Bum, bum, bum, bummmm!

The first "candidate" up for "election" at our October 25th You Be the Judge! concert is the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor. (The other choice, which we will discuss tomorrow, is the first movement of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony).

You would have to have been raised in a cave not to know the beginning four notes of Beethoven's classic work. The symphony begins with all of the string players (and clarinets) playing three short notes and a long note. They are then repeated, one note lower. The four note motif has been described as "fate knocking on the door". Of course, this idea came years after Beethoven's death and would not have even occurred to Beethoven when he wrote it.


The opening to Beethoven's Symphony No. 5




After twice stating the motif, Beethoven creates an entire symphony out of them. Not only is the first movement clearly based on them, but so is the second movement, the scherzo (or third) movement, and the finale.  Beethoven uses the motif to unify the symphony into a whole. Before that, composers really didn't do much to make a symphony a cohesive unit. In other words, each movement of the symphony could have largely stood on its own. It's sort of like a series of short stories versus a book. In the symphonies of Haydn, for example, the movements are like a series of shorts stories: great on their own, but usually not unified in any way. With Beethoven, the movements are like chapters of a book: each is part of a greater whole.

What is it about the first movement of Beethoven's symphony that makes it a perennial crowd favorite? I think it is the drama of the opening. It grips the attention. The energy of the incessant motif (three short notes and a long note), hammering away for over six minutes, propels the movement forward. It's sort of like being the passenger in a race car. Once it takes off, you better hold on for the ride!

There are hundreds of recordings of this great work. However, none surpass the logic or capture the essence of the symphony more than that of Carlos Kleiber and the Vienna Philharmonic. Listen here.

For a visual example of Kleiber's interpretation, watch this very old (and poor quality) video. Watch here.

Tomorrow: Schubert's Unfinished Symphony.



You Be the Judge! The Bartered Bride Overture

Today begins my discussion of the pieces that will comprise Orchestra Kentucky's concert on October 25th. Entitled, You Be the Judge!, audience members will choose what compositions they want to hear...right on the spot. There will be two exceptions to the voting: the overture and the finale. Today, I will give you some background information on The Bartered Bride Overture of Bedrich Smetana (pronounced Sme-ten-uh). I have also supplied a link to a classic perform-ance of the masterpiece.

Smetana (1824-1884), is known as the father of Czech music. He is best known for his opera, The Bartered Bride, a comic opera composed between 1863 and 1866. Smetana had written an earlier opera, but this was the work that would put him on the map. His inspiration was a comment from the Viennese conductor Johann von Herbeck, who in so many words said that Czechs were incapable of making music of their own, Smetana replied, "I swore there and then that no other than I should beget a native Czech music."

In order to create an opera that was identifiably Czech, Smetana made use of traditional Bohemian dance forms like the polka and furiant. Although he mostly avoided quoting folk songs in the opera, he wrote music that had the characteristics of Bohemian folk music. Smetana composed the overture before almost any of the other music of the opera--highly unusual for an opera composer.

Listen and watch a classic performance of the overture conducted by Vaclav Neumann: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hLtLN87I90.

Tomorrow I will talk about Beethoven's famous Symphony No. 5, the first candidate up for "election".

Vienna Philharmonic at Centre College

Ever since Centre College officials announced that the Vienna Philharmonic was coming to Danville, I have eagerly anticipated the concert. I was not disappointed in the orchestra. Just the audience.

Founded in 1842, the Vienna Philharmonic has been led by legendary conductors such as Mahler, Weingartner, Furtwangler, Strauss, Toscanini and Bernstein. It premiered works by Brahms and Bruckner. There is a twelve-year wait for subscription tickets to their weekend concerts. In short, seeing them was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me.

The program for last night was Dvorak's New World Symphony, Bernstein's Divertimento for Orchestra (erroneously identified in the concert program as Divertimento for Band--it was transcribed for band, but originally written for orchestra--the Boston Symphony, to be exact), Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess and Bolero.

The Dvorak was definitely the most memorable. The unison cellos that begin the first movement obtained a beautiful pianissimo blend, playing like one instrument. Being a brass player, I appreciate the difficulty of the chords that begin the famous Largo movement. They must be played softly--the most difficult thing a brass player is called to do. There were no cracked or missed notes. The brass section sounded like a pipe organ, with every attack together, in tune, and with a perfect blend. To sum up the Dvorak, the orchestra knew this masterpiece so well, they were able to execute it at the highest level--nearly perfect.

I was impressed by the orchestra's performance of the Bernstein. I believe there is one American on stage (a trombonist from Tennessee). You wouldn't know it. The Viennese captured the proper jazz styles and blues inflections. Special note: The soft, high tuba solo was AMAZING!

I could have done without Bolero. In fact, I don't care if I don't ever hear it again. I mean, how many times can you hear the same tunes played over and over and over and over? It is a bit like the Chinese Water Torture for me. In spite of my dislike of the piece, the orchestra played it well, except for some surprisingly out of tune woodwind solos at the beginning.

Now on to the primary negatives of the evening. Because the concert was filmed, the audience was met with bright spotlights, shining on them for at least 30 minutes prior to the concert. I felt like I was on stage myself. When they dimmed the lights for the music, it took a while for my eyes to adjust so that I could actually see the orchestra. I know they wanted shots of the happy audience members in their tuxes (not me--I wore a black suit!). But when you pay a minimum of $100 per seat, this was a ridiculous and unnecessary distraction.

The concert program was clearly designed to impress. Unfortunately, it didn't contain all of the usual information one would hope to see in a program. For example, the Vienna Philharmonic personnel were not listed. For some of us, it's like going to a baseball game and not knowing who the players are. Also, there was the embarrassing bit about the Bernstein, which I mentioned above. Couldn't they have found someone to proof the program, who knew something about music?

There was also the irritating pre-concert speech. Centre's president gave Gustavo Dudomel (the conductor) an honorary doctorate. He looked thrilled (No. Actually, he looked like he wanted to get on with the business at hand, which he mentioned during his thank you speech). The concert was about the orchestra coming to Kentucky--not the conductor. The orchestra chooses who conducts it . (It hasn't had a full-time music director since the 1930s.) Dudomel was their guest (who was quite impressive, by the way). A better choice--if absolutely necessary--would have been to honor the orchestra's concertmaster with the doctorate. After all, he represents the orchestra.

Finally, I have to comment on some of the ridiculous behaviour of the audience members around me. I had waited several months to hear the Dvorak. The Largo movement is one of my favorites. I waited to hear how the brass would handle the difficult opening. I'm on the edge of my seat for that passage and...a cell phone rings! Then, as the English horn begins the famous tune (known as Goin' Home to most people), the man behind me starts snoring! If that wasn't enough, I had to hear a person in front of me audibly tell her husband that it was cellos that were playing at the moment. All of this during the most quiet moments of the symphony. Of course, there was also the inbetween-movement applause. I could just imagine what the Viennese were thinking. "Yep. Just what we expected in Kentucky.")

Now, those who know me know that I'm not a stickler on concert etiquette. Clapping between movements was commonplace during Mozart's time, for example. But EVERYONE should know to silence their cell phones. And if you didn't get a good night's sleep and are that tired, stay home and go to bed. The audience doesn't want to hear the music accompanied by your sleep-deprived-induced noise! (I couldn't believe that his spouse didn't wake him. Maybe she was afraid of hearing a loud snort if she did!)

Now that I got that off my chest, I feel SO much better! Tomorrow, I will begin to discuss the music to be performed at our October 25th concert.

Orchestra visits and our upcoming concert

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending a concert of the Owensboro Symphony. They performed Verdi's La Forza del Destino, Ravel's G major piano concerto, and the Enigma Variations of Elgar. They did an excellent job.

Tonight, I travel to Danville, Kentucky to hear the Vienna Philharmonic. I could buy two subscriptions to Orchestra Kentucky for what I had to pay to attend this concert. But I figure it's worth it. After all, how often does such a great orchestra come to Kentucky? This is the orchestra that premiered works by Brahms, and many other iconic composers. I wouldn't miss it for anything. Tomorrow, I will let you know what I thought.

Starting Wednesday, I will begin an extensive discussion of the music Orchestra Kentucky will perform at its October 25th concert, You Be the Judge! This is the concert where the audience will vote on what the orchestra plays. In other words, the orchestra will prepare two complete programs. The audience will decide, at the concert, if we play the first movement of Beethoven's 5th symphony or the first movement to Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. They will decide if they want to hear a medley of Duke Ellington songs, or songs recorded by Frank Sinatra. And, so on, and so forth.

So that you, the voters, are prepared to excercise your "consitutional" rights in an informed way, over the next few weeks, I will take each of the choices, give some background information, and provide a link to a YouTube recording, so that you may listen to the works discussed. I would love for you to weigh in by posting your comments about the pieces discussed.

This is going to be A LOT of fun!

Bowling Green: Little New York?

Tonight, I attended a recruitment dinner with a physician who is considering locating to Bowling Green. Being married to a doctor, I have done this several times over the past 20 years. In these situations, I often act as a sort of "chamber of commerce," giving the prospect all of the reasons I believe he or she would like living in Bowling Green. Since I am the orchestra's music director, I naturally stress the wonderful arts opportunities in our community. So, let me take this opportunity to repeat my message for the benefit of anyone who may not realize how blessed we are to have so much art.

South Central Kentucky has an inordinate amount of arts organizations for a community of approximately 100,000 inhabitants. We have at least three theatre groups within a 30 mile radius (I say "at least" because there are several youth theatre groups and upstart groups that have come and gone in the past). We have two orchestras: my group, Orchestra Kentucky, and Western Kentucky University's orchestra. We have a community choral group, and an active visual arts community. And we haven't even talked about all of the arts offerings on campus, at churches, etc. In fact, the only art form that does not exist in our area is an art museum or a  professional ballet or opera company (note: my orchestra is partnering with the Louisville Ballet for a Nutcracker performance this Christmas and is planning a collaboration with the Kentucky Opera next season).

Why is it that our community has such a thriving arts community? An obvious answer is Western Kentucky University. But there are plenty of examples of college towns where the only thing happening in the arts happens because of the university. That's not true in Bowling Green. No, I believe one reason for the breadth of our arts offerings is our proximity to Nashville. Our area is full of talented people who came to the Nashville area to follow their dream. We are fortunate that many of these talented people live and work among us.

Another reason for our thriving arts community is the amount of financial support arts groups receive in our area. Thousands of private dollars are spent each year to "keep the shows on the road." (Unfortunately, very little local tax dollars directly benefit arts groups.)

Lastly, we have a community who supports the arts by purchasing tickets, buying visual art, and encouraging their children to participate in the arts through music lessons, painting lessons, etc. After all, the arts consumer is the reason we exist.

Why is all of this such a big deal? Because the arts are one of the most important things that defines a community. When we talk about St. Louis, we talk about the arch, a piece of art, not their roads. When we talk about New York we speak of Broadway, not their police force. On an international level, we think of the Eiffel Tower for Paris, Big Ben for London, and the great coliseum for Rome. In other words, it is the arts that make a city great. Without the arts, Bowling Green would be a city with good schools, thriving businesses, good roads, etc. But it wouldn't be Bowling Green as we know it.  A great place to live, work and play.

Preparing for a Concert: People Behind the Scenes

It takes a lot more than a conductor and musicians to prepare for a concert. Today we will learn a little about the "unsung" heroes who work behind the scenes.

We've already talked about the music librarian and personnel manager. Also on staff is an executive director, who heads the fundraising efforts we talked about yesterday. We have office workers who handle ticket sales, an office manager who prepares the musician's payroll and takes care of a myriad of other incidental matters, a marketing person, and stage hands. In addition, there are numerous volunteers who help the orchestra.

Ticket sales are a critical part of our organization. Those who answer the phones are in direct communication with our patrons. Fortunately, we have people who are pleasant, knowledgeable, and patient, when necessary! About 30% of our ticket sales are online and do not involve our staff. Patrons may go to our website (www.OrchestraKentucky.com), choose their seats, and pay for them. I have a feeling that this number will increase as more and more people get used to technology. Speaking of tickets, about half of our audience are subscribers. In the late winter and spring, our staff takes subscription orders, assigns seats, and mails the tickets. You can imagine the enormity of this job.

Our marketing director's job is to make sure that the general public knows about our concerts. Since we have a small budget, we rely heavily on free advertising. We inform area media about concerts via press releases. The releases go to newspapers, radio and TV stations within about a hundred mile radius of Bowling Green. Paid advertising includes direct mail pieces, newspaper, radio and TV ads. Which media we use, depends upon the nature of the concert. If the concert has a strong visual element, we use TV. We also distribute posters and newsletters to get the word out. In addition to traditional means of advertising, we use newer methods like email blasts, this blog, and social media. When we send an email blast about an upcoming concert, it is to people who have opted to receive them. We do not spam people! Social media uses include Facebook and Twitter. To stay connected with the orchestra, you may become a Facebook fan, follow us on Twitter, and sign up to receive emails and direct mail. The email sign up is on the home page of our website, on the bottom left corner.(www.OrchestraKentucky.com).

Our stage crew is responsible for moving equipment, setting the stage before a concert, and striking the stage afterwards. It is a thankless job, involving moving percussion equipment, chairs, music stands, podiums, and risers.

On concert evenings, our staff wears different hats. One person manages the front of house,or lobby area. This involves making sure that the ticket "will call" and sales windows operate smoothly. They also take care of any problems that may arise. The stage manager deals with activities back stage, such as making sure guest artists are on stage at the proper time, cuing the concertmaster to begin the concert, opening the stage entrance doors, etc.

Depending upon the concert, there may be technical needs like sound, lighting, video, etc. The technical director makes sure that the concert looks and sounds good for our patrons.

Finally, many hats are worn by volunteers. For example, all of our ushers volunteer their time to make sure that patrons receive a concert program and find their seats. Our head usher recruits ushers for each concert, trains them, and makes sure that things run smoothly. We also have volunteers who "man" the ticket "will call" window. Board members act as "greeters" in the lobby. Their job is to make patrons feel welcome and to thank them for attending. After all, they could have stayed at home and watched TV!

I'm sure I've forgotten something. The point of this blog is to stress that it takes a small army to produce a concert. Although the musicians tend to receive the credit, they couldn't perform without the many people who work behind the scenes.

Preparing for a Concert: Paying for It

Today, we continue our discussion of how Orchestra Kentucky prepares for a concert. Specifically, how much does a concert cost and how do we pay for it?

Concerts cost anywhere between $20,000 and $35,000, not including guest artists. Depending upon the guest artist, one can easily add another $10,000 to $30,000 to the total. Of course, this does not include renting the hall, advertising, and all the other costs associated with running a business. I am confident that patrons have no idea that it costs this much to produce a concert. Some think that a bunch of music lovers just get together for fun! As I explained yesterday, all Orchestra Kentucky musicians are professionals. They make a living playing their instruments. And they don't get rich doing it!

So, if a concert costs between $25,000 and as much as $50,000 to produce, how does the orchestra pay for it? Our income is a combination of ticket sales, sponsorships, sold services, donations, special events, grants, program advertising income, tuition, fees and interest. In 2009-2010, we had to generate $786,625. And Orchestra Kentucky is by no means a large organization. Many orchestras have budgets that run in the millions.

In 2009-2010, ticket sales paid for 37% of our budget. This is higher than the industry average of 30%. Some seasons, ticket sales are as high as 40% of our budget. We are very proud that we exceed what most orchestras are able to generate in ticket sales. By the way, our ticket prices are lower than most orchestras our size.

Sponsorships accounted for 26% of our budget in 2009-2010. Both individuals and businesses sponsor concerts. Title sponsors give anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000, depending upon the concert. Title sponsor means they are the primary sponsor. Their name is more prominent in advertising. Co-sponsors give between $3,500 and $5,000. The least we accept for a sponsorship is $2,500. Sponsors get all kinds of benefits: tickets to the concert they sponsor, their logo/name in all advertising, thank yous from the stage, etc. Despite all of this, most sponsors don't do it for the recognition. They believe that they should give back to the community in which they have built their business. It is a way to make the community a better place to live. After all, many people don't attend sporting events. Many are interested in the arts.
Orchestra Kentucky is fortunate. Most of our sponsors have been with us since our beginning in 2000. It is rare for sponsors to drop out. We are indeed blessed by their faithfulness.

Sold services represented 16% of our budget last season. A sold service means that someone "buys" the orchestra for a concert, wedding, reception, etc. We have played all over Kentucky. Orchestra Kentucky is able to do this because of a special grant program administered by the Kentucky Arts Council. The orchestra is on an approved list of orchestras. The venue or organization that wishes to present the orchestra applies to the arts council. If they are successful, the council pays up to 50% of the orchestra's fees. Unforunately, this program has been suspended due to the current economic climate.

Donations represent about 10% of our budget. At the top of the donor list are members of the Elm Street Society. Named after our orchestra's address on Elm Street, members pledge a minimum of $1,000 per year for five years (a total minimum pledge of $5,000). They receive discounts on tickets, invitations to parties, etc. Most of all, they have the satisfaction of supporting a worthwhile cause. While on the topic of donations, many people feel that because they can't give large amounts, they shouldn't give at all. It's a cliche, but every dime counts. If everyone in Warren County gave $1, we wouldn't have any worries!

Special events generate about 4% of our budget. Special events are parties or other functions where guests pay to participate. Special events are produced by the orchestra's volunteer arm, The Encore. They have raised more than $120,000 in their five years of existence!

Grants account for only 3% of our budget. Grants are monies given to us by governmental agencies. Currently, we only receive funding from the Kentucky Arts Council. The council gets its money to distribute from the National Endowment for the Arts. Orchestra Kentucky is the only orchestra in the commonwealth that receives NO money from city or county government. For example, the Owensboro Symphony (a good comparison because Owensboro is a similarly sized community and our orchestras have about the same budget size) receives over $100,000 in local governmental support. When will our local representatives realize that the orchestra is worth supporting?

Each season, we sell ads for our concert program. Over 10,000 people see our programs. This is a way for business who cannot afford a sponsorship to support the orchestra. This represents 2% of our budget.

Finally, about one percent of our budget is covered by tuition, fees, and other miscellaneous income. Many of you know that we run the Bowling Green String Academy, a place where children and adults may study orchestral string instruments. Teachers pay 10% of the lesson fees they collect for the privilege of using our rooms to teach. Talk about low overhead! We also run the Bowling Green Youth Orchestras. Parents pay $100 per semester for this instruction (it's less than $10 per week). We also get a minimal amount of income from money that is in the bank for a short amount of time. This year, we will soon be paying the bank to deposit money!

Hopefully, this has given the reader a sense of what Orchestra Kentucky must do to keep the music playing. I hope that all of you will consider a gift to keep the show on the road.

Tomorrow, we will talk about the people behind the scenes.

Preparing for a Concert: The Music Librarian and Musician Preparation

This is a continuation of my series of blogs on how we prepare for Orchestra Kentucky concerts. Today, we turn to the job of the music librarian and how musicians prepare.

Once the programs are set, music is ordered. Some music is purchased and some is rented. We purchase music far in advance so that the librarian may process it and the concertmaster may complete the bowings.

Processing a new composition involves making sure that the parts are complete, cataloguing it, and preparing a storage envelope so that it may be shelved. The first violin parts are then sent to the concertmaster for bowing. You may have noticed that string players move their bows in the same direction at concerts. That's no coincidence. It is the job of the concertmaster to determine how the bows are used. It is an important job because bowing effects the sound created by the section. Generally, a down bow (starting at the bottom end, or frog) creates a harder note beginning than an up bow.

Once the concertmaster completes the first violin parts, copies are sent to the principal (first chair) second violin, viola, cello and bass. They use the first violin part as a guide to complete the bowings of their section. This is important because often the entire string section has similar passages, which must be bowed identically.

Upon receiving the bowings back, the librarian copies them into all of the other parts. This must be done before music is distributed to musicians so that they may practice their parts with the correct bowings.

The music librarian's job doesn't end there. He must make sure that all musicians hired for a concert receive their music. Since Orchestra Kentucky is not a full time orchestra, much of the music must be copied and mailed. The music is copied so that originals are not lost in the mail. We always purchase a sufficient number of originals parts, which are in fact used at the concerts.

After the concert, the librarian collects the music, puts it in order (the same order that the instruments are listed in the score), and either files it in the orchestra library or ships it back to the rental agency.

One note about rental agencies. Unfortunately, publishers discovered that they can make a lot more money renting music than selling it. For example, Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring is only available by rental. It costs about $500 for one performance. Conversely, music may be typically purchased for between $70 and $100--and it can be played again and again! Orchestra Kentucky's music budget is about $15,000 per season.

Once the musicians receive the music, the practicing begins. Of course, musicians are constantly practicing to maintain their level of performance. All Orchestra Kentucky musicians are professionals. There are no students on stage. They have invested thousands of hours to play at a professional level. Our musicians come from several hundred miles away. Some play with the Louisville Orchestra. Others are freelancers in Nashville. Some teach at universities like MTSU, WKU, UK and U of L. All of this means that the musicians must balance responsibilities between full-time jobs and other gigs.

One note about hiring. The orchestra's personnel manager meets with the conductor to determine personnel requirements for the season. The conductor communicates his preferred list of players. There is a core of about 55 musicians who play all of the concerts. The principal players (first chair players) auditioned for their spots. They are the leaders of their section, playing all solos and offering constructive criticism to their section so that it may play at the highest level. They offer consistency by their continued presence. They are paid more for this responsibility.

Sometime in late spring, the personnel manager sends out offers to musicians for the following season. His job doesn't end there, though. Conflicts arise. Musicians become ill. Emergencies occur. The personnel manager is responsible for replacing these musicians. In short, he is responsible for insuring that a complete orchestra of professionals is on stage for rehearsals and concerts.

Orchestra Kentucy's spends over $200,000 per season for orchestra musicians. That does not include approximately $85,000 for guest artists. This is by far the most expensive aspect of running the orchestra. And it should be. The musicians are the orchestra's greatest asset!

Tomorrow I will talk about how concerts are paid for. After all, there is no free lunch. Or fee orchestra, for that matter.

Preparing for a Concert: Programming, Part II

Last week I began a discussion about what it takes to produce an Orchestra Kentucky concert. I began with a behind-the-scenes look at programming. Today, I turn to how I select the music that the orchestra performs.

Most orchestras are caught in a formula that has been used since the dawn of man (well, at least since the beginning of the last century). The concert opens with an overture, continues with a concerto, and ends with a symphony or other large work.  Usually, there is nothing but the whim of the conductor to tie the program together.

I prefer a model created by Arthur Fiedler, famed conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. He divided his concerts between classical--both light and heavier works--and pops. As a result, he garnered a generation of new classical music fans.

So, my concerts are typically half classical and half pops. However, I don't randomly select music from each category. I've found that a theme of some sort provides the glue to make the program more than a random selection of my favorite tunes. The theme also helps create a marketing opportunity for the concert. After all, without a REAL theme, orchestras are forced to choose such "meaningful" themes as Great Romantic Classics. That one really makes you want to call for tickets!

Programming is the favorite part of my job. Once a theme is chosen, I begin the process of searching my memory, and other resources, for the perfect compositions that fit the theme. I always keep the audience in mind. I try to choose familiar classical works and also choose unfamiliar works to broaden their concert experience.

By way of example, several years ago I featured soloist Tim King on a concert. The concert title became Fit for a King. We ended up doing a movement of Haydn's Emperor quartet with the full string section, Music from the Royal Fireworks of Handel, and Strauss' Emperor Waltz. Tim sang Can You Feel the Love Tonight from Lion King, and My Way, The King's (Elvis') hit tune.
 
I'm not saying this is the only way to program. But it has worked well for me. The only down side is some of the criticism I receive. They say that Orchestra Kentucky is a pops orchestra. It's funny because if you look at a season of programming, we do just as much, if not more, classical music. And, although our concerts are sometimes all pop, they are sometimes all classical (case in point, The Planets). Orchestra Kentucky represents the listening habits of Americans. How many of us have only one genre of music in our CD collections (or on our iPods)? How many of us listen to ONLY one radio station? Orchestra Kentucky programs realize this and attempts to offer the variety that listeners enjoy. This approach also introduces the classics to people who would ordinarily not be caught dead in a concert hall. Isn't it better to play less classical music if more people hear it?
 
Tomorrow we will turn to the music librarian's job and how musicians prepare for a concert.

Preparing for a Concert: Programming, Part I

People have asked me: "Just what is involved in preparing for an Orchestra Kentucky concert?" This is a question that requires a multi-part answer because there are so many facets to our organization. So, over the next several days, I will try to cover the process from A to Z.

The process begins in the fall with program planning for the following season. In fact, a few weeks ago, I finalized the programs for the 2011-2012 season. That's right. I set out the programs an entire year in advance. You might ask, "Why is that necessary?"

There are several reasons for planning so far in advance. One reason is the logistics. We must choose the concert dates so that the concert venue(s) may be reserved and rented. If we waited, we would be stuck with the least desirable dates for our concerts.

Another reason is artistic. We must purchase or rent the music to be performed. Often times we save money by purchasing music in advance, when companies run specials. Music that cannot be purchased must be rented. Rental agreements must be signed and the music reserved for our performance. If we waited too long, the music might not be available. I remember adding Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue to a program late in the process. I called the rental agency, only to be told that there were no copies available for rental. Oh no! I would have to change my program. Fortunately, they worked it out so that they would receive music back earlier than anticipated from another orchestra, enabling us to receive the music in time for our preparations.

In addition to purchasing or renting music, guest artists must be retained. The bigger the name, the more likely they are scheduling concerts early. Most artists we work with, schedule about one year out.

Also, we must start to determine how many of each instrument will be needed for a concert so that we may start to create a season budget. The instruments needed are determined by the music programmed. For example, The Planets required a very large and, consequently, expensive orchestra.

Finally, we begin early because we must obtain concert sponsors. It is difficult to ask a sponsor to sign on to a concert if they don't know what we will be playing.

Monday, I will discuss how I choose music--the fun part of my job!

"Mars" from "The Planets"

I've been asked for a recommended recording of The Planets, which Orchestra Kentucky just performed Monday. My favorite recording is by Charles Dutoit and Montreal, available on iTunes.

For now, check out this video of Sir Charles Mackerras, conducting the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2009 Proms. It's a fun video of Mars, the first movement.

Sadly, Sir Charles passed away in July, while I was in London.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGGlL1wexQk

The Planets was out of this world

Monday evening, I had the pleasure of conducting Gustav Holst's masterpiece, The Planets. Orchestra Kentucky played the multi-movement suite for large orchestra, while sychronized animation and planetary photos from NASA's Hubble telescope played on a 25 foot screen overhead.

This was a milestone for the orchestra. It was the first time we had 85 professional musicians on stage. And, it was the first time that a season opener of classical music sold out: 1,035 seats, to be exact. This all begs the question: was it the music that drew the crowds or was it the music AND the video? I think it was the later.

Good or bad, we are a visual society. Ever since Star Wars hit the movie theatres in the '70s, we want ALL of our senses engaged in order to be entertained. Star Wars gave us one of the first memorable experiences of hearing great symphonic music, accompanying a visually stimulating film. Now, many of us are not content to simply listen to great music and watch the musicians on stage. We want our orchestra concerts to include the eye candy found in films.

Is this need for visuals a bad thing? It's bad in that it adds to the cost of producing a concert: $6,000 in the case of Monday's concert. But overall, I don't think things have changed much over the years. Ever since Leonard Bernstein, conductors must be worth watching from behind. They must be graceful, inspiring, etc. Gone are the days of "boring" conductors, like Fritz Reiner or Eugene Ormandy, who foolishly thought their job was to make great music--not to put on a show for the audience. (Note my sarcasm.) Even in the '80s (the 1880s, that is), audiences craved the grand spectacles of Wagner's operas, which included elaborate sets, costumes AND a gargantuan orchestra and singing cast.

No, things aren't really different these days. It's just the type of eye candy that has changed.