{"id":497,"date":"2007-10-19T06:24:52","date_gmt":"2007-10-19T13:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/10\/19\/perspective\/"},"modified":"2013-02-07T18:17:35","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T02:17:35","slug":"perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/10\/19\/perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wasn’t able to attend the Oregon Symphony’s annual membership meeting this afternoon due to teaching commitments, but I did read the summary by local arts journalist James Bash<\/a>, and I have some thoughts of my own.<\/p>\n

First of all, it must be said that the financial situation of the symphony is<\/u> undeniably precarious. It is a very serious threat to the future health of the orchestra, and steps must be (and have begun to be) taken to improve the financial underpinnings of the organization.<\/p>\n

This having been said, the orchestra continues to perform at a very high level, and we are performing interesting, engaging programs. In addition, I feel that in Elaine Calder we have found just the kind of no-nonsense leadership that we need to get ourselves out of this financial mess. In a remarkably short time she has really gotten a feel for what works and what doesn’t within the organization, and is rapidly developing a snapshot of the inner workings of the arts scene in Portland.
\nI also feel that the musicians are cognizant of the issues facing the organization, and are willing to be partners in finding unique, collaborative ways to solve these problems. I don’t think (as someone with no special or advance inside knowledge) that there will be major changes in what symphony patrons see when they go to concerts, but there will doubtless some changes behind the scenes that will enable the organization to grow and thrive in the coming years.<\/p>\n

My biggest fear is that, in the short time of transition and restoration, the symphony will fall out of the top echelon of arts organizations that create buzz and excitement in the community. We’ll continue to be the largest, in terms of budget, but in the arts coverage of the past year or so I’ve noticed much more focus on innovation at the Oregon Ballet Theater, exhibitions at the Portland Art Museum, and other such organizations as Body Vox, Whitebird Dance, and Portland Center Stage. I hope that we’re able to keep a good balance between ensuring survival and creating new and interesting experiences at and around our concert presentations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wasn’t able to attend the Oregon Symphony’s annual membership meeting this afternoon due to teaching commitments, but I did read the summary by local arts journalist James Bash, and I have some thoughts of my own. First of all, it must be said that the financial situation of the symphony is undeniably precarious. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[3667,112,55,3666,3668,3662,62],"class_list":["post-497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-fundraising","tag-management","tag-orchestra","tag-oregon","tag-oregon-symphony","tag-portland","tag-symphony"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-81","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3294,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/10\/26\/a-new-way-to-look-at-the-oregon-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":497,"position":0},"title":"a new way to look at the oregon symphony","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"After our last classical series concert, the orchestra stayed for an extra 30 minutes to get an important job done: it was orchestra photo night.\u00a0 Every few years, a new portrait of the orchestra and its music director is taken.\u00a0 In virtually every other year, the photo is a standard,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"RCO001_VanBoxteljpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/RCO001_VanBoxteljpg-400x322.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12965,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/03\/a-bit-of-good-press-for-the-oregon-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":497,"position":1},"title":"a bit of good press for the oregon symphony","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In the latest issue of BBC Music Magazine, in the North America 'live choice' recommendations for must-see concerts, the Oregon Symphony is singled out for our subscription season opener\u00a0 (Sept. 21 and 23) featuring Takemitsu's From me flows what you call Time and Rimsky-Korsakoff's Scheherazade. It does open with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"bbc-oso","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/bbc-oso-500x597.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":513,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/11\/03\/how-not-to-fix-the-oregon-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":497,"position":2},"title":"how not to fix the Oregon Symphony","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the last two years, the coverage of the the Oregon Symphony in the local press has become more sporadic, and when it does happen, much more pessimistic, and maybe a little bit cynical. First, an outline of what constitutes the press in Portland, Oregon, for those of you who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1005,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/06\/06\/new-faces-at-the-oregon-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":497,"position":3},"title":"new faces at the oregon symphony","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Four new musicians will be joining the Oregon Symphony next season - here's the rundown on each of them (courtesy of the Oregon Symphony's Carl Herko): Mark J. Dubac, second clarinet - Dubac has been principal clarinetist with the Green Bay Symphony in Wisconsin for the past two seasons and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "auditions"","block_context":{"text":"auditions","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/auditions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12750,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2013\/07\/01\/oregon-symphony-balances-budget-for-fourth-consecutive-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":497,"position":4},"title":"oregon symphony balances budget for fourth consecutive season!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"We won't know the numbers until an official audit is done, but the Oregon Symphony has declared that they have balanced the 2012-2013 budget - the fourth season in the black for the organization. This is tremendous news, as it means that we will keep our $1 million grant from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fundraising"","block_context":{"text":"fundraising","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/fundraising\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":459,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/10\/04\/web-ticket-offer-from-oregon-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":497,"position":5},"title":"web ticket offer from Oregon Symphony","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This will be a great concert, and for $10 - c'mon, it's a steal! $10 Friends and Family offer Spanish Splendor with the Oregon Symphony October 13-15 Carlos Kalmar, conductor Patricia Risley, mezzo-soprano Join us for an evening filled with mystery and surprise\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 love, passion and seduction. Featuring the cheerful,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/oslogo.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}