Category: music

Much like those nervously gathered to listen, the program was a little all over the place; but the intimacy of the experience — and our collective hunger to hear just about anything — gave the feeling that audience and performers were conducting the same experiment: just being there. Even before the first notes were played, I found myself getting lost in the music of chitchat and laughter — our own birdsong. – Washington Post

The Gran Teatre del Liceu filled its 2,292 seats with plants for a performance by the UceLi Quartet, which it called a prelude to its 2020-2021 season. The string quartet serenaded its leafy audience with Giacomo Puccini’s “Crisantemi,” in a performance that was also made available to human listeners via livestream. – NPR

“I had worried that the just-for-me performance would be awkward. The prospect triggered flashbacks of unwanted serenades by accordionists and fiddlers playing for tips on European restaurant terraces. And though I was game for playing my part in the flirtatious conversation, I was mindful of the stern warning On Site Opera had sent ticket holders to uphold “a respectful artistic experience for all.” The last thing I wanted was to try something cute that would come out creepy.” – The New York Times

So here’s how choirs are reinventing themselves. – CBC

Francesco and Grazia Lotoro have spent their lives collecting and cataloguing “symphonies, operas, scores and songs that were composed and performed under conditions so horrible one imagines that music would have lost its ability to encourage and to soothe.” Their project now: To raise money for a “citadel” that is “known formally as the Istituto di Letteratura Musicale Concentrazionaria [and] is to include a museum, a library and a theater, at a cost of roughly $45 million.” – The New York Times

Music that unites protestors is not new, and it wasn’t new in the 1960s either. “Music at protests reminds dissenters of their humanity, even when the powers-that-be attempt to strip away their personhood. It gives strength. It takes the mind away from a place of fear and pain, and focuses the body to resist. And at times, the music is the only way the message can be shared.” – OPB (Portland)

It is understandable to wonder what the additional risks are for wind musicians, above the nonzero background risk of COVID-19 spread. How might we mitigate these risks for ourselves, our colleagues, audiences, students, and families? – University of Iowa

Choral music has unique diversity issues that are more subtle than those in the instrumental world. Because of my work as a publisher and composer, I am particularly interested in the representation of our programming as well as in leadership and overall participation. Unlike orchestral programming, many choral music programs consist of music by living composers. In fact, over 80% of the recommended repertoire from the ACDA National Repertoire and Standards lists were by living composers. Choral singing has fewer barriers for participation and the approach taken by any given choir can range from an egalitarian activity with which nearly anyone can participate to an elite one available only to the highly trained and educated. – NewMusicBox

“Effective July 6, administrative salaries will be cut between 2.5% and 12.5%. Calling the moves ‘a very difficult decision,’ president and CEO Kim Noltemy will take a 25% pay cut. Sixteen staff positions will be furloughed.” DSO musicians will not be affected. – The Dallas Morning News