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by Charles Noble on April 7, 2010 · 8 comments

We have Principal timpani auditions coming up at the Oregon Symphony, and thanks to Sam Bergman over at the Minnesota Orchestra’s Inside the Classics, here is a YouTube gem:

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Violist Sam Bergman, of the Minnesota Orchestra (and fellow BBB – Bratsche Blogging Brother) made this arrangement of Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man for a Minnesota Orchestra function.  I kind of like it – it might be something we should do here in Oregon…

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opera vs. symphony

by Charles Noble on October 28, 2009 · 3 comments

Sam Bergman over at the Minnesota Orchestra has a great post about the apparent double standard between opera companies and symphony orchestras.  In brief: orchestras are constantly being berated for having structural deficits and are forced to produce more and more for-profit-like business models, while opera companies lose tremendous amounts of money on high-tech experiments

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The Minnesota Orchestra and Houston Symphony have just concluded negotiations with their musicians that have resulted in substantial cuts in wages, either via pay cuts, unpaid furloughs, or both. In Minnesota [from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune]: Musicians at the Minnesota Orchestra have agreed to concessions in the face of financial pressures on the organization. The deal

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Courtesy of Sam Bergman with the Minnesota Orchestra (on tour in Cologne, Germany):

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inside the orchestra

by Charles Noble on February 26, 2009

Violist Sam Bergman has a great illustration of how different it is to hear an orchestra from the audience’s point of view than from a seat in the orchestra.  Sam’s a violist with the Minnesota Orchestra, which is on a European tour right now.  Their first stop was the Barbican Centre in London, where the

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there are days…

by Charles Noble on September 19, 2008

I wish that I were blogging anonymously sometimes.  I could unburden myself of whatever was vexing me from a day’s worth of rehearsals, private practicing, or teaching, and say whatever I wanted. That would be great. But… It also would not be terribly ethical.  It’s easy to say whatever you want when you remain a

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As I write this, there are two orchestras in the U.S. which are currently facing an existential crisis. The Columbus Symphony and the Shreveport Symphony are both facing cuts which will forever alter how they function, sound, raise money, and basically exist. Over the past week, two fellow violists/bloggers have written posts about the situation,

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more columbus opinion

by Charles Noble on March 16, 2008

Sam Bergman, violist with the Minnesota Orchestra, has written an insightful and compelling post about the current situation in Columbus. Here’s the crux of his argument against the draconian cuts proposed by the CSO board and management: Consider it from another angle: let’s say that the Minnesota Timberwolves, plagued for years by slumping ticket sales,

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Violist (aren’t we an enterprising bunch?!) Sam Bergman of the Minnesota Orchestra has been writing and hosting the educational series called Inside the Classics.

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