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Posts from the ‘Performing Arts’ Category

May 24

El Sistema Before El Sistema: Ozanam Strings and Rodney McCoy

Rodney McCoy, violinist and alumnus of Ozanam Strings

Rodney McCoy, violinist and alumnus of Ozanam Strings

The Ozanam Program in Pittsburgh has been serving youth for many years, advancing the mission “to help boys and girls of Western Pennsylvania develop into responsible young adults through positive, developmental training.” In the 1960s, before El Sistema even existed, Ozanam had a program that used music to reach young people. Ozanam Strings had years of success, and even was featured on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Annie Gordon met with an alumnus of Ozanam Strings, Rodney McCoy, who went on to a career as a jazz violinist. McCoy shares his memories and his thoughts on how music education can change young lives at a time when they need it the most.

Read on for this exclusive interview conducted for The Muse Dialogue in part III of our series, “El Sistema Before El Sistema: Rodney McCoy and Ozanam Strings” (click here for full article).

May 15

Build the Experience to Build the Art

A case study in effective audience engagement, and building an experience.

A case study in effective audience engagement, and building an experience.

A great deal of research has indicated that arts audiences are increasingly seeking an experience in their encounters with arts. That could include integrating a social experience with a performing arts program, or perhaps an enriched experience of interacting with artists. Whatever the case, the focus is on changing the nature of interaction between the audience and work, and between the audience and artists. In the case of classical music, there are many long-standing traditions in how work is presented, and Colin Pinto-Martin argues that it is time to change them.

In this article from The Muse Dialogue, Pinto-Martin says that innovation is long overdue, and especially innovation in providing a total experience for concert audiences. He writes, “Building a relationship outside of the concert hall is essential. If you want to reach people in their 20s, then you need to meet them where they are, which might mean a jam session in a club. If you want children, then you need to get into the schools more.” As he writes, you may even need to learn a lesson from some unlikely sources — a little pizza delivery might help too.

Colin Pinto-Martin offers some insight and heartfelt opinions in “Build the Experience to Build the Art” (click her to read full article).

May 11

Artists May Be Like Athletes…But Art is Not

Athletics Meets Art in the Form of Mario Lemieux (Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins)

Athletics Meets Art in the Form of Mario Lemieux (Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins)

Recently Erin Yanacek offered an article on The Muse Dialogue, exploring what she sees as the similarity between her experience as an artist and her experience as an athlete. In the process, she discusses that the topic came out of a debate with colleague Andrew Swensen.

As we always seek to offer the opportunity for dialogue on the arts, Swensen has taken the time to explore everything from dance competitions to Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Add a bit of Coppola’s The Godfather, rhythmic gymnastics, and Mario Lemieux’s goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and you come to his argument. And what is that argument? Well, you will have to read on to see if he has been convinced in his response “Artists May Be Like Athletes…But Art is Not”

May 8

Taking Time to Listen: An Opinion on Introverts and the Arts

Emily Dickinson, introvert and artist

Emily Dickinson, introvert and artist

A thoughtful individual and a committed artist, Kristine Rominski is also an self-professed introvert. Introverts face particular challenges because the reality is that society favors extroversion in so many ways. An extrovert naturally gravitates to speaking up, to having their thoughts heard. Introverts, by contrast, may not draw attention to themselves because their nature may be more inclined to reticence. In the case of art-making this lack of natural gregariousness may impede having others recognize talent and beauty in the making. Introverts need a bit more time and a bit more attentive listening, and if we do not take the time to listen, we may just be missing out on something special.

In this article, Rominski takes a courageous step to open up and share her experience, a look inside the creative mind of one devoted to art but not necessarily inclined to speaking out. Take an extra moment to hear her words in “Taking Time to Listen: An Opinion on Introverts and the Arts” (click here to read the full article).

May 3

The Many Faces of El Sistema in the USA. Part 2 of a Series

Photo courtesy of El Sistema @ Rainey

Photo courtesy of El Sistema @ Rainey

Annie Gordon continues her series on El Sistema in this second installment by looking at a couple of programs in the United States: El Sistema@Rainey in Cleveland and MyCincinnati. Both of these programs have transferred the philosophy of Venezuela’s El Sistema to urban environments in the U.S., and Gordon considers the questions inherent in the undertaking. In both cases, musicians seeking to help children found local partners in the community. To learn the results, read Gordon’s new article “The Many Faces of El Sistema in the USA” (click here to read full article).

Apr 23

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Artists, Athletes, and the Passion to Excel

Erin Yanacek (Photo: Jon Pratt)

Erin Yanacek (Photo: Jon Pratt)

Erin Yanacek, trumpet player and cyclist, explores the connection between her experiences as an artist and as an athlete. She finds a number of similarities, and in particular the mental space of each activity requires a level of focus that brings an individual an uncommon clarity. She writes, “The idea of a masterful musician’s mindset is not unlike the mindset of an athlete in a competition. Levels of focus and awareness are raised to a seemingly electric state.”

If you have not already read this article — we released it last week but are only posting it to the homepage now — it is a fascinating look into the psychology of artistic creation. Join The Muse Dialogue for Yanacek’s “Artists, Athletes, and the Passion to Excel” (click here to read full article).

Apr 5

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All Dressed Down, Nowhere to Go. Do Orchestras and Young Musicians Have a Future?

Colin.gifColin Pinto-Martin, a percussionist currently in conservatory, wonders about his own future and the future of his art form. Conservatories across the country are producing highly skilled musicians, but if the art form has only declining audiences and declining interest, what does that mean for all those currently in training for the orchestras of tomorrow? Pinto-Martin considers the changes in audience, their waning familiarity with classical music and the growing informality of culture in general, and he sees tremendous uncertainty. The question then becomes what are the musicians themselves willing to do in order to change that future. He writes, “If we as musicians and artists don’t begin to adapt to a rapidly changing culture soon our craft will be as valuable as making buggies for horses.”

The Muse Dialogue offers some provocative thoughts and challenging questions from a young musician who argues that musicians themselves are partly responsible for the situation, and must take up responsibility for its future. Read on in “All Dressed Down, Nowhere to Go” (click here for full article).

Mar 9

An Interlude: The World of Online Discussions on the Arts

by Andrew Swensen

Over recent weeks, The Muse Dialogue has had a series of very productive exchanges with other efforts in online media, and I want to acknowledge those who are also laboring on behalf of the arts. It is in the best interest of all of us, in the best interest of the arts generally, to cultivate those connections and to expand the reach of each of them. So I am taking this morning to express our gratitude for this work and to share a few resources that may interest our readers. For those visiting The Muse Dialogue based on recent referrals to our series on young musicians, those articles can be found in the table of contents to that issue – and we encourage you to explore the rest of our site when you are done reading those pieces.

Greg Sandow has been composing a blog for artsjournal.com, in which he has taken a hard look at the future of classical music. In the site overview, he writes, “For years we’ve been talking about a classical music crisis. And the crisis is very real … We now have to ask whether classical music, in its traditional forms, still is sustainable. The answer, I think, is ‘probably not.’” In a post this week, he discusses specifically the role that conservatories play in the crisis of classical music, and argues persuasively for the need for innovation — an innovation that he sees as largely absent. We encourage all of our readers to have a look at his most recent post, which assembles a thorough list of those trying to innovate and well characterizes the barriers that the conservatory system imposes on innovation.

Before we leave the world of music, I want to put out another resource that has been reposting some stories from TMD, The Classical Digest. The Classical Digest does an excellent job of gathering news, commentary and video from the world of classical music, and it is an excellent resource for finding material from around the world.

An interesting connection has come our way from New York through the work of Frances McGarry. A veteran of the theater both on stage and behind the scenes, McGarry has launched an effort in arts advocacy, which includes two initiatives that we recommend. First is a collection of 100 stories from the arts, and McGarry is gathering these stories leading up to Arts in Education Week, September 11-17. McGarry has also begun an online video series, First Online With Fran, and the initial episode presents an interview with Angelina Fiordellisi, Artistic Director of Cherry Lane Theatre.

From the other coast, Oregon specifically, comes Combustus. Combustus is an online magazine created by Deanne Piowaty, and it is a beautiful site that offers a variety of interviews and stories on the arts. Piowaty has done excellent work in crafting stories from across all art forms, and we heartily recommend a long, lingering browse of her site.

I have had some very rewarding correspondence with Greg, and some heartening phone conversations with Deanna and Fran. Thank you all.

We want to thank all of these individuals for their work, and for their interest in The Muse Dialogue. We can never learn too much about the arts, or care too much about their future in our schools, in our public spaces, and in our lives.

Feb 28

The Power of Will, The Power of Genius

Rominski photoWe have become so accustomed to characterizing art works as the product of “genius” that we may just overlook other qualities of character needed by their creators. The world of music gives us melodies and textures of sound that have us marveling at their beauty, their cleverness, and their expressiveness. Yet what was required to bring those sounds to life, to bring that impact on us?

In a new article from The Muse Dialogue, Kristine Rominski argues that although genius might be required, it is not the only necessary ingredient to great art. Perhaps not even the most important one. Rominski is a flutist currently in conservatory, and she offers a very personal look at the willpower behind musicianship. Her story considers the distractions of the contemporary age, the demands of consistent practice, and the content of character behind excellence.

For a special insight into the mind of the musician and the demands that they face in the solitude of the practice studio, join us for Kristine Rominski’s “The Power of Will, The Power of Genius” (click here to read full article).

Feb 15

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The Classical Musician’s Paradigm Shift

The future attendance that we do not want in our concert hallsTMD continues its series on emerging artists in classical music today with a rethinking of the the problem and the solution. We know that audiences are declining, and so classical music organizations respond with innovative presentations, non-traditional performances, and clever marketing approaches. While well intentioned, such efforts miss the real problem in the opinion of Annie Gordon. They are nice, perhaps, but only “band-aids” to solving the issue of declining audiences.

Gordon argues that the very mindset of classical musicians must change first before any substantial change is possible with audience trends. “As musicians, we are preventing our own art from flourishing because we do not value with equal intensity our roles as music educators and mentors,” Gordon argues.

Join us for a consideration of how one defines the role of “musician” in this article from The Muse Dialogue, “The Classical Musician’s Paradigm Shift” (click to read full article).

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