Happy 2009 (18 Days Late)

Regularly updating this blog was not my new year’s resolution.  But maybe it should have been.

Israel, Gaza and Michelle Obama

Yesterday I spent a good amount of time catching up with the events happening in Gaza. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that my weekend happenings kept me quite isolated from the world, but when I went to NPR.org Monday morning to read their coverage I was somewhat amused/confused/discouraged by their front page.

These two articles appeared side by side–the first claiming the most attention with a photo:

Like It Or Not, Michelle Obama Is Now A Style Icon

Israeli Planes Pound Gaza Targets

Now I actually don’t have anything bad to say about NPR’s actual international news coverage. In fact, it’s some of the best.  The juxtaposition of these two stories just got me thinking.

The presidential election engaged so many Americans, and like the rest of the world we actually seemed eager to learn more about this important news story. Everyone was listening to NPR, watching CNN and reading the New York Times (yes, I acknowledge my liberal media tendencies) but when Obama finally sealed the deal what are we interested in? The complicated international crisis that Obama will inherit or the dress that his wife will wear at his Inauguration?

Higher education: possible, valuable and worth the effort?

Whenever I read an article online, I rarely bother to read past the article itself and into the comment section. Essentially I could care less that “SuZieRocKs8493″ is personally and vehemently opposed to the content of the article. Even with something as casual as blogging, it seems ridiculous to set up a format where people can get away with sharing short and ill-informed quips in response to a thoughtful and well-written opinion.

But I read Cora Currier’s recent post for the “State of Change” blog at the Nation.com, and actually got sucked into the debate happening in the comment section.

Currier raises an important issue about higher education, and you can read it all here: Students Need Relief.

To summarize–Obama’s appointment of Arne Duncan as Education Secretary reminds us that some degree of education reform will be a part of the next for years. But with all of the focus on “No Child Left Behind” and early education in general, we can’t forget the challenges facing higher education–especially considering the economic challenges of these times.

She notes this letter to congress, which essentially asks for the following:

• Raise the maximum Pell Grant to $7,000
• Increase funding for the Federal Work-Study Program by 25 percent.
• Improve access to Parent PLUS loans.
• Provide a limited “emergency access” student loan pool for colleges that commit to providing adequate need-based aid.

And she concludes:

“This mini-bailout for higher-ed certainly won’t solve all of these problems, but it could make a major difference for many students.”

I’m fascinated by this because I (a liberal arts college graduate who worked through college, took out federal loans ) hardly saw this as controversial at first. My journey into comment-land, however, proved otherwise.

For example, this from “YourJomamma”:

I have a unique idea that appears to have never been given its due…

Do the words…

PART TIME JOB…

ring any bells?

My God…..things must be different at the poverty farm known as higher education…

Maybe the tenured guys woiuld be willing to give up a little of their guarenteed cash? Naw………

Any chance?..

I suggest some of these students learn the words…”you want fries with that”…

after all, as soon as you graduate you will be ready to run the world as good liberals everywhere…and a little job experience, even at McDonalds might look good to a policy think tank….so you can better understand the “working poor”…

And this from “lvliberty1″:

 

Here, Here! and a hearty amen!. Your post echoes my complaint. Used to be that only the rich were able to attend college without working. Now everybody wants free education.

Working through college helps to provide a learning experience that better prepares students to enter the workplace. It is a rare graduate that I have interviewed over the last 15-20 years that was capable of really providing a contribution to the company. With most, you had to assume that you were basically investing 1-2 years of salary and benefits for someone who would not bring any return on investment during that time frame.

I have a lot of thoughts.

First of all, I’m troubled by the assumptions we’re starting to make these days that having a college education or a graduate degree (or god forbid a graduate degree from a renowned and likely expensive institution) makes you an elitist who is out of touch with the world. Sure–the luxury of wealth will inevitably disconnect you from certain aspects of our world, but the hardship of poverty will also do the same.

The issue here isn’t wealth though. It’s education. And that’s why it’s so important to have programs in place so that a student’s financial situation is not a determining factor in his or her education.  For all of its flaws (and certainly there are many) the public education system does a better job at this than higher education.

From what I saw while I was in college, there are those students whose parents simply wrote a check each semester and leave without a single student loan. Likewise there are those students who had a numerous part time jobs in addition to a full course load and still leave with piles of debt. Most students end up somewhere in the middle. It’s tempting to try to define the quality of the education and the lessons learned from each variety of circumstance, but that’s not what’s important here.

What’s important is that students are still receiving different kinds of education based on their financial situation. As a result the simplified paradigm remains: higher education is something that rich people have the freedom to pursue at their own will while everyone else who wants to pursue it will have to work much harder for it. Making college accesible to everyone is one step, but breaking down that cultural divide is most important.

That’s where these federal programs come in. It’s not just about making going to college easier. They’re designed (or at least they should be designed) to encourage students to attend college who might not consider it a possibility. It’s a way for our country to say that higher education is possible,  valuable and worth the effort–even if your background and financial situation suggest otherwise.

I know I have more to say and think about, but I’m going to stop there for now.

Hang Loose

According to CNN:

Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Wednesday that he “can’t wait to begin to tell his side of the story.”

And…

“There’s a time and place for everything. That day will soon be here, and you might know more about that today, maybe no later than tomorrow.”

Asked what it is he wants to say, Blagojevich told the reporters to “hang loose.”

So Blagowhatever is all pumped up and excited to tell us his side of the story, but we’re supposed to hang loose.

I realized that I wasn’t informed on the distinction between hanging loose versus hanging tight, so I consulted Urban Dictionary.

Hang Loose:

As used in the Hawaiian Islands, “Hang Loose or “Shocka” is used as a non verbal expression; or greeting. To tell the receipiant, that every thing will be OK, Relax, Stop looking at me w/ that stern look on your face.
( Mostly Visual) With the three mid figures folded down. Extend the Thumb & Pinky finger out, and shake vigurously, about the radial axis of the wrist.

Hang tight on the other hand is merely…

To await further instructions.
She was anxious for an update, but he told her to hang tight.

Frankly, I will neither be hanging loose or tight to hear his story. But I guess if it’s ridiculous enough, I’ll probably end up reading about it and laughing a little.

In other tight vs. loose news, Amos Lee suggests keeping it loose and tight:

More on the YouTube Symphony Orchestra

The internet is probably sick of hearing about the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, but I’ve been reading some more responses and realized I have a little more to say. 

I was struck by this point made at Adaptistration:

“Think of it this way: Does anyone remember the first orchestra to be broadcast on television? How about the first orchestra to release a recording on CD or record directly to digital? Me neither; and that is exactly where I think this YouTube project will end up.”

True.  But what would classical music be if nobody ever thought to try broadcasting on television or releasing a recording on CD?

Is the idea of a “YouTube musical ensemble” the way of the future? Probably not. But finding ways to integrate new media into the traditional format of an orchestra probably is. And the fact that major organizations (LSO, Berlin Phil, Carnegie, NY Phil, BBC, Rotterdam…) and established musicians (Michael Tilson Thomas, Tan Dun, Lang Lang, Gergiev) are getting behind it is huge. Chances are that smaller, grass-roots organizations could do a better job thinking about this–but these giants are are the only ones with enough influence to make it happen. For now at least.

Yes it is an incredibly successful marketing stunt, but it’s also stirring up all sorts of healthy dialogue.

Give the YouTube Symphony Orchestra a break. Some day we might laugh at its flaws. More likely we won’t remember it. But most likely it will do more good than harm.

A Few Things

I’m terrible at maintaining a blog. I’ve gone for (two?) weeks without a post and now today find myself with a chunk of time and a lot of things to catch up on. Well dear (two?) readers, you’re just going to have to deal with my irregular posting habits.

So I think I’ll just make a list of the things I’ve been meaning to post.

1. Thanks to Americans for the Arts’ ARTSBLOG for the heads up on Obama’s interview with Tom Brokaw on Meet the Press. Excerpting Obama:

“…historically, what has always brought us through hard times is that national character, that sense of optimism, that willingness to look forward, that, that sense that better days are ahead.  I think that our art and our culture, our science, you know, that’s the essence of what makes America special, and, and we want to project that as much as possible in the White House.”

I love this even though it’s a little fluffy. In very simple terms it’s a reminder that America isn’t merely defined by a divide between East-coast/San Fransico elitists and middle-class Joe-six-packs.
2. I’m always a sucker for discussions on opera as it faces the new possibilities provided by technology and as struggles to connect with what seems like an entirely new breed of audience. Issues of language and libretto are inevitably tied up in all of this, and Mark Swed recently tackled these large scale issues with the example of opera DVDs and their lack of a printed libretto. The whole article is worth reading, but a couple points struck me.
First he notes the shift in opera toward a narrative experience instead of a poetic one.

“Contemporary operagoers expect from the lyric stage the same sort of immediate experience they have at the theater and cinema.”

And in response to the increased focus on staging:

“Opera, after all, is drama.”

Yes! But I think this is the most interesting point he makes:

“Without access to the original text, an audience must take everyone — composer, singers, stage director — at their word, and quite a lot of richness is lost. But the downside to this studious model is that by being so well prepared we can easily get so wrapped up with interpretations that we lose the urgency of the moment. We know what to expect, and we sink under the weight of those expectations.”

This pretty much leads to what has essentially become one of the greatest challenges of opera right now. With opera, it seems like the marketing narrative goes something like this: Don’t be afraid! Opera is easy. You’ll get an English translation every step of the way. There will be lots of flashy things happening on stage to keep your interest in case you get bored. We’ll even make it sexy every now and then. And when you add the movie theater factor in: You can even wear your PJs and eat popcorn! All of this essentially means: You don’t need to do a lick of work. Just sit there and we’ll keep you entertained.

I’m simplifying, obviously. But this method will never hold up. Movies will always be better at providing entertainment that you merely digest without any work. Plus, movies will probably always be cheaper.
Opera gets a bad reputation for being highbrow and inaccessible, but is it really so wrong to expect the audience to do some preparation of their own?

But Mark Swed wasn’t talking about opera marketing. It just made me start to think about the disconnect between opera marketing and, well, opera. Huge issues.
3. As with all things viral, the news of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra is probably already old news. People everywhere have been talking about it. I haven’t really developed much more of a response yet other than: this is really cool. But two of my initial reactions, though, seemed to mirror those of Amanda Ameer’s. (And I’m not just saying this because I secretly want to be her friend.)

• The master classes and personal conductor videos are fantastic. Musicians everywhere should be doing this. Obviously one way one way communication isn’t the ideal format for education, but it certainly is an exciting and not terribly difficult way to connect to young musicians and future supporters.
• Quoting Amanda directly: “The fact that the selected orchestra is going to perform live at Carnegie Hall cracks me up a little. The web was good for auditions, but we need a “real” concert at the end of it all to legitimize the project? I mean, I get it, I just hope the end result will also be live on YouTube.”

Her entire post is here.

Goin’ Green

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (and green make-up covered Marcie Dodd) announced a new initiative to shrink the “carbon footprint of the Great White Way.”

The New York Times has the whole story. (Subscription required, I think)

BUT DON’T PANIC! Broadway will still be as excessive and flashy as always.

“The idea is not to turn off the lights and sit in the dark,” said Rohit T. Aggarwala, director of the mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability.

Oh thank god.

Apparently Wicked has already been uber-eco-friendly. According to producer David Stone…

“Cast and staff members of “Wicked” productions use e-mail messages instead of paper whenever possible, and even use bags of frozen peas instead of chemical ice packs for body aches.”

It’s so tempting to just make fun of these people for thinking that frozen peas and emails are enough to save our world from the current environmental crisis. But I suppose that even the smallest steps from such a visible and commercial institution like Broadway can be very influential.

And kudos to Stone for admitting the not-always-so-obvious:

“The theater community has always been at the forefront of social change, and we have been left behind on this one a little bit.”

Do We Really Care?

I’m so skeptical of Gramophone’s list of the twenty best orchestras of the world. Not for any reason other than its inability to answer the question, “Do we really care?”

The fact that anyone claims the authority to make that decision is simply absurd.

According to NPR, the city of Chicago is almost as excited about it as they are about Obama. Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein couldn’t resist:

“Not to be too Chicago chauvinistic,” he says, “but the rankings confirm what those of us here in Chicago have felt for some time.”

But bravo to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra President Deborah Rutter for this classy response (I’m literally using the same exact quote from Sticks and Drones which led me to this article in the Chicago Sun-Times):

“I think it is safe to say that we are not advocates or necessarily firm believers in lists of this sort, given the subjective nature of these types of rankings….”

“As everyone should know,” Rutter continued in an e-mail, “on any given evening anywhere and everywhere in the world there are ‘best concerts’ taking place by many great orchestras. Music is always a subjective experience, and that’s why there isn’t and can’t be a World Series in our world to firmly, regularly rank orchestras…”

Eat Your Heart Out, Joe the Plumber

I certainly wasn’t the only person to be drawn in by the person who tried to vote for Lizard people AND Al Franken. But I don’t really know if anyone was expecting him to speak out.

MPR reports:

“I don’t know if you’ve heard the conspiracy theory about the Lizard Men,” said Davenport. “A friend of mine, we didn’t like the candidates, so we were at first going to write in revolution, because we thought that was good and to the point. And then, we thought the Lizard People would be even funnier, and there was kind of a running inside gag between some friends and I.”

Another fine moment in broadcast journalism…

…that doesn’t really need any commentary (other than acknowledging that I’m probably the 1,200,395th person to post this on a blog).

Oh, WCCO…

To be honest, I was really hoping for a video when I read this post from The Blotter over at City Pages.

But this photo was good enough on its own:

I guess I don’t have much else to say, other than a big thank you to The Blotter for their consistently quality reporting.

Too much art?

Thanks to Sanden Totten at MPR’s The Loophole for pointing me to these two pieces:

Not a great time for non-profits (American Public Media’s Marketplace)

“[Stacy] Palmer says arts organizations suffer most during tough times. Donors tend to favor social organizations — groups they feel are helping the most in need.”

and…

Asking the unpopular question–is there just too much art?

“Arts organizations will fail and close as contributed income dries up, and earned revenue weans. Although tragic for the artists connected to these organizations, the unpopular question that continues to emerge with my colleagues from around the nation is: are the closings of these organizations necessarily a bad thing? [...] the supply and demand conundrum that many communities face can also be solved by eliminating the excess supply. This crisis will create a de facto “survival of the fittest” culture for arts organizations. Those organizations that are financially sound and create consistently good product might feel a pinch but should weather the storm.”

This is scary, scary stuff to me. And I’m not really in the right mindset at the moment to tackle it as fully as I’d like.

I understand the supply and demand argument. I’ve thought about this myself, especially using Minneapolis-Saint Paul as a model where as Totten says “…there is a gallery, sculpture or theater on almost any corner.”

Forgive me for using economic terms here that I really have no business using, but doesn’t everyone talk about diversifying in a time of economic crisis? That’s something that the MSP arts culture has going for it. We’ve got just about every shape, form and size of arts organization you could ask for–ready to provide whatever service you need. I’m afraid that allowing a “survival of the fittest” situation would simply give the upper-hand to the bigger organizations. And frankly, the Walker, the Guthrie and the Minnesota Orchestra are a whole lot better off with the Soap Factory, Ten Thousand Things and Zeitgeist. (Maybe I’m wrong about that, but it’s an argument I want to pursue further.)

Isn’t the best way to head into these “troubling times” to actually work together and share our resources? Be bold and daring with the work that we have to do knowing that there is a strong community to fall back on?

Ok. Go ahead, Michele Bachmann. Call me a socialist.

Voting be hard

This is amazing to me.

You can vote on several Minnesota recount votes. (Thanks MPR!)

It makes me wonder if there are some issues of accessibility for voters at play here. But it also makes me wonder if people really are that stupid. I’m specifically concerned that “Lizard People” will get its (their?) vote counted.

Queen… er… Prince of the Night?

A friend of mine shared this with her comment: “He’s lucky it’s not the 17th Century and he doesn’t live in Italy,,,otherwise he could kiss his balls goodbye.”

He said this would happen…

…but actually seeing it is thrilling.

Just a bunch of white liberals?

ArtsJournal linked to two articles that tackle the lack of diversity in music and in theater–but in two different ways.

The New York Times profiles Imani Winds and drops this discouraging fact from the League of American Orchestra:

“…blacks made up less than 2 percent of professional American orchestra musicians, while Latinos made up less than 3 percent…”

And this from the Sphinx Organization:

“…works by black and Hispanic composers represent less than 1 percent of the orchestral compositions performed in the United States each year…”

Read the whole article here.

Meanwhile Adam Feldman at Time Out New York comments on Prop 8’s effect on California musical theater. Well, more like California musical theater’s effect on Prop 8. (There is at least one obvious and bad joke here, but I’ll refrain…) Read Feldman’s piece here.

There’s an important issues here I think. The liberal media’s got nothing on the liberal arts communities in this country.

The World Only Spins Forward

I’ve been meaning to try and articulate my response to California’s Prop 8 for a while. But once again I defer to Anna Quindlen. If you haven’t already, read it.

Minneosta Opera Looks Ahead and Back at the Same Time

I’m encouraged by the news that the Minnesota Opera has decide to commit to an initiative “designed to invigorate the operatic repertoire with an infusion of contemporary works.”

Minnesota OperaWorks. 7 years. 1 international coproduction. 3 revivals of American works. 3 newly commissioned operas.

Pioneer Press, Star Tribune and MPR all have stories.

People who’ve been around town long enough (or people like me who happen to talk to those people) no doubt see this as a blast from the past. This kind of commitment to contemporary American opera is how the opera company got its start. So it makes sense that the 2009-10 season will feature a revival of Dominick Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming, which had it’s premiere during the company’s first season.

I don’t actually know that piece at all, but I’m a little skeptical. If we really want to propel the art form forward then maybe we should stop defining pieces that are 25 years old as contemporary. (I’m generally fascinated by how we define classical music) This Argento opera is being listed as a revival, but what about their upcoming production of Faust this winter. Isn’t that a revival too? At what point is a production still considered new or contemporary? And at what point do we just accept it into our standard repertoire?

I realize that those details, although important from a broader context, are somewhat superfluous. I do think this can be a very good thing. Amid a storm of depressing opera headlines (the NYC Opera ordeal, the Corligliano to Verdi switch, and the WNO’s incomplete ring cycle just to name a few), I’m proud that the Minnesota Opera is willing to be bold in the face of our failing economy. And at least from what they’re saying now, this is no auxilary program. As quoted in the the Pioneer Press:

“We try to do something contemporary every season,” said the opera’s president, Kevin Smith. “What we want to do is make it a primary focus of where we’re going in the next decade.”

And…

“There’s so much doom and gloom here, so at least there’s a bit of good news coming out of Minnesota,” he said. “Minnesota is the best place to be if you’re an opera company and you’re trying to be adventurous in your programming.”

Keith Olbermann on Prop 8

Can you name one other person?

Incredible.