I Challenge You to do Better, CBC Music, Please.

Post by CBC Music.

A few days ago I read a post on the CBC Music blog. The facebook post which I've embedded above advertised an interview with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on how classical music needs to change. In actuality it was a gallery with a few bullet-points. Frankly, it felt a bit cheap. The more I look at the website, the more I see CBC Music's classical section catering to a mythical online community that is content with little substance and celebrity.

New Angle

About a month ago I read an article on the Ottawa Citizen blog about an upcoming concert series spearheaded by Ottawa New Music Creators board member Curtis Perry. Curtis and I both went to the same high school and were classmates in university as well so I was eager to read. 

The series hopes to present new music at a local coffee shop during store hours. In the discussion with Interviewer .... Curtis very eloquently lined out the broader dilemma facing new music, and indeed classical music. When posed the question regarding the abundance of recordings and what made a live concert relevant anymore, though Curtis' answer was fine, I felt that he missed a crucial argument. This got me thinking. 

Change is Natural

Happy New Year from theheckeler.ca! 

January 1st, 2012. In my mind, the first day of the transition which faces the classical music industry. Over the past few seasons, we have seen a slew of north american orchestras apply for chapter 7 bankruptcy (Syracuse, Honolulu, New Mexico) as well as chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization (Philadelphia, Louisville), and, more recently, onlookers as well as active participants in the industry have spent their time asking the question, is there a crisis in classical music? 

A must-read! Please read Paul Judy's blog post

Through Tony Woodcock's blog you can find Paul Judy's blog post about the next-generation musical arts organizations. Please read this as it is gold.

Last week's uproar over the LPO on twitter

Early last week I was gazing at my twitter account when I stumbled across a tweet mentioning an uproar between the public and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The tweet linked back to the LPO's Facebook page (which I can't seem to find at the moment). Through social media, another continent could follow along to these events as they were happening. Not only that, but the opposition to the board's decision spread from orchestra subscribers and patrons to a completely untapped audience. Boy is the digital world both a blessing and a curse.

I had quite a detailed post for you this week on the subject, but I think it's best that I just give you a few links to start you off with and let you discover this for yourself. 

1. The letter that started it all

2. The Guardian

3. BBC article

Debate Disturbed by Union President

Last week I watched a debate hosted by WQXR in New York about the future of orchestral musicians and orchestras in America, which you can find here. I found it through the blog of the Savvy Musician, which is an excellent. Although I only got about three quarters in when my connection died, I learned quite a lot from the debate.
I thought the debate was very good, however, there was one portion which I found somewhat disturbing: Mr. Hair's talking points, or rather lack thereof. I'm very displeased with the idea that the president of the largest musicians' union in North America arriving to a debate about the future of the industry completely unprepared to take part in real discussion.