Music
Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 6:02pm.
This will be my last blog of the year. Soon after the first of January there will be some significant changes coming to chicagoclassicalmusic.org. We will be re-launching the site including a new design, improved navigation and functionality, and a new interface that will make posting user-generated content a breeze!
We expect these changes to improve your experience, and hopefully, inspire you and others to make this site YOUR forum for exchanging ideas, viewpoints, and information on classical music in Chicago. Of course, we will keep (and improve) the calendar, special offers from member organizations, blogs, and other elements.
Thanks to all of you who have participated in chicagoclassicalmusic.org this year, and a special thanks to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust for their support. On behalf of all of our member organizations, have a happy holiday season and a great New Year!
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The world got really small last weekend.
Event One: After Chicago a cappella's Thursday concert at Fourth Pres downtown, we had a coffee-and-cookie reception. One of the songs on our concert was the now-famous Spanish carol, "Riu riu chiu." One of our sopranos, Kathryn Kamp, had been speaking at our reception with one of the people in the audience. She came over and told me that he was from Sweden. I bopped over and greeted him with my limited Swedish, which perked him right up. Imagine my surprise when . . .
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Tue, 11/25/2008 - 3:32pm.
No one has written about this yet on chicagoclassicalmusic.org so I get to do it. Gramophone Magazine, a British publication, has named our very own Chicago Symphony Orchestra as the number one ranked orchestra in the United States, and the fifth highest ranked orchestra in the world. Congratulations to our friends and colleagues at the CSO. It’s nice to see others recognize what we in Chicago have known for a long time – this band rocks! I am including the full list for those of you who haven’t yet seen it.
I know that some people are uncomfortable with ratings like this. It is, after all, pretty subjective when you look at the top 10-15 orchestras on this list. But there must be something in our mental make-up that draws us to ranking things like orchestras, most embarrassing reality TV moments, best deep dish pizza, and the like. Here’s my question for you. Are there rankings in the classical music world that do make sense, and help us process all of the information floating around? What lists do you like or approve of?
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The Antares,
first-prize winners of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition were
hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “powerful...striking…razor sharp.” They have won two ASCAP/CMA Awards for Adventurous Programming ('99, '04) and have
appeared in concert across the country.
The Antares Quartet is based out of New York City and features Garrick
Zoeter on clarinet, Jesse Mills on violin, Rebecca Patterson on cello, and Eric
Huebner on piano. The group will be
performing two concerts at Music in the Loft, one at 8PM on Saturday November 22nd
and one at 3PM on Sunday November 23rd. The program will feature the music of Antonín Dvořák,
Johannes Brahmes, John Mackey, and the 08-09 Music in the Loft
composer-in-residence Matthew Tommasini.
BB: To date, what has been your most memorable musical
experience with the Quartet?
RP: I had to think
about this one. Performing in Brazil was very exciting because the
audiences are over-the-top enthusiastic.
It makes for an exhilarating performance experience. Another extremely memorable experience was
the opportunity to play Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet
for the End of Time, for Messiaen’s wife, Yvonne Loriod, at St. Bonaventure
University in St.
Bonaventure,
NY about four years ago.
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Tue, 11/11/2008 - 9:23am.
Like most everyone I know, I was glued to the television on the evening of Tuesday, November 4th. It probably won’t surprise anyone that I was pretty happy about the outcome. After all, I proudly work for our nation’s most diverse orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta, and have spent a good deal of my career working on promoting inclusiveness in the arts. But before anyone gets upset with me about bringing politics onto a classical music website, please note that this post in not about politics. This post is about what Barack Obama’s election might mean to the arts in general, and orchestras in particular. Here are a few of my thoughts, but as always, I’m much more interested in hearing what you think.
In the short-term I suspect we won’t see much in the way of discernable impact. The economy will dominate the new administration’s agenda for the first 6-12 months, and if successful, might help orchestra’s institutional donors maintain their current levels of support. The tax changes proposed during the campaign might encourage high-wealth individuals to contribute at higher levels if they are enacted, but we won’t feel those for a while. I would also guess that the National Endowment for the Arts will be funded at its current level, and gradually increase if the economy improves.
This is really about people’s perception of the economy and our country. If we feel optimistic, we will buy tickets and contribute more. I think Barack Obama will help on this front.
Okay, it’s your turn.
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This is the first of three blogs that will focus
on my recent trip to Vienna, Budapest and Yekatrinburg, Russia.
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 2:34pm.
At the end of May I wrote a blog entitled, “It’s the Economy, Stupid”, that posed some questions about how the economic downturn might affect ticket sales and fundraising. One respondent suggested that I was letting the media “blow the downturn out of proportion”, while another recommended that I should be careful about whom I call stupid.
Today, an exceptionally astute reader noted that my May blog was “a premonition of sorts” and asked how I thought the economy might affect the arts looking forward. I should probably quit while I’m ahead, but what fun would that be? Here are some observations, opinions, and thoughts.
We are already seeing lagging ticket sales for some of the bigger events that have taken place this fall, and I personally know of a few funders that are either cutting back or ceasing their arts funding altogether.
I expect that over the next 6-18 months we will see things getting worse. I suspect that the next economic “shoe to drop” will be credit card debt, and my guess is that the stock market will be slow to recover. As a result, I would not be surprised to see a few of the smaller arts organizations going out of business, and most arts organizations operating more conservatively than normal. The big guys will do okay – they have a lot of resources, but more importantly, the type of broad-based community support that makes going out of business almost impossible. No, it’s the smaller organizations that will feel the brunt of this brutal economy. This is a time to hunker down and survive.
Here is my prescription for the arts in a tough economy:
1. Budget for a worst-case scenario and be pleasantly surprised if/when you outperform it.
2. Don’t sacrifice programming excellence or audience development activities. Present brilliant programming.
3. Work hard on advancing sustainable relationships with ticket buyers and donors.
4. Stay focused on executing against your strategic plan and don’t get sidetracked.
5. Develop restructuring options in case the worse happens.
6. Be very thankful you work in the arts and not in the real estate or financial sector.
These are a few of my thoughts. Please chime in with yours. Maybe together we can think our way out of this mess!
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Depending on where
you live it has probably happened to just about every one of us, I know for me
it is almost a daily occurrence living in the city. Maybe you’ve had a quiet
afternoon walk or a private conversation (in your home nonetheless!)
interrupted by loud music blaring from inside a passing car, that unmistakable
thump thump of a sub-woofer in a trunk, just rattling to get out.
In an article put out by the AP, Andrew Vactor was cited by police
for playing his rap music too loud and was given the opportunity to reduce his
$150 fine down to just $35 if he spent 20 hours listening to classical music.
The article mentioned greats such as Bach, Chopin, and Beethoven as Vactor’s
“hard time.” He lasted only 15 minutes before having to scoot off to practice
for his University’s basketball team. Vactor claimed it wasn’t the music just
the time conflict. Perhaps this unconventional punishment could have future
success… barring any extra-curricular activities of course.
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Well, we're in that interesting zone where I'm trying to get all interested parties on board (no pun intended) to support, financially and energetically, a commission for a pretty big new piece for next season. A composer with a good track record, whose pieces Chicago a cappella has done often in years past, came to me with an idea for a very cool compilation of music, which would serve as the scaffolding on which I could create a concert program.
I can't tell you who it is, since we have not finished the process, but you might be interested in the process.
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 2:57pm.
I normally shy away from writing blatant commercials about events that the Chicago Sinfonietta is involved with. However, 
the Saturday, October 4th performance of the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra at the Harris Theater at 7:30 pm is a happy exception for a couple of reasons.
First, I passionately support the mission of Sphinx, which like the Chicago Sinfonietta, works diligently to promote diversity and inclusiveness in classical music. Yes, I know this is not our field’s favorite topic – and based on the national statistics that show less than 3% of orchestral musicians being people of color – not one that most of us even want to acknowledge, much less try to do something about. Sphinx identifies and nurtures very talented young, minority musicians, and the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra is made up of the best of these players.
Second, you can attend this concert for $5. An evening of great music for $5? You can’t beat that with a conductor’s baton!
Finally, it’s great to see the Harris Theater taking an active role as a presenter of classical music. The Sinfonietta is proud to collaborate with them on this concert. You can get more information by visiting their website at www.harristheaterchicago.org.
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