Milwaukee’s Skylight Opera has tapped an executive with Shreveport Opera as its new general and artistic director. Eric Dillner, “a tenor by trade, sang with many opera companies, including the New York City Opera… The company, which has a budget of about $3.2 million, produces operas and musical comedies, always in English.”
Tag: 01.09.08
Anonymous Donors Find Their Cover Blown
“As anonymous giving to charities increases, it’s getting harder for donors to maintain the anonymous part… Proponents of greater disclosure by charities, including some lawmakers and consumer groups, argue that keeping givers’ identities secret can mask efforts by wealthy individuals and corporations to use philanthropy as a tool of undue influence.”
Conducting With The Stars
The BBC is launching a celebrity/reality program in which well-known personalities will train to conduct choirs and symphony orchestras, with the winner being tapped to lead the actual BBC Symphony at this year’s Last Night At The Proms.
Detroit Symphony Gets Grant To Expand Music Ed
“The Detroit Symphony Orchestra already has one of the most extensive music education programs of any orchestra in the United States…But a five-year, $1-million gift from Honda being announced today will allow the DSO to reach deeper into Detroit neighborhoods and, for the first time, put violins and other string instruments into the hands of beginning students in grades 3 through 6 and teach them to play.”
Anticipation Builds Over UK Culture Report
A new report on the state of culture in England “will laud the pursuit of excellence and innovation, celebrate diversity and risk, and address some of the issues of access by demanding that the generously funded big beasts get out more.”
Barbie Goes To The Symphony
“The anatomically improbable, plastic queen of the toy stores has a new mission. She’s out to introduce classical music to a young generation of fans, aged three upwards, in a touring concert programme called Barbie at the Symphony.”
The Best New Theatre In London?
“The 900-seat £11 million Rose, modelled on the Elizabethan original where Shakespeare played, has been 23 years in the birthing. Next Wednesday, after four years as the project’s directorial figurehead, Sir Peter Hall will open the Rose’s first season.”
UK Collapse Of Album Sales Could Kill Off CDs
Down 14 percent in 2007, “album sales were hit by a catastrophic decline, according to new figures, and experts predicted that plans to legalise the copying of music between formats could soon render the CD redundant.”
Met Museum’s de Montebello Talks Retirement
“After three decades, to stay much further would be to skirt decency. This has not been an easy decision — it’s wrenching for me, it’s been my entire life. But it’s time.”
Why Eli Broad Decided To Keep His Art
“It’s true that in the past, when asked, ‘What are you going to do?’ I said we will give the collection to one or several museums. The collection was significantly smaller then. Now it’s 2,000 works and we are continuing to collect, so we started to think about our options. One is to build our own museum as others have done. We chose not to do that. But we were concerned that if we gave our collection to one or several museums, 90% or so would be in storage all the time.”