Tucsons' annual parade is set for this Sunday. Here's what you need to know....
The Festival at Armory Park runs from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The parade begins at 11:00 a.m.
All of the events are free. You can find out more from the official website.
You can find the parade map here.
Have fun!
Journalist Greg Sandow has spent the past few years blogging for change in the classical music sphere—opening it up, in various ways, to broader culture, and indeed making it more like pop culture. Here’s a recent explanatory post of his:
From my heart, I'd say that I'd love classical music to change, that I live in the wider world, and want classical music to fit with all the lively, creative, artistic things happening in so many other parts of life. I want to see those reflected in the classical music I hear, and the classical music performances I go to.
You’ll find the full post here. I’ve followed Greg’s arguments with interest for a long time, but in the end, I think his campaign is wrongheaded. Almost everything in our culture today is predicated on the niche—specialty radio stations, specialty TV channels, specialty magazines, each focusing on a narrow interest and marketed as a small piece of a huge cultural smorgasbord. There’s no reason to draw classical music into the overall culture, because the overall culture already embraces what classical music is: a genre appealing to a particular audience. Altering the way classical music is presented in silly ways, like encouraging chatter and disruptive applause, is not going to make it fundamentally more attractive to new audiences.
I do agree with one of Greg’s more important points, that concerts should be more engaged with the music of today, especially since the classical music of today is no longer alienating, for the most part. At the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, we commission and premiere two or three new works each season, and on every concert we strive to include some fairly recent music, depending on what the touring artists are offering. And guess what? Our core (older) audience receives it very well, usually with great interest. But just playing new music doesn’t seem to draw younger audiences. In fact, hardly anything seems to draw UA students, and UA fine-arts administrators have all sorts of theories about this, all of them having to do with the students’ busy lives—nothing we can address at the presenter end.
So, no, I see no urgent need to make classical concerts more relevant to the larger culture. Yes, we need to market what we do in a way that conveys what we’re really about in a way that connects with people who don’t already come to our concerts, but it’s no tragedy if the majority of them decide that they can get what they want only from, say, Keith Urban or Flo Rida or Incubus or the Fray or whoever else is topping one or another Billboard chart. Keith Urban isn’t going out of his way to attract the classical audience, so why should classical presenters worry about attracting Keith Urban fans? None of us should try to be all things to all people. We just need to do what we do well, in a cost-effective manner, and make ourselves known and accessible to potential audience members. And by “accessible,” I mean in terms of ticket price and convenience of purchase and attendance, not in terms of tolerating boorish behavior that is inappropriate in any number of venues—movie theaters, playhouses and, yes, classical concert halls.
Oh my! You just have to see this video. Take a close look at the guy in the pigtails (at about the :54 mark). Does he look familiar? Nuff said.
Double click the video after you watch it and you'll get all the info you need.
My thanks to a listener who forwarded me this story from an AzStarnet blog.
With apologies for the lack of blogging recently—I’m involved in too many projects, and trying to work ahead a little so I can take next week off from KUAT—here is my weekly link to my weekly contribution to the Tucson Weekly. This time, it’s only a restaurant review, but a highly positive one:
How ironic that Oro Valley, an area synonymous with unchecked sprawl and eco-pillaging, should be home to a restaurant devoted to sustainability, from the seafood to the material used in the servers' shirts. Harvest Restaurant cannot be held responsible for the sins of Oro Valley. That big ol' strip mall would be there even if the restaurant weren't--and the high quality of Harvest's fare is sure to put any Oro Valley hater in a forgiving mood. The restaurant is owned by the MaRKeT Group, which is also responsible for Zona 78 and the Grill at Hacienda del Sol, and all of these venues are lucky to share executive chef Ramiro Scavo. His participation alone signals that the menu will be fairly upscale; in this case, it emphasizes locally harvested ingredients served in peak season. Of course, ahi tuna, Lake Superior whitefish and Arctic charr are hardly local, but they are brought in from "sustainable waters."
Find the full review here.
What are the secret strategies we use in public radio to get you to part with your hard-earned cash? Listener June Thomas has figured out a lot just by listening to pledge breaks, and she fills you in with this analysis published by Slate.
If you're a fan of singer Tom Jones, NPR Music has a free mini-concert for you to view.
The intimate setting for NPR staffers lacks the glitz of the roaring, female-dominated, panty-throwing crowd, so that's why it's different.
Here's a snippet from the posted story.
Our wing of NPR was packed with employees, friends and family when Jones showed up, everyone craning to get a good look. He took time to have his picture taken, repeatedly, and sign autographs. He was the consummate gentleman and utterly charming. At one point, Bob asked Jones whether he'd ever had an office job before. "No," Jones replied. "It makes me nervous just standing here."
Follow the link the the story and concert here
