March 2010

V.com weekend vote: Is the concertmaster of your orchestra male or female?

March 27, 2010 15:38

There was a whole lot of hullabaloo this week over the Vienna Philharmonic appointing its first female concertmaster, and guess what? They didn't!

As Susan Elliott of Musical America reported in her blog Wednesday, Albena Danailova was appointed permanent concertmaster of the Vienna Opera Orchestra, comprised mostly of Vienna Philharmonic musicians, not of the Vienna Philharmonic itself, as reported by AP, ABC and other news organizations.

She still has all our good wishes and congratulations.

While people pile on the Vienna Philharmonic over their gender mix, it made me think about the orchestras in my area, and the gender mix in those. Sometimes the mix is pretty even; then again, sometimes it really tilts in one direction or another.

In this spirit, I thought I'd poll everyone on the concertmaster situation in your own community. For the sake of this poll, please think about the orchestra where you play most often (whether it's a professional or community orchestra), or think about the orchestra whose concerts you see most often.

I'm going to consider the Pasadena Symphony as my local orchestra, since it is in the community where I live and I also occasionally play in it. The concertmaster for Pasadena is female, Aimee Kreston. As for other orchestras in the area, the concertmaster for the LA Philharmonic is male, Martin Chalifour.

On that even note, what is the situation in your community? Do you think there is an even balance?

poll by twiigs.com

11 replies | Archive link

V.com weekend vote: How much did your violin cost?

March 19, 2010 14:57

Today I was chatting with some friends, one who is looking at buying a pretty pricey fiddle.

It probably costs more than your house. Possibly double.

It made me think about my own decision to buy a fine fiddle, and how glad I am that I bought my violin -- and not a house -- in 2006!

My fiddle didn't cost the same as a house, but it did require a loan, which I'm still paying. It was a lot like buying a very, very nice car.

What did your violin cost? I've purposely made this a little bit vague, relating the cost to other purchases people typically make: a computer, a car, a house. Also, let's talk about what it cost, not about what you believe it is now worth, for the sake of the poll. It's too easy to enter the realm of fantasy here -- though I was happy to hear that fiddles continue to increase in value. Also, please share your thoughts about buying a violin, violins as investments, etc., below in the comments section.

poll by twiigs.com

26 replies | Archive link

V.com weekend vote: Do you invite people to your concerts?

March 12, 2010 16:03

Do you invite people to your concerts?

Sometime we perfectionist violinists (and our viola, cello, bass, etc. colleagues) are a little afraid to actually invite people to our concerts. This is not helped by the following general fact: If you want to have a big audience for your concert or recital, the ideal time to start inviting tons of people is.....before you really have your stuff together! For an orchestra concert, this can mean inviting people before any actual rehearsals have begun. For a recitalist, that can mean putting up posters all over campus before that octave run in the first movement of the Wieniawski feels solid.

Sometimes it's not fear that keeps us from inviting people, it's just apathy. It's quite possible, as an orchestra musician, to go through an entire season and never personally invite a soul to a concert. But is that the right thing to do?

Most of the time, if we are going to the trouble of giving a concert or recital, we will get our act together in time, and after all that work, we want a good audience. There's nothing like going to someone's doctoral recital and finding only 10 people in the audience.

So make up your posters, paper the town. Use every comp you get for orchestra concerts and then invite more people on top of that.

Answer truthfully below, then let's talk about how we get big audiences for our performances.

poll by twiigs.com

12 replies | Archive link

V.com weekend vote: Have you ever been to a summer music camp?

March 5, 2010 10:44

It's time to apply to summer music camps and festivals, and as my students send out their applications, I'm getting nostalgic about my childhood days at music camp.

My camp memories are so embedded, I think they reach right down to my DNA. I can remember the first time I played outside, in the Rocky Mountains -- what a sensation! I was at Star Ranch, near Colorado Springs, with the Aurora (Colo.) Concert Musicians youth camp. "ACM" no longer exists, and I believe the camp we used has been nearly overrun by real estate development, but I can still remember the camp songs we learned to serenade the boys (I sang those same songs to my babies), I can still make a macrame bracelet, and I still can play the Pachelbel Canon by memory -- I learned it all there. As a senior in high school I came back and served as a camp counselor, one of the funnest weeks ever. Maybe it was when I really started being a teacher, too. I still remember that I had to give everyone in my group of kids an award, an award for SOMETHING, as we held an awards ceremony the last night, before the big dance. I had every award written up but one; I was agonizing over a very shy little red-headed girl who hadn't said much of anything all week long. When it came to me, what to give her, I laughed out loud because I knew it was right. She got the "Most Potentially Dangerous Award," and did that ever put a smile on her face!

Yes, these are memories that last a lifetime.

Have you ever been to a music camp? What are your camp memories?.

And by the way, if you are looking to go this year, you might want to check our Summer Camps, Festivals and Institutes. If you direct a festival, camp or institute, you might want to enter it in our database or update your entry from last year -- any Violinist.com member can do this.

poll by twiigs.com

16 replies | Archive link

More entries: April 2010 • February 2010