Critics are Spoiled

Critics are spoiled. Whenever they go to see a play or concert they sit in the best seats in the house. They hear perfect sound, see every grimaced facial expression the actors can muster and feel like they’re actually part of the action. So, when YOU are sitting in a drafty seat in the back of the hall behind a post, not hearing or seeing a thing, don’t blame the critic when you read the rave review in the paper the next day (“Were we at the same play??”). Now I know what it’s like. When I attended East Lansing’s Wharton Center’s current run of the hit musical Billy Elliot, I was surprised to be shown my seats in the Grand Tier. First, you must understand that Wharton’s Grand Tier is higher off the floor than most other venues (you actually have to take a ski lift to get there) because the architects wanted to keep good acoustics for the main floor seats underneath. Wharton’s Grand Tier is truly a bird’s eye view. I was really looking forward to seeing this award-winning musical but sitting up in the Grand Tier made me feel strangely detached from it all. Yes I heard OK and there was no post in front of me but I couldn’t see the actor’s’ faces and some of the dialogue was garbled. So I feel somewhat hampered in reviewing the show in those less than optimum conditions. But – I’ll take a stab at it. Billy Elliot is a poignant story of a tragic coal miners’ strike in northern England in the early eighties. While the blokes are on strike, one of the rough and tumble miners sends his 12-year old son (actually 15-year-old Ben Cook) for boxing lessons at the community center. The boy has little interest in socking his friends in the face, but he notices a ballet class going on in the next room and it’s love a first sight. His dad is none too happy by the turn of events. The story of acceptance, following your dreams, layered over an economic tragedy is eloquently told. Cook is a stunningly good dancer and performer and the supporting cast makes his pain and the pain of the entire town achingly real. Billy Elliot’s teacher, Janet Dickson, is a sassy, blustery and funny actress who sees the boy’s talent immediately. Elton John’s music is enjoyable but forgettable. The choreography, script, and scenic design, however, flowed together perfectly to make the story strong and touching. Although sitting that fa away limited my emotional connection with the stage, I’m sure it was no different than any other auditorium's balcony. In fact, for orchestra concerts I prefer sitting in the Grand Tier. But now I know why house seats are in the center of the hall, five rows from the stage. Everything just looks and sounds better there.

An Elegant Copland

Some folks wonder why they should waste their time and money going to a concert when they have all the music they want on their iPod, CD player, or other device.

Timothy Muffitt and his Lansing Symphony musicians showed us why there’s nothing like listening to live music at Saturday night’s (2/24/12) Masterwork Four concert.

The concert began with one of the most over-played pieces of music on any classical radio music station, Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Nothing is new in Appalachian Spring – everyone’s heard it before. But watching Muffitt conduct the LSO from my vantage point in Wharton Center’s Grand Tier (a fancy word for balcony), was like watching a painter carefully applying his colors on the canvas.

I watched the music as well as heard it. Not only did I hear the music created with utmost care and delicacy to make the genius of Copland come alive, but I also watched each instrument meld with another and marveled at the orchestration. Here, the Brooklyn-born composer used trumpets and harp to create a lovely and unusual sonority, and there he used muted trombones, bassoons and horns together. Amazing, carefully chosen colors.

Muffitt approached each chord with loving care to produce an artful sonic tapestry. I have never heard Appalachian Spring played with such sensitivity. Originally written for chamber orchestra, Muffitt kept the chamber quality for his full orchestra. And when the beloved theme, “Simple Gifts” was introduced by clarinetist Emmanuel Toledo, everything came together perfectly.

Sorry people, you won’t be able to get the experience I had in listening to this Copland masterpiece with two tiny speakers stuffed in your ears.

In delightful contrast, Muffitt then programmed a tuba concerto of all things. Phil Sinder, tuba prof at Michigan State University took center stage with the short but vibrant Tuba Concerto by Bruce Boughton. Sinder had a gorgeous, expressive tone, and in the final movement, shocked the audience with the agility of the huge brass instrument he commanded. He played with a beautiful lyricism and clean precision.

Yes, the ear usually seeks out the higher registers in instruments and voices, but in this case it was worth stretching our hearing comfort to dig deep and revel in the basso profundo.

For an encore Sinder delighted everyone with a jazzy version of the Beetles’ tune, Blackbird. Sinder proved that the tuba can, in fact, swing.

Decades ago, the Franck Symphony in D was standard concert fare, but in recent years is has slipped out of favor. For this concert, if provided a nice complement to the other selections. Lots of dark chords (my ear was now sensitized to the tuba range), featuring English horn, bass clarinet, violas and low brass. It was certainly beautiful, romantic and familiar music and the orchestra did itself proud.

But at the end of the concert, I was still remembering the transcendent reading of Appalachian Spring, one of the finest performances I have ever heard from the LSO.

Proof

How important was music education to your life? Now that school budgets are being slashed and states are mandating that test score excellence be pinned to academics only, how can we explain why the arts should continue to play a major role in our schools?

I got a glimpse of the profound and lasting importance of learning music in public schools a few weeks ago.

My personal love of music began early. I was fortunate to attend a high school in Cleveland Heights, Ohio where a high level of music performance in bands, orchestra and choirs was valued and nurtured.

Many of my high school buddies went on to receive degrees and thriving careers in music. Composers served residences in my high school (called simply “Heights”), we played basic repertoire symphonic music and the top groups went on concert tours during spring break.

Heights always had a tradition of great teacher/conductors. Ralph Rush and Mark Hindsley both left Heights to become important names at the University of Illinois and UCLA.

One such teacher was John F. Farinacci. This larger than life character was the band and orchestra head between 1949-62. Although his students are now in their 60’s 70’s and even 80’s and Mr. F passed away five years ago, the alumni who played under him embarked on a mission to honor him and acknowledge his legacy with a unique reunion event.

During the 11/11/11 weekend the Band and Orchestra reunion (two years of planning) honoring Farinacci took place. The weekend was surprising, emotional and heartfelt.

I have attended a couple of high school reunions in the past but found them all dull and meaningless. The saving grace to those events was that the band and orchestra folks usually found each other, searched out a quiet table and talked about how important the Heights music program was to all of us.

This reunion was decidedly different. At the opening gala dinner, Farinacci’s grey- haired and retired students paid tribute to him in glowing verbiage. Now lawyers, professors, doctors, teachers, these men and women told moving stories about how playing violin or clarinet or trombone under Farinacci changed their lives forever.

Mr. F was not an easy guy – he was highly disciplined, had a fiery temper and was not good at hiding his anger. He expected his students to work hard and to not accept anything less than excellence. He would often bellow his concocted and fake Italian epithet “tabbo sessenam beeza”. Yes, we were all scared to death of him and loved him at the same time. And we had no idea what that crazy sentence meant.

This was not a typical high school reunion where small talk is exchanged over drinks. The 200 people who attended this gathering were desperate to share their life-long love of music with their friends of 50 years ago.

The alums regaled us with funny and nostalgic stories, but also poignant remembrances about how this tough Italian taught them how to work hard, roll with the punches and how to take the bitter pill if you deserved it. But everyone spoke about how their lifelong love of music was due to Farinacci.

Can you imagine people getting together fifty years later to honor a math teacher?

One speaker was a professional violist who recently retired after a career with the Toronto Symphony. He described when the feared conductor asked him to stop over to his house one Saturday morning. Mr. F. had collected a pile of LPs for the young musician to listen to – the Mozart Symphonia Concertante for Viola and Violin and many others. The 66-year old violist remembers that listening to those recordings was a revelation. “I never knew the viola could sound like that,” he said. Somehow, Farinacci identified some real talent in this kid.

Also in attendance was a bassoonist who played in the Cleveland and San Francisco orchestras, a conductor with the Buffalo Philharmonic, and an attorney who is on the Executive Board of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Mr. F’s family was well represented – his 92-year-old wife Alice was there as well as four of his five children.

Maybe the most moving element of the weekend was the joint concert that took place with the idealistic old codgers and the current Heights band and orchestra students.

At the time we attended Heights, the school was mainly Jewish and Italian. Today Heights is in a changing neighborhood with a 75% minority student population. We all heard horror stories about the current Heights High School: metal detectors, violence, low performance levels.

I am thrilled to report that we saw none of that on our brief visits to the old high school.

Sitting with the current high school students during our music making was one of the high points of the weekend. These kids were not cynical and tied to their iphones, but were enthusiastic about the music and - miraculously – excited about playing with us old geezers. The horn player next to me was a terrific player and full of laughs to boot.

Kids and oldsters got to know each other playing in the same depression-era auditorium that we grew up in. There is a Hebrew expression – L’dor Vador, “generation to generation”. This rehearsal and concert was clearly a l’dor vador experience

Many of the alums had not touched their horns for the past 50 years or so, and did so on this weekend with great reluctance and fear. On that Saturday afternoon we rehearsed the combined alum/student orchestra (Beethoven’s Egmont was the music of choice) and band. One of the band’s selections was Buglers’ Holiday and the soloists were the original trumpet trio that played together in 1957.

But soon, some unexpected drama occurred. During the band rehearsal in the afternoon, chills went through the band when it became apparent that the conductor from our alumni group was having difficulty conducting the Host 2nd Suite – basic repertoire in the band world. The band stumbled miserably through the music that is littered with difficult meter and tempo changes. The old pride of performance came through as the band recognized that we may embarrass ourselves during the concert that night, something we dreaded.

Suddenly, after the rehearsal I was asked to take over the baton. Even though I would not get time to rehearse the group, I accepted the task with trepidation. Later that afternoon, I pored over the score to make sure that I gave the group SOME element of correct direction.

One piece of music that the alums demanded we play was the Sousa favorite, Stars and Stripes Forever. In our day there was a beloved performance ritual that occurred with the playing of Stars and Stripes. The piccolos stood up and marched to the front to play their solo and for the final grandioso the trumpets and trombones marched to the front to join the pics while a huge American flag was dropped from the ceiling at the rear of the stage. Everyone loved this corny spectacle and waited for it to be played at the conclusion of every concert.

When planning for this concert, our organizer (Dick Rose) asked the present Heights band directors if we could do the Stars and Stripes in the old manner. The directors had no idea what we meant. After Dick explained the drill to them, they set out to look for the flag.

A stage hand finally found it but the old flag was disintegrated and not ready for prime time. Dick immediately ordered another oversized flag and had it next-day shipped, in time to be prepared for the performance.

The concert that night began with the high school band and orchestra playing their pieces as well as a couple of selections from the fall high school musical, Sound of Music. All the performances were excellent and it was heartwarming to see that the great traditions of performance excellence at Heights were continued.

The old and young musicians finally assembled for their part in the concert. The old wrinkled chops came back to life and grandparents were playing like kids again. When it was time for the Holst Suite to be played, I realized how crazy I was to attempt this conducting chore. The band was shocked to see me on the podium instead of in the horn section. As I looked out in their faces, I sensed that they were saying, “OK Ken, we’re with you and we’re going to make this happen.” And they did. I was sweating buckets, but they were concentrating and somehow it worked. It was a great moment of everyone working together.

After the Holst, the final Stars and Stripes was played and emotions were high. Arthritic hips and knees prevented the old players from standing up as quickly as 50 years before, but there they were, proudly playing Sousa and pretending to be young again. They didn’t march up to the front but stood in place, magically the brand new flag was dropped at the right time, and those shiny brass instruments were raised and did their thing.

It was a thrilling moment for all. People in the audience cried and Alice Farinacci jumped out of her wheel chair to whoop and holler. The old magic of the Farinacci days came back, if just for a few hours.

Sadly there are no test scores for bands and orchestras to prove how good schools perform, but usually schools with excellent performing groups usually have great academics as well.

The Heights music program taught us discipline, pride, hard work and the importance of art in our lives.

The weekend in November is still being discussed and remembered by all of its participants. It was a perfect way to honor not only Mr. John F. Farinacci, but the profound importance that music and arts plays in our public schools.

Grapes of Wrath, the opera

The Michigan State University Opera Theater made a grand statement over the weekend, by mounting a production of the new opera by acclaimed composer Ricky Ian Gordon, "Grapes of Wrath".

Steinbeck's classic novel is the searing story of a poor Oklahoma family during the dust-bowl Depression period of the 30s, as they trek to California to find work, stay alive and remain a family unit.

This emotional and monumental story is perfect for an opera. Gordon's work (written for the Minnesota Opera) is almost four hours long and paints with the large musical brush used by Verdi, Puccini, Wagner and others.

Director Melanie Helton should be given kudos for attemping this challenging, contemporary music with her students. The music is filled with rich chords layered with close and tight harmonies. It takes a while to adjust your ear to understand the music language, but as the opera continues and the story unfolds, the music becomes ever more listenable, moving and powerful.

In general, however, the tempos rarely get beyond the ballad-style that is the majority of the opera. There were a few up-beat scenes, like the barker-like car salesmen and the cute restaurant sequence, but they were few and far between. The first act especially was slow with little stage action and there were many sleepers in the audience.

Zachary Campbell designed a stunning three-story set, with a wonderfully conceived truck that took the entire Joad clan out West. But the huge set was placed very close to the front of the stage, giving the actors little room to play their scenes. Also, that impressive truck was stuck inside the set, limiting its visual effectiveness.

But the singers (chorus and soloists - about 45 in number) were all excellent and sang this evocative piece with great conviction. Katie Ross was superb as Ma Joad, and Joshua Baum made a real impression as Jim Casey, the defrocked preacher (There were double casts during the weekend).

Everyone in America knows the story of Grapes of Wrath and they know that it is a dark story with little sunshine for the audience to enjoy. Gordon (with librettist Michael Korie) wrote a great opera that challenges the singers as well as the audience, but pacing and lighting could have improved the flow of the piece. Despite those problems, this was a production that MSU and Melanie Helton can be proud of. It packed an emotional punch and told a rich story. For sure, it was an unforgettable educational experience for the students.

DSO Update

On April 4th, an announcement was made that the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and its musicians reached a tentative agreement, likely ending a six-month strike.

The agreement did not happen soon enough to save the ailing orchestra, however. After the previous breakdown of talks in January, the entire percussion section quit - some left for other orchestras, some just left. The DSO also lost principal flutist and Ann Arbor native Philip Dikeman who became a professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

It takes great musicians to make great orchestras, and the loss of these valuable musicians is critical to its quality. Orchestras take great care and many years to choose its musicians. And then it takes even more years for the established ensemble to wrap itself around the new player.

Mark Stryker, from the Detroit Free Press, wrote, "The strike has taken an enormous tool. The DSO has lost millions in ticket income. Subscriptions have fallen to their lowest level in decades and it could take years to woo back audiences - and donors. The strike has also cost each musician at least $55,000."

What is the future of the Detroit Symphony? There are too many factors in play to give a good answer. We only have further questions:

In the current economic climate, can suffering Detroit support an orchestra of this reputation?

With less music taught in schools, is there still an audience for great acoustic symphonic music?

Should orchestras look at themselves more objectively - the style of the concerts, the music that is programmed, and the pay of the administrators and musicians - to make their survival more assured?

Are there more creative ways to finance orchestras?

One thing is clear: The once-proud Detroit Symphony Orchestra has been dealt a severe blow. Their future is still uncertain.

Great Stravinsky!

On February 5th, guest conductor Raphael Jimenez did an outstanding job leading the Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra in a program of 20th century music.

Although Jimenez (associate conductor of the orchestra) and his student musicians were very good with the works of Bartok and Debussy, they were astounding with the challenging Stravinsky ballet, "Petrushka". Jimenez, who conducts with no score, was riveted to each musician - cuing each entrance, cajoling each musical phrase, and generating lots of energy.

Stravinsky's music never stopped moving. Although written almost 100 years ago, "Petrushka" still is exciting and magical. Like a painter, Stravinsky uses the instruments to bring every possible color combination to the music.

Jimenez was a joy to watch. His face was communicating his joy in the music and his body swung with the rhythms as if he were about to sweep one of the violinists off her chair to join him in a dance.

This "Petrushka" was one of the finest performances I have every heard from the MSU Symphony Orchestra.

It's All About The Actors

As a theater critic I am always wrestling with the question: who/what is responsible for the quality of a performance? The director, the production value (sets, lighting, special effects), or the play itself?

I found the answer to that age old question when I was recently visiting Dallas, a city that has a new appreciation of its arts institutions. Despite the poor financial health of many of the US's arts institutions, Dallas is busy building a huge art complex in the city's downtown area.

The newest addition (Nasher Sculpture Center, Meyerson Symphony Hall and other small theaters are already there) is the stunning Winspear Opera House, named for the donors, Margot and Bill Winspear. They donated $42 mil that made the project possible.

The 2200-seat hall is bit big, but the horseshoe shape makes everybody close to the action and the acoustics seem excellent (although I heard an amplified show). It's a gorgeous facility and the stage is high tech in every way.

When I was there I saw the roadshow for the Mel Brooks musical "Young Frankenstein". What was interesting is that I saw the exact same company with the exact same show in Lansing one year before.

The only difference between the Dallas and Lansing version were a few of the lead roles. But that one change made a huge difference in the performance.

In Lansing, Roger Bart played Young Frankenstein, and Shuler Hensley was the monster. The Dallas production starred Christopher Ryan and Dave Schoonover in those parts.

The Dallas production was excellent - the direction was the same and the production was exactly the same. Even the actors were excellent. On the whole, I liked it very much, but something was missing - it didn't have that spark of personality and humor that jumps of the stage in a great production.

I remember very clearly the unique comic acting of Roger Bart in the lead role: Small understated actions, quirky expressions, quick and targeted reactions to other actors. And when it came to dancing, he was smooth and effortless.

And playing off Bart, Shuler Hensley was an outrageous monster. He was loud, large and very funny. He was hysterical during the "Puttin' on the Ritz" scene at the end.

If you hadn't seen Bart and Hensley in those roles, you would have been more than happy with Ryan and Schoonover as Frankenstein and his human invention. But what I witnessed that evening was the difference between good acting and superb acting. It is the stuff that makes a very good performance an exceptional one. It's the actors.

I witnessed a similar experience when I saw the roadshow of the Lincoln Center hit production of "South Pacific". I also saw the original cast (same director, similar sets) on a PBS special presentation. When Paulo Szot sang "You've Got To Be Taught" he did so with intense conviction and emotion. You sat up to take notice. Much different than the 'only good' roadshow acting and singing.

Great performers make great productions.

Ordinary Days

After Chad Badgero's directing triumph with the challenging "Caroline or Change" at Riverwalk Theater early in the season, he scores again with "Ordinary Days" through his own Peppermint Creek Theatre Company.

There was magic in the air as we stood in line on a cold night at Creole Gallery in Lansing's Old Town waiting for tickets for "Ordinary Days". The small but charming venue was totally sold out (word of mouth is still the best advertiser) and everyone was excited about seeing the show.

"Days" is a small musical with four characters and a piano. It's the story of four young people trying to make it in the Big Apple, but are all going through their own problems of finding their path in life and love. Badgero also designed the imaginative set, with a modernistic New York skyline depicted in colorful dots.

Written by Adam Gwon, Days is a marvelously entertaining play (entirely sung). The music is Sondheim lite with some Avenue Q thrown in and the lyrics are urbane, witty, and human with wonderful rhymes. Badgero gets a high level of energy from his four fine actors (Joseph Quick, Leah Gerstel, Rusty Broughton and Amanda Whitehead). The songs are difficult, but each and every actor spits out every word with conviction and somehow nails the angular melodies.

Leah Gerstel impresses with her acting that really shows how her troubled character changes through the story. Amanda Whitehead sings the climactic song towards the end of the show that leaves the entire audience crying.

Although the venue is small (92 seats), each actor was miked and the sound mix was just right. Edric Haleen played keyboard and I am sure prepared the singers as well, excellently. Too bad the show closes tonight, it is a winner.

Corktown at Purple Rose

The Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea is celebrating its 20th season by presenting four original plays by Michigan playwrights.

Now on stage until March 5 is Corktown by Michael Brian Ogden, a bloody, violent and funny modern mob tale. Instead of the Italian mafiosos we love so much, Ogden introduces us to a modern Irish crime story which takes place in the tough Irish neighborhood of Detroit - Corktown.

In this story, the modern hitmen are Army veterans of the Iraq war. They're tough, brutal and workaday murderers - following orders to perform misery on people they don't even know. One of them, Joey, is beginning to second guess his chosen profession. His partner Laurence (acted by playwright Ogden) doesn't understand his anxieties but loves him like a brother nonethless.

The action takes place in a modern apartment designed by Bartley Bauer, and is amazingly realistic. A full kitchen (with running water), living room and bathroom with all of the amenities adorn the stage.

There's a lot to like in this play. The language and story are gritty but also funny. Don't take the kiddies to this one. There's blood (gallons of it) and dead bodies everywhere.

The big hole in the plot is the unlikely romance that develops between Joey (wonderfully played by Matthew David) and a woman who he was supposed to kill but amazingly comes back to life (Stacie Hadgikosti) in his apartment. A relationship ensues and although the dialogue is entertaining and the acting superb, it just does not ring true and the flaw weakens the entire play.

Guy Sanville has the directing honors here and he is excellent at choreographing the very realistic fight and murder scenes. There's plenty of high energy and aggression on the stage. The actors go for it full throttle.

The directing is tight and the acting is all top drawer so, despite the plot weakness, you will likely still have an evening of fun entertainment at Corktown.

LSO And Muffitt Continue to Impress

One of the reasons for Music Director Timothy Muffitt's continued success with the Lansing Symphony is his imaginative and thoughtful programming. Muffitt has the rare ability to put together a concert with pieces that complement each other while giving the audience and evening of variety and interest.

On Saturday's (1/8/11) concert, dubbed "Exotic Sketches", Muffitt gave us music by Rossini, two harp showpieces - one by Argentinian composer Ginastera and another by the impressionist Debussy. He ended the program with the blockbuster Pines of Rome by Respighi. It made for an concert of surprises and excitement.

Of course the most unique aspect of the evening were the two harp pieces, featuring virtuoso harpist Yolanda Kondonassis. I would wager that fewer that 5% of the audience has ever heard a harp concerto.

And Kondonassis was the perfect person to introduce this elegant and lovely instrument to Lansing audiences. A long limbed and confident woman, Kondonassis showed us the difference between a soloist and a player. She is a true soloist - dramatic and confident who takes control of the stage and performs with flair and rubato. The four-movement Ginastera was a smorgasbord of sounds and rhythms. The orchestra was on the edge of their seat, making the most of the Latin personality of the music while the harp blended and contrasted with unusual groupings of instruments.

The audience was mesmerized as Kondonassis worked her magic on her golden harp - beautiful glissandi, snappy plucking and every other effect the instrument is capable of giving.

The short Debussy piece was more of what the audience expected from the harp, which seems be an instrument created for impressionist music. Yes, we've all heard a harp glissando before, but I have never heard it with so many inflections and colors as I heard on Saturday.

For the concert opener, Muffitt gave us the tried and true Rossini overture, La Gazza Ladra. Always a crowd pleaser, the Rossini was played with a clean and fresh style, with great work by the woodwinds. The opening snare drum roll was different - Muffitt had two snare drummers standing on either side of the orchestra creating an antiphonal effect. It added some intrigue to a piece that is familiar to everyone.

But the real fireworks was saved for the end of the concert - the rousing Pines of Rome. Respighi pulled out all of the stops for this piece, especially the huge and majestic Pines of the Appian Way movement. Respighi wanted a big sound for the orchestra and he got it.

He scored it for full orchestra and then some: for good measure, he added piano, harp, organ, contra bassoon, euphonium, bass clarinet and extra brass players stationed in the audience. Muffitt conducted without a score a brought out the full sonic glory of the Lansing Symphony.

There were some wonderful individual solo parts, especially an absolutely liquid and lovely clarinet solo by Emmanuel Toledo and an ethereal English horn solo by LSO veteran, Gretchen Morse.

But what everyone remembers about the Pine of Rome was the over-the-top ending, and the orchestra and Maestro Muffitt give was what we wanted. I could swear that my seat was vibrating or maybe it was Wharton Center's entire floor.

The Fate of America's Orchestras?

Everyone predicted that the current labor and financial issues facing the Detroit Symphony Orchestra would translate into a long strike. However, it is still sad news as the DSO management recently cancelled more concerts as the latest round of talks ended in failure. And now the strike is eight weeks long. No end in sight.

The eyes of the entire American orchestra world are fixed on Detroit. One management consultant who specializes in orchestras claims, "They know that they may be next. Cleveland and Indianapolis are both in trouble". In fact Louisville is near to bankruptcy now.

The problems in Detroit are not unique to Detroit, although they are magnified. The severe economic problems in Michigan and especially in Detroit are causing a lack of audiences and a lack of funds. They are now facing a $9 million budget shortfall.

However, when the laid off auto worker is pounding the pavement looking for work, I am sure he has little sympathy for classical musicians who make about $104,000 per year right out of school. DSO's management is asking them to take a pay cut of almost 30% plus some major changes in work rules.

While some observers are concerned that the highly praised Detroit Symphony will lose its status as America's 10th best orchestra, others have darker thoughts. Will the DSO survive? The motor city's population has drastically dropped and the once mighty auto industry is only now starting to come to life again.

Can Detroit, a shadow of its former self, support an orchestra at the level of the DSO? Do they even want to?

As the world conjures the future of this great orchestra, I think that we must all look very seriously at the future of ALL great orchestras. And the US has many.

Over the years drastic changes have occured in music performance - Ipods, sophisticated amplification, hi-tech lighting, video screens, less formality,etc. But, for some reason orchestras find it very difficult to change. The orchestra players of the 18th century would find little difference between them and an orchestra of 2010.

They both sit on a stage with no amplification, stagnant lighting, rigid audience rules and they even wear the same clothing - black tails. And the worst thing is, the music programs are the same. Most orchestras play the music their audiences want- rarely a work written after 1920.

Can this stodgy, unchanging organization stay alive in today's world?

Fewer kids are taught acoustic music in schools and are so busy multitasking with computers, cell phones and ipods, that the chore of listening to a 45 minutes piece of music is a real challenge.

America has never fully accepted having public money pay for the arts (although they have no problem with governments building sports stadiums). And now, more then ever, the populace is fighting against elitism which symphony orchestras and art museums are.

However, all great cities have great arts institutions. When those metropolitan areas lack the funding to continue those institutions, will they still be great cities? That question is being tested right now.

The Michigan State legislature is currently considering some tax programs to rescue not only the DSO but also the venerable Detroit Institute of the Arts. Although this is a good use of public money, I still question the long-standing model of a major symphony orchestra.

Not all orchestras are the same. A regional orchestra such as the Lansing Symphony, has a far different operating structure. All the musicians have other full time jobs and are paid on a fee-for-service basis. The conductor and a few staff members are full time employees but the musicians are not.

The players rehearse for one week prior to each concert. Now, the budget of the Lansing Symphony is far less than the DSO (app. $900,000 vs. $29 million)but the sound and quality of the two orchestras are not even comparable. But maybe the DSO is a Cadillac orchestra for a family whose budget should have a Chevy instead.

If orchestras begin changing the way they approach their audiences, public support may change; such as: Going out into the neighborhoods, playing in shopping areas, using better production techniques, different clothes, working with school children, use enhanced video screens, have more creative music programming, speak to and engage the audiences more, have the soloists within the ensemble stand up for their special moment (like a jazz band), etc.

What is the future for the American symphony orchestra? Frankly I don't know. I am a traditionalist and love the huge and glorious sound of a great symphonic ensemble. But, I have a degree in music, still perform my French horn and few people are like me.

If the Detroit Symphony is going to survive, they should "re-engineer the corporation" - be creative and re-think the entire mission.