Each year around this time, orchestras across the country
release the repertoire, and the guest artists who will help
create it, for the next year's season. This year is no
exception for us at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Great programs abound throughout the upcoming year, including
two major works by one of my favorite composers, Dmitri
Shostakovich.
So much of Shostakovich's music was written while under the intense
scrutiny of the communist regime in power throughout most of...
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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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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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Now that the calendar has turned to April and the gray, cold days
of winter are gone for a while, signs of brighter days are
appearing everywhere. Winter coats hung in the closet, new
buds on trees, and enjoying the great outdoors are all signs of the
rejuvenation that comes with spring.
Maybe the weather had something to do with the renewed sense of
energy on stage at the theater this past weekend. After a well
deserved week of vacation, the orchestra welcomed Mark Wigglesworth
back the podium...
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Over the past few days a group of very talented young people could
be seen milling about the backstage area of the Hilbert Circle
Theater. As they waited, many could be seen playing with cell
phones or chatting with friends. Things you might expect a
group of teenagers to be doing to kill some time. A passerby
might see this gaggle of young men and women and think nothing was
out of sorts, save the formal attire they were wearing. But
these people were far from your normal mall loitering...
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One advantage of living in the age of the internet is the rapid
spread of information from every corner of the world to your living
room whenever you want it. As a result many people in our
industry find themselves reading more about what goes on in the
orchestra world to keep current with the latest trends and news.
So this weekend, coffee in hand, I made my way to the
computer to do just that, when I came across two articles that
struck me for very different reasons.
The first was an article...
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Have
you ever had one of those days when you wonder where the time went?
Well, that happened to me today. I was in my practice
room looking over the music I have to prepare for a number of
upcoming concerts, which is fairly substantial, and felt a sudden
panic. Staring back at me from my stand are symphonies of
Beethoven, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, and concertos of
Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky. All of which are
to be performed with the ISO in next few weeks. When you add
in...
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