The ASO plays Carnegie Hall
You’ve no doubt heard the old adage: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.” But while any group can rent Carnegie Hall and play a traditional classical music concert, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra took a different route to get there. WBHM’s Michael Krall has details…
Spring for Music is festival featuring North American orchestras performing adventurous programming. The ASO was one of six orchestras chosen to showcase their artistic philosophies through distinctive and creative programming.
Curt Long is Executive Director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. He’s happy for the players and conductor Justin Brown…
I think it’s a great external recognition for our musicians and for Justin. This is kinda like the “Final Four” of the orchestral word, where your selected from among your peers to come and show the best of what’s going on in music in America.
The music hasn’t been decided yet but the focus will be on things the Alabama Symphony does best such as new and contemporary music as well as certain elements of the core repertoire.
It’s an orchestra that has a very clear sense of what it’s doing artistically; it has a commitment to a fairly broad range of repertoire.
Thomas Morris is the festival’s Artistic Director…
We believe that first having a point of view is essential. And having a point of view which is practiced in what they’re doing is really important…in all of those things the Alabama Symphony was simply outstanding.
Playing the Spring for Music festival is less expensive than renting the hall and buying your own advertising, but the ASO still has to incur the expense of getting all their musicians to New York. Again, Executive Director Curt Long…
What I think we will end up doing is going out ad asking some of the symphony’s biggest supporters and biggest cheerleaders and people who want to see Birmingham’s image promoted outside of the community to help us fund this extra project.
Festival director Thomas Morris says that while performing at Carnegie Hall as an achievement itself can be overrated. But he also sees some upside…
It’s like a sports team. When you go to another city, play against a very competitive team and play real well, it improves the quality of the team. So it’s not the simple fact of we’re good enough to get there…it has a lasting effect and positive effect on how an orchestra performs and how it sees itself.
The Alabama Symphony Orchestra will play in the second season of the “Spring for Music” festival, making their Carnegie Hall debut, in May of 2012.
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will have a ‘snowball effect’ on residents across the South
Abortion rights advocates say the ban will likely force many to travel farther for abortion care and endure pregnancy and childbirth against their will.
Attitudes among Alabama lawmakers softening on Medicaid expansion
Alabama is one of ten states which has not expanded Medicaid. Republican leaders have pushed back against the idea for years.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
