Replace Your Score with a Tablet or Laptop
Members of the Borromeo String Quartet play all their concerts from their laptops, and other ensembles are beginning to try out similar systems, reports the New York Times. Musicians can turn pages with a wireless foot pedal or a simple tap on the screen and notations can be made with a stylus.
Recently, when Jeffrey Kahane conducted the New York Philharmonic from a harpsichord, he put his iPad on the music stand saying he was convinced that “if Mozart could have used an iPad, he would have done it.” If quartets and orchestras are using downloads instead of heavy scores, why not singers?
www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/arts/music/jeffrey-kahane-conducts-new-york-philharmonic-using-ipad.html?_r=1
Social Media Provides Advantages for Singers
Rising soprano Leah Crocetto says that using social media is a logical way for singers to connect with the public. She has sometimes tweeted from backstage at the San Francisco Opera where she recently sang Liù in Turandot. She sent out her messages during intermissions or while waiting in the wings. As of now, she can respond to every tweet she receives, but that may soon come to an end. She already has almost 500 Twitter followers. What she has discovered is that both present-day fans and the next generation of opera goers are participants on Facebook and Twitter. Chatting with them provides a way for artists to build a fan base, and for fans to see opera singers as real people.
Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are the media that most classical music organizations use to communicate with their audiences. San Francisco Opera Marketing Director Marcia Lazer says, “So many people are online, not just the younger demographic, but people of every generation. We need to be online to make sure we speak to them.”
www.sfcv.org/article/simply-connect-the-rise-of-social-media-in-the-arts
Mitisek Is New General Director of Chicago Opera Theater
Andreas Mitisek, artistic and general director of Long Beach Opera in California, has been appointed general director of the Chicago Opera Theater, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Mitisek is known for offering opera in unusual venues. In previous seasons he has presented one opera at an indoor swimming pool and another in the hull of the now permanently docked ocean liner, Queen Mary. Next fall, the company will present an ocean-themed cantata by Gavin Bryars at the city’s aquarium. These and other innovative moves helped him boost Long Beach ticket sales and attendance by 500 percent over the past three years. During that time he has almost tripled the company’s budget.
On September 1, 2012, Mitisek will succeed Brian Dickie at Chicago Opera Theater. He signed a five-year contract with COT and he will retain his post at the Long Beach company. COT’s 2012 season opens April 14 at the Harris Theater and runs through September 23. It features Shostakovich’s Moscow, Cheryomushki, which was a hit in California, along with Handel’s Teseo and Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
www.suntimes.com/entertainment/9284044-421/chicago-opera-theater-jumps-into-the-talent-pool.html
Kennedy Center Gets New Russian Lounge
Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin has pledged a $5 million gift to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to mark its 40th anniversary, according to Musical America. It will be used to decorate a new Russian Lounge. The area will be closed until late in 2012 when it will reopen with decor that features Russian culture.
Potanin is a major shareholder in Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of that metal. In a written statement that preceded the gift, he said that he believes that the Kennedy Center has played a very important role in the building of strong cultural relations between the United States and Russia by presenting the greatest Russian artists to the American people.
news.ca.msn.com/world/russian-billionaire-gives-kennedy-center-dollar5m
Louisville Orchestra Looking for Musicians on Craigslist
A recent Craiglist advertisement states that the Louisville Orchestra is looking to replace its current musicians, whom the orchestra’s management says are on strike, according to radio station WDRB. Orchestra members say they are not on strike. However, the players have not had a contract with their orchestra since May 2011 and in December they rejected management’s latest offer. The orchestra’s “help wanted” advertisement notes that if hired, applicants could be subject to penalties by the American Federation of Musicians because the ensemble is on the union’s International Unfair List.
www.wdrb.com/story/16144605/louisville-orchestra-seeks-musicians-on-craigslist
Tweet from Your Seat at the Symphony
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has set aside 10 to 15 “TweetSeats” in the back of its hall on three dates so that people can tweet about the performance while it is going on, according to Cincinnati.com. In that section, iPhones, BlackBerries, or tablets may light up when the hall lights go down and people can send out their thoughts on the performance as it happens. They can engage friends outside the theater as well as their seatmates. Everyone can add to the forum on the ongoing performance.
Also during the concerts, Assistant Conductor Will White or Associate Conductor Robert Treviño will “tweet” from backstage about the music that is being played. It’s part of the symphony’s social media strategy and its effort to reach a larger audience. White thinks that the advantage of “tweeting” is that it’s a live feed. It’s not like a pre-concert talk where you hear a more general overview of the historical background of the composers. With this, it’s live as it’s happening.
news.cincinnati.com/article/20111118/ENT03/111190315/Symphony-tweet-music-their-ears
