Toolbox

Thoughts, links and tools for orchestra management strategies

July 2, 2017

Safety tips for professional #musicians to survive in an #orchestra

An orchestra is a very special workplace: “A colleague is a musician who plays the same instrument, but not as well as you do”. If you work together with some 80, 90 or 100 highly talented idividuals but have to become an artistic unit on stage whilst performing a peace of music, it is very important to understand your own role and behaviour as well as those of the colleagues. “Who has got colleagues in an orchestra doesn’t need any other enemies”, another musicians joke (?) says.

For example: the Montreal Symphony Orchestra

String players from Kentucky (US) have tried to write down 39 rules and safety tips for professional musicians how to behave/survive in an orchestra. Most of them are simply true and extremly helpful. Find more about here: http://www.violinexcerpts.com/38-orchestra-dos-and-donts/

At least, it’s a question of self-conception, professionalism and corporate behaviour and spirit to work together in an orchestra.

 

May 14, 2017

How selected #Orchestras integrate #digital tools

Orchestras around the globe are looking for pathways in the very fast changing digital environment. Only some orchestras can make money from media business, at least only, if they do it on their own behalf.

Home of Berlin Philharmonic and the DCH Ltd.

A good example is the Digital Concert Hall (DCH) of the Berlin Philharmonic. Find more information on this topic in this presentation, which has been hold at 4th International Orchestra Conference in Montreal on May 12, 2017:

Orchestras Integrating Digital Tools

May 10, 2017

4th International Orchestra Conference in Montreal is on the way

From May 11 to 14 the international orchestra community is gathering in Montreal. 300 delegates from more than 40 countries will discuss cutting edge topics of the industry.

International Orchestra Conference

Created in 2008 by FIM (International Federation of Musicians), the International Orchestra Conference takes place every three years. The previous editions took place in Berlin (2008), Amsterdam (2011) and Oslo (2014). The aim of this dedicated conference is to give symphony orchestra or opera musicians down to the smallest ensemble orchestras the opportunity to share their experiences, concerns and initiatives on issues such as improving working conditions, consolidating employment, risk prevention where health and safety are concerned, developing audiences or public or private financial perpetuation.

A place of exchange for musicians and managers

Since its first edition in 2008, the International Orchestra Conference has invited administrators to take part in panels alongside musicians’ representatives. This open approach enables us to address issues of common interest together, without excluding controversy.

Financing methods, the impact of digital on the way orchestras operate and their relationship with the public, taking risks into account where occupational health is concerned, the involvement of musicians in elaborating artistic projects – these are but a few examples of the numerous issues which musicians and managers address. We need to take up issues and submit them for debate.

Orchestras: an essential cultural mission

In February 2014, musicians’ representatives meeting at the 3rd International Orchestra Conference stated: “Support for symphony and opera music, which are a precious and fragile part of our cultural heritage, is a prime responsibility of national, regional and local governments“. In what has become known as the Oslo Call, they also called on political decision makers “to honour this responsibility, by providing orchestras with the means that are necessary to pursue their missions and thus contribute to, and enhance artistic, social and economic life“.

This public service mission for orchestras reaffirmed here fulfils our societies’ need for culture, providing them with both artistic excellence and social bonding.

Find programme here.

January 6, 2017

Wallace Foundation offers #arts #management tools for free

The US based Wallace Foundation offers several arts management tools, which give access to a series of studies describing strategies of arts organizations that sought to build their audiences.

wallace_foundation

 

Find more information in the Knowledge Center. This is really useful stuff.

 

August 25, 2016

@ClassicalNEXT: Open Call for Proposals for 2017 Edition

The leading classical music meeting and worldwide innovators’ network Classical:NEXT has opened its annual call for proposals. All classical music professionals from around the globe can submit their suggestions for showcase artists, project pitches and conference sessions to be hosted at Classical:NEXT in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 17-20 May 2017.

Classical:NEXT

Classical:NEXT

As every year, Classical:NEXT is calling for outstanding artists, projects, future-oriented topics and interactive conference formats from all corners of the classical music world, whether that be early or contemporary, traditional or experimental. Proposals can be made in four categories: Showcases, nighttime Club Showcases, Conference Sessions of various, preferably interactive formats and Project Pitches. Classical:NEXT offers a dedicated online proposal site, to submit the proposals. All proposals will be considered by an independent jury of international experts.

Deadline to submit proposals is Friday, 30 September 2016.

Increase of Proposals Expected

Organisers Piranha Arts and de Doelen are expecting an increase in proposals due to the success and increased outreach of the meeting’s last edition. Classical:NEXT Director Jennifer Dautermann:
“As awareness of and participation in Classical:NEXT grows, we expect the already outstanding quality as well as substantial quantity of proposals to increase. Our jury have their hands full each year. We hope those hands will be filled to overflowing when this year’s Call for Proposals phase closes.”

1,200 international classical music professionals visited Classical:NEXT for its fifth edition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, this May. One of the reasons for this success is the acclaimed and well-attended conference featuring interactive sessions, debates and project pitches as well as the Showcases, enabling new talent, new formats and unorthodox approaches to reach out to the international market.

 

Programme Selected from Proposals – This is How it Works!

To offer this exceptional programme, Classical:NEXT works with a proposal system “by the community, for the community”: Experts and everyday innovators from all sectors of the scene are invited to submit their proposals for the showcases and the conference, regardless of whether they have attended Classical:NEXT before or not, as Jennifer Dautermann explains: “We are looking for the outstandingly innovative, the bearers of ‘wow!’ moments, the eye-openers the and horizon-broadeners. We seek the best and brightest on the trail of innovation and excellence. Community – this is your call! The ball is in your court!”

From the hundreds of proposals submitted by 30 September 2016, an international jury of experts from all fields of the scene will assemble a handpicked selection of artists, speakers and projects – guaranteeing a neutral and balanced selection of only the best showcases and most pressing conference topics for Classical:NEXT 2017.

May 26, 2016

Five Years of @ClassicalNEXT – Opening in Rotterdam – 2017 Dates and Location

Congratulations! Classical:NEXT, the global meeting for all art music innovators, opened its 2016 edition on May 25 with a ‘Dutch Mountains’ gala opening in de Doelen concert hall, including keynote speeches by Dr Clemens Trautmann, CEO of Deutsche Grammophon; Hans-Hermann Rehberg of the Berlin Radio Choir; and Beth Morrison of Beth Morrison Projects, as well as the star conductor Michael Tilson Thomas via video.

Classical:NEXT

Classical:NEXT

Classical:NEXT celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, gathering music professionals from 45 countries from all over the world for four days of conferences, showcase concerts and networking at the expo. The registration numbers were up by more than 10% before the event even started, with more one thousand participants confirmed by organisers Piranha Arts – exact numbers are to follow with the final press release on Saturday.

Immediately embraced by many labels and distributors when it was initiated in 2012, the Classical:NEXT community has expanded considerably within five editions, as the live sector and music media have also made it their international platform. Meanwhile, the event has developed into the biggest meeting for artists, entrepreneurs and multipliers from all branches of the classical and contemporary music scene.

This year marks the second time Classical:NEXT, which is organised by Berlin-based Piranha Arts, takes place in Rotterdam with the main venue and local production partner being Rotterdam’s renowned de Doelen concert hall and congress centre.

“It is truly amazing to see the development of Classical:NEXT – it appears to flourish in its Dutch home,” believes Classical:NEXT Director Jennifer Dautermann. “Not too surprising, actually, considering the context of the optimal conditions offered by our hosts, the city and the cultural scene in the Netherlands overall.”

Neil Wallace, programme director of de Doelen and also producer of this year’s opening enthuses: “This year feels even more exciting than last year – you can literally feel the Classical:NEXT vibe throughout the city, running into international artists and classical music professionals networking everywhere.“
Dutch Mountains Opening presents Netherlands’ finest

After Austria, Luxembourg and Canada, this year’s opening country was the Netherlands. The ceremony was produced by Classical:NEXT 2016 hosts De Doelen, who are also celebrating their 50th anniversary this month.

For a country renowned for its flatness, the heights the Netherlands’ art music were very much on show at the Classical:NEXT 2016 gala Opening. The “Dutch Mountains” Opening featured a wide range of Dutch talent. The concert was heralded by contemporary marching band 9 x 13 and featured classical guitar innovator Aart Strootman (who performed the world premiere of his ‘Counterpoint 21’), sonic adventurers Ensemble Klang, boundary-breaking collective LUDWIG (who tonight announced the inclusion of Barbara Hannigan as a member of its collective), celebrated proponent of ‘pianism’ Ralph van Raat and anti-traditional percussion ensemble Slagwerk Den Haag all took to the stage. These glimpses into the Dutch art music world were connected and interwoven with specially-commissioned work by pioneering video-maker Jules van Hulst of the acclaimed 33⅓ Collective. A tutti performance of Louis Andriessen’s piece ‘Workers Union’ wrapped-up the tightly-curated evening that brought together such disparate  as operatic spinning tops, jawbones-as-percussion and tales of Buddhist moss-gardens.

The opening was produced on behalf of, and with the support of, Dutch Performing Arts. The opening artists were selected by De Doelen, advised by young Dutch curators Masa Spaan, Shane Burmania and Floris Kortie.

“Create works that tell the story of our time”: Keynotes give food for thought – Deutsche Grammophon and Apple Music announce new cooperation

A highlight of the evening was the keynote address, which was split four ways: statements were made by Dr Clemens Trautmann, CEO of Deutsche Grammophon, Hans-Hermann Rehberg of the Berlin Radio Choir, and Beth Morrison of Beth Morrison Projects, and a specially-recorded video message was delivered by world-famous conductor and orchestral director Michael Tilson Thomas.

Acknowledging Classical:NEXT as one of the industry’s most important events, Trautmann exclusively announced Deutsche Grammophon’s new initiative with Apple Music, creating a curated online space which can become a “prime destination for veteran followers, as well as new listeners”. (More details will follow in their press release on Thursday 26 May).

A prominent topic of the keynote was the need for continuing accessibility and relevance. Morrison urged the art music world to “create works that tell the story of our time”; Trautmann gave advice for the assembled Classical:NEXT delegates: “Stay curious, stay hungry and stay paranoid. As we know, only the paranoid survive. But most importantly, have fun!”; and Rehberg summarised the core tennet of Classical:NEXT in proclaiming “the reason why I am here is to talk to many of you in order to get new ideas, be inspired and create something new for both the Berlin Radio Choir and its audience”.

For downloadable press photographs from the Opening concert, see below.
New Programme Items, New Networks and Fellowships

New features this year include focuses on “NEXT:Tech” and music theatre, with extra conference programme as well as Operadagen Rotterdam and the Music Theatre Now competition being held parallel to Classical:NEXT, next door. New networks are also present at Classical:NEXT and engaging with the programme, e.g. with Codarts (Rotterdam’s renowned conservatory and university for the arts) and PRS for Music Foundation (the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development across all genres) starting a Classical:NEXT Fellowship programme for young composers and artists. The two organisations have both selected three outstanding talents and are enabling them to visit Classical:NEXT 2016 in Rotterdam to engage with more than 1,000 classical music professionals.

Ongoing network initiatives include and international orchestra network as well as an “indie classical” network. The world’s largest distributor and classical label Naxos held their meeting earlier in the week of Classical:NEXT and both organisers announced that they will continue to find the most convenient solution possible for international delegates to attend both events. Head of Naxos Klaus Heymann will speak in a talk, which will be part of the public Classical:NEXT Festival. The Festival will feature eleven international showcase acts, plus further Dutch talent and an appearance of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and a Classical Music Rave from Thursday until Saturday. The final day of the event will see proceedings come to a close with the ceremony of the second Classical:NEXT Innovation Award for outstanding projects, which were voted on by the Classical:NEXT online community.
Classical:NEXT 2017 – in Rotterdam again

With the success of what are now two editions and the location very well accepted among delegates and artists alike, Piranha Arts and de Doelen have agreed to hold Classical:NEXT in Rotterdam again next year; the dates of this sixth edition will be 17 – 20 May 2017.
Useful links for press

You can find photographs from tonight’s Opening concert at the dedicated Dropbox folder, as well as more from the event to be updated throughout the week, at the Classical:NEXT 2016 Press Photos Dropbox.

More downloadable media, including audio and video to come, can be found in the press section of the Dropbox.

For more information on the Classical:NEXT 2016 Opening concert, visit the Opening page at classicalnext.com.
May 5, 2016

@ClassicalNEXT is ready to start May, 25

Classical:NEXT is a professional forum for classical and art music, the next edition of which will take place in Rotterdam from 25 – 28 May 2016.

Classical:NEXT

Classical:NEXT

It is planned as an annual event that aims to unite the international art music community. The event’s structure consists of three sections – Showcase, Conference and Expo: Showcases will present artists and productions in a series of short concerts or video screenings. The event is on its way to become one of the most exciting international platforms and marketplaces for the future of  classical music.

Conferences will offer presentations, seminars, thinktanks, mentoring, matchmaking and other formats. The Expo is an exhibition place for companies and institutions and offers a meeting point for hundreds of delegates. Classical:NEXT is initiated by CLASS and produced by WOMEX.

Find more information here!