“The Fringe Society said more than 1.85m tickets were sold for this year’s event, an increase of 9% on the previous record, set in 2007, and 21% higher than for last year’s disastrous event, which was hit by problems with its box office. The scale of the improvement surprised fringe organisers.”
Tag: 09.01.09
When Schools Cut Arts: How Parents Can Pick Up The Slack
“How do you instill an appreciation for the arts in your kids, thereby enlarging their creative and critical-thinking skills while deepening their enjoyment of life? The question has added urgency at the moment. The statewide education budget crunch has prompted many cash-strapped schools to cut back on programs in music, theater, dance, photography, and the visual arts.”
Think Of Your Insomnia As A Time-Management Method
“Scientists aren’t sure why sleep exists at all, which has made it hard to explain the great diversity of sleeping habits and quirks in birds, fish and mammals of all kinds, including humans. … The answer may boil down to time management, according to a new paper,” which “argues that sleep evolved to optimize animals’ use of time, keeping them safe and hidden when the hunting, fishing or scavenging was scarce and perhaps risky.”
The Why And How Of Vibrato
“Q. Why do some people’s singing voices have more vibrato than others? Can it be taught?
A. … How to teach singers to achieve a vibrato without exaggerating any component is controversial.”
Where London Storefronts Were Empty, Art Moves In
“In Britain as in America, the recession has forced many retail businesses to close or move to cheaper premises, leaving behind vast spaces that have generally remained empty. … Now independent curators and entrepreneurial artists … are stepping into the breach, persuading landlords and municipal councils to turn vacant spaces over to them temporarily. Galleries have sprung up throughout the country, and particularly in London….”
Detroit Symphony Offers Six Free Neighborhood Concerts In A Week
“From the moment he took the job as music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin said he would seriously ratchet up outreach efforts by taking the orchestra into schools, churches, community centers and the like. In September, [they] will begin to make good on the promise.”
Seoul Philharmonic Makes European Debut
The flagship orchestra of classical-music-mad South Korea has given its first concert in Europe at the Klara Festival in Brussels. Conducting was Korean-born Myung-Whun Chung, a familiar figure in Western Europe; the program included well-known scores by Ravel, Debussy and Bartók as well as a suite from Unsuk Chin’s 2007 hit opera Alice in Wonderland.