The president and CEO of the Rochester Philharmonic has resigned to take an equivalent job at Santa Rosa, California’s Wells Fargo Center for the Arts. “[Richard] Nowlin’s time with the RPO included nine straight years of balanced budgets, a growth in the budget from $5.6 million to $9.1 million, as well as growth in endowments, the hiring of current Musical Director Christopher Seaman, a re-establishment of the RPO’s recording program and the introduction of a wider range of concerts and venues.”
Tag: 01.25.07
Outdoor Amphitheater On Atlanta Sym’s Agenda
The Atlanta Symphony has unveiled plans for a $35 million outdoor concert venue in Alpharetta, Georgia. “The 12,000-seat Encore Park for the Arts, planned for 45 wooded acres… is expected to open in May 2008.” The ASO is also attempting to build support for its new downtown concert hall, but ground has yet to be broken on that project. “Encore Park is expected to boost the ASO’s budget from $30 million to $50 million.”
The Orchestra That Plays Under Armed Guard
The Israel Philharmonic will play Los Angeles next month, and extra security measures will be abundant. “A sold-out benefit concert at Carnegie Hall in New York in January 2002 was delayed nearly half an hour as roughly 2,800 ticket-holders went through metal detectors… Later in 2002, the orchestra canceled an eight-city American tour… asserting that no U.S. security company would agree to guard the musicians and patrons.”
Can A Concert Hall Spur Miami Development?
Miami’s new concert hall at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts has been getting a workout from the visiting Cleveland Orchestra this week, and Elaine Guregian says that it is not only an acoustic success, but a hit as a public space as well. Unfortunately, it sits in a desolate part of town, but the hope is that restaurants, bars, and other development will spring up around it.
Are Cincy Arts Underfunded?
“Symphonies, museums and theaters throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will need more than $950 million in capital and endowment funds during the next two decades, according to a new report commissioned by arts supporters. The report… contends that arts and cultural groups don’t have the resources here that groups in competitor cities such as Minneapolis, St. Louis or Denver boast, either from taxpayers or private donors.”
‘Filmanthropy’ As A Public Service
The owner of the Washington Capitals hockey team has produced a powerful documentary on the Rape of Nanking, which is currently being shopped at Sundance. “And now that he’s made one film, Leonsis thinks he’s latched onto a Big Idea: He fancies using a ‘filmanthropy’ model to make future projects with a social bent.”
Australia Gets A New Arts Minister
Australia’s arts community has high hope’s for the country’s new arts minister. “The community’s perception of the arts is something he also believes needs to be addressed. The question, he says, ‘is what art can do, both for a domestic and international audience in its various ways to celebrate the joys and complexity of life’.”