 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-03-23 00:10
$US5,600 for a contrabassoon ... bloody hell ... now THAT's a bargain, surely.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-03-23 02:05
This was also a very fine ensemble as well...total shame.
David Dow
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Author: ron b
Date: 2004-03-23 02:32
To me, as well, it suggests convoluted values of a declining society....
(...sigh...)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-03-23 13:47
I would be interested in reading what "the experts" have to say about the demise of so many fine orchestras. It's hard to believe it's primarily "the economy" since, at least in the past, it's been the wealthier who have supported them.
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2004-03-23 14:57
Possibly now they can get tickets to go hear and see the "Symphonia" music machine being played.
Bob A
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-03-23 16:08
Awful...just awful. And such a fine group too, in a part of the county where one would expect a large population of the kind of demographics which (like it or not) supports symphony orchestras --- senior citizens. Is there any way to reverse the decline?
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-03-23 17:35
Keep in mind, too, that some of the responsibility of the demise of an orchestra falls into the hands of the administration, the boards of directors, the artistic director, and the General Managers. I can't believe that all orchestra administrations would be completely honest about their dealings, or entirely professional about their decisions.
However, even if they've done all that's humanly possible, they can only go so far if their promotion efforts fall on deaf ears. Thus, the need to continually reach out in educational efforts to the young ones, the younger the better, and their parents. Real imagination can be exercised here, ideally with the interchange of ideas at orchestra conferences.
One thought among a whole list of possibilities: during family concerts, have interesting projects and activities going on in the lobby beforehand. We're doing this with great success. We have older instruments out for display that we'll place into the children's hands and show them how to hold them. Someone will play an instrument in the lobby, then take time to speak with the little ones who come up, and let them hold the instrument. Have displays and pictures of past student events, showing what the students have been involved with, hands on, in the past. Then the family concert can be inter-active, involving the little ones, to get them excited about orchestras. Even the older ones who've never before attended orchestral concerts are attending and thoroughly enjoying it!
There are ways of reaching young ones and their families, and that must be continued in order for orchestral music to keep surviving (besides planning some really good programming!).
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-03-23 18:07
Dear Brenda
Seems like this orchestra tried an awful long time to get proper funding.
Our orchestra is not doing as well as possible either...nor is the Toronto Symphony or the Montreal etc...
David Dow
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-03-23 20:16
Do you think there might just be too many orchestras to support? Australia's population is small ... roughly 20 million. We have 9 full time professional orchestras. Queensland Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, West Australian Symphony, Australian Opera & Ballet Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (someone will correct me here if I've missed one).
Our federal government (who are happier supporting unsanctioned invasions) spend the bare minimum supporting the arts here and our major orchestras are very much reliant on box office. All of the above mentioned orchestras recieve federal funding.
I'd be interested to know how many FULL TIME (not part time or seasonal) orchestras there are in the US, Canada and UK compared to their populations ... from a purely statistical point of view.
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Author: billryan
Date: 2004-03-23 20:44
Turn on the radio, hear all that "garbage" that is now called music, very sad!
Bill
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-03-23 20:57
billryan wrote:
> Turn on the radio, hear all that "garbage" that is now called
> music, very sad!
Yup. That's what my parents & grandparents said.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-03-23 20:59
Diz said:
> I'd be interested to know how many FULL TIME
> (not part time or seasonal) orchestras there are
> in the US, Canada and UK compared to their
> populations ... from a purely statistical point of view.
Diz... There are about 20 US orchestras that pay their players for a 52 week season.
Here are some of the statistics you are looking for:
http://www.osborne-conant.org/funding_vs.htm ...GBK
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2004-03-23 20:59
Maybe....just maybe.....we all need to pitch in and volunteer. Contact our city's orchestras and ask "what can I do to help you raise $$$ ?"
Now that I think of it.....our Phoenix Symphony is burdened....and just barely surviving......I'm calling and ask what I can do to help.
John Gibson
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-03-23 21:26
This failure has more to do with South Florida than declining sales...
South Florida is more populated by retirees with limited funds than most people know... and they don't drive by night.
The distances to be travelled from where people actually live in Broward and Dade county to downtown FtL are not inconsiderable, and parking was problematic, even when tourists didn't glut the nearby Riverwalk.
Considering that WTMI closed down classical operations 3 years ago, this should not come as any great surprise. For all the upper-crust pretentions of Palm Beach, it's really a Tractor-pulling, Spam eatin', concrete-paved, airconditioned swamp.
You can walk into any Early Bird Buffet on A1A, Thursday through Saturday and hear Mitch Miller sing-a-long. Anyway you slice it, the marketplace spoke clearly - get relevant and accessible or die.
The only interesting part of South Florida habla Espanol.
They sprinkle Pixie dust on the rest to keep down the smell...
At least they don't have to shovel the driveway 5 months a year.
Post Edited (2004-03-23 21:46)
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-03-23 22:34
John Gibson - YES!! that's what orchestras need, too, is good volunteers to pitch in. They'll offer tax donation receipts for gifts "in kind" if you donate items instead of cash, as well.
And Diz has a good point about there being a glut of orchestras in some areas. The monies get split too far. But governments like to divy out the little grants they have to orchestras that can demonstrate that they're heavily into education (through their volunteers, of course, since there's no money for an Education Director, and by the musicians pitching in to play with students and/or help the music classes from time to time).
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-03-23 23:13
So tell me, how does London, England manage to support (or maybe just marginally-support?) so many world-class orchestras? I've always wondered that.
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-03-24 00:00
Not surprisingly, GBK, it would appear that Germany is near the top of the list with relation to orchestras per capita and Australia only slightly down (go figure!) - per capita ... interesting.
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-03-24 00:02
London seems to have an abundance of brilliant orchestras ... bloody hard work though and a tough job ... especially in the brilliant and virtuosic London Symphony ... each and every perfomance you neck is on the block and if you don't deliver you're out.
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Author: Bradley
Date: 2004-03-24 00:39
What many seem ot be forgetting is that the orchestra died mostly because of bad management- they got enough in donations and grants I've read to at least survive longer than it did, if not keep performing.
Bradley
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Author: Wicked Good ★2017
Date: 2004-03-24 01:01
As an orchestral/chamber clarinetist living in NH, I've been made sadly aware of the troubles that the NH Symphony faces. The news of the Florida Philharmonic's demise is just ghastly.
While I don't play with the NH Symphony, I have been playing recently with the NH Philharmonic and Nashua Chamber Orchestras. In fact, I've never been able to attend a NH Symphony concert due to scheduling conflicts, but that changes this week.
I've bought tickets to their Friday evening performance featuring Richard Stoltzman, and plan to purchase a subscription for next season (although I can't really afford it until I can snag a day job - love this jobless economic "recovery" we're in).
I just can't bear to see another fine group go down the drain.
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Author: fmadison
Date: 2004-03-24 05:40
Hi,
Living in Miami Florida I can tell you I feel very bad for the Florida Philharmonic.
Luciano Magnanini is the head of the woodwind faculty at the University of Miami when I was there. Good man worked at the same time with the Philharmonic.
I can only blame the lack of good marketing by the Florida Philharmonic management.
At the same time they were going down...
The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved a comprehensive, $334 million capital budget to build the Performing Arts Center of Greater Miami (PAC)
While I don't know anyone in the US building $334 Million Dollar facilities during these hard economic times. I wonder if anyone else is building anything like this in the US?
You can check all the details here:
http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/pac/
I have driven by the site it is 2 huge city block size buildings..... I can't wait to see it when it's finished.
Here are the latest construction pictures from Dec 2003
http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/pac/2003_december.htm
Here is a model of it
http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/pac/outside.htm
Also one is the Opera House
http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/pac/inside.htm
And the other is the Concert Hall
http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/pac/inside2.htm
Again it has to do with marketing.. look at the training orchestra.
http://www.nws.org/
They have many former members that are now 1st or 2nd chair Clarinetists in US Orchestras...
Great business model and good marketing... and they make money....
So now all we need is an extra 85 Million Dollars for the 350 Million Dollar Retractable Roof Baseball Stadium for the Florida Marlins....
Good Marketing, Good Business Models, Success brings in the $$$
from banks, donors and the general public..
Oh and by the way WTMI was a great classical music radio station with bad marketing...
Now there is one already to replace it.
-Frank
It's the wood that makes it good!
Post Edited (2004-03-24 05:52)
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