John Adams Gives Julliard Grads Fair Warning...and Hope
In his commencement speech to the recent graduates of Julliard, composer John Adams lets them know how worthless -- and priceless -- their degrees are.
Vancouver Symphony On The Brink
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (of Southwestern Washington State) says unless they can raise $100,000 by the end of this month the orchestra will have to fold before next season.
Herb Alpert Boosts Emerging Artists
The name Herb Alpert conjures up thoughts of well-packaged, Latin-American-ish instrumentals which ruled the radio airwaves in the '60s and '70s. Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss turned $200 and a handshake into the worlds largest independent record label - A & M Records. Now, Alpert is using his fortune to give artists in many disciplines a chance to be heard by giving out 5 annual awards of $75,000 each to artists in the fields of dance, film/video, music, theatre and the visual arts. This year's recipients were just announced, with the award in the music category going to flutist and composer Nicole Mitchell.
Brandenburg Concertos, Part 2?
And finally, everything seems to have a sequel today. If you have a hit movie, make it again, and again...and again.  A pop star like Justin Bieber explodes onto the music scene...how quickly can we find the next Justin Bieber? Now, two organizers of the Montreal Baroque Festival, Bruce Haynes and Susie Napper want you to experience Brandenburg Concertos: The Sequel! The festival this year will include performances of six "new" Brandenburg Concertos assembled from instrumental arrangements of Bach cantata movements that will also be recorded for release on the ATMA record label. What do you think? Should Bach's music be re-arranged and turned into "new" works? Leave a comment and let us know! Adam Schweigert contributed to this post.