals
or solicit cell contributions after the show that's fine with me.
Otherwise, kindly don't interrupt my entertainment experience. We
can all wait until we get home to...
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I seated myself just behind the sound console, orchestra right,
floor. Hackman delivered Wyoming 307 (name from an area code) but
the piano was too quiet to be heard well above the crowd noise.
Short Ride in a Fast Machine brought images of Copeland and the
open spaces of the wild west to mind, with the clattering of 1/4
notes on wood block and massed orchestra galloping through with
myriad tempos. It's a complicated piece, that really got the
attention of the audience. The sweeping strings were...
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Recently, ISO double bassist
Brian Smith, was interviewed for a video project about the
importance of arts in our community. After providing a brief answer
to the question, “What argument would you make to those in
non-artistic professions to support the need for the arts in
society,” Brian spent some more time thinking about it and provided
the following thoughts.
I was
asked recently what argument I would make to those in non-artistic
professions to support the need for the arts in society...
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The
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