Sunday, April 22, 2007

coming soon...

This is a big week for the New World Symphony on the web. Next week's concert will be broadcast over the internet in a live video webcast. Check out the webcast site, which includes a countdown, lots of program information, and even a blog by two members of the orchestra (note: I am not one of them!)

The two orchestra members are Yukiko Senino, a pianist, and Michael Gordon, a flautist. Both play prominent parts in the main piece on next weekend's program, Stravinsky's Petrouchka. I am really looking forward to reading all their posts about the piece and the rehearsal process, which will be with Michael Tilson Thomas.

People in New World Symphony administration know that I blog - occasionally I think they get a bit nervous I'm going to expose all the dirty secrets of people or the organization itself - but mostly people have just been very supportive and encouraging. Howard Herring, the New World Symphony's president, asked me about the traffic spike following Dan Wakin's New York Times article, and is always curious about the comments and reactions I get here. (So please, feel free to write your comments!) I am sort of glad that no one has pressured me to be an "official blogger", or linked my blog to the New World website - it would just make me feel a little too circumscribed and careful about what I write. Much better to just jot down my ideas and impressions as they occur, and as time allows.

On the other hand, now that orchestras are starting to acknowledge and tap into the blogosphere, I wonder if some audience members are looking for this kind of connection to the performers. Are they curious about our rehearsals and social interactions, or is it like making sausage - too much knowledge about the process spoils the end result.

I hope that people who visit the New World Symphony blogs this week, and watch the webcast online, will feel free to comment here or on the NWS site, and let us all know what you think!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Having chanced upon your blog some time ago, I have grown not just in appreciation of the hard work and sacrifices musicians make in order to perfect their craft, but also in joy as I read of your creative and courageous, ever expanding life experiences. I am reminded of Anais Nin who described her diaries as, "going inside of a well and digging down and down in order to find the deepest levels of ourselves. For if we dig deeply enough, we finally reach the water that everybody shares, the universal water, the collective unconscious. There is a connection in the depths, the kind of connection you don't get when you have shallow meetings with others." You would be amazed of the number of people you touch!

Matt Heller said...

Wow - that really is amazing, and affirms so much of what I believe about life and connecting with others! I think I am going to print this comment and hang it up so that I can read it every day.

Thank you so much!