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It's 'Take A Friend to the Orchestra' Month

April 7, 2008 at 5:45 PM

You may have heard of Drew McManus, who runs a website called Adaptistration, a word he coined to describe an administration that is capable of adapting to our changing world. Specifically, McManus follows the triumphs and follies of symphony orchestras, with a good amount of advocacy as well. This week he is running a series called Take a Friend to the Orchestra, which features a different blog every day on the subject of introducing people to the orchestra. The bloggers include musicians, conductors, administrators, and...ME! My blog runs on Wednesday.

I think this is a great idea, to think about our audience for classical and symphonic music. We have had a number of threads recently on the subject; let's see what some other people say about it.

Check it out!

Thursday, April 03, 2008
“Don't let Canada become the wasteland that is the Americas”

"...I'm not certain if an appropriate response to the comment, as a citizen of the aforementioned wasteland, is "glad we could help" or "go to hell."

lol. Sometimes it's half music, half strange psychological agenda.

Yes,I agree that was a rather extreme comment Jim.Not all Canadians think like that.The problem we all seem to be facing is not just financial solidity with orchestras but whether classical music is relevant to North American society any more.
We need to get back to the grass roots of it all and nurture classical music appreciation in the public schools right through to the end of High School.Currently I am participating in a program called "Adopt-A-Player" where musicians in the orchestra are assigned various public schools in the region.We usually teach grades five and six.After five classes they are invited to a concert that we have been discussing during these lessons.Its a wonderful experience.Just thought I'd share that....
Amen, Peter.
Couldn't find the quotes mentioned in the above comments. Where are they?
Emily, I think they were not on the Take A Friend to Orch page, but they were other articles on Adaptistration, here
I think it's a great idea, except most of my friends are there already!
Laurie - just read your excellent contribution - good stuff! I agree so much with what you say. Sometimes as musicians it is easy to forget the "effect" of live classical music and how it really can be a special experience. I love it when people ask me if I'm carrying a violin and then go on to avidly describe a concert they attended. That enthusiasm and passion that live music can inject into people's lives is worth all the practising!
Last month, I took my brother (totally not a classical music listenter) to see Eliot Fisk and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra perform guitar concertos and the Rite of Spring.

I told him that the Rite of Spring is a world cultural thing that he MUST see in his lifetime, and he loved the stories of its premiere and the riots it caused.