musicians

Iggy Pop: 'What happens when people disappear?'

NPR.org — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:44:35 +0000

Of the many things made in Michigan that have become part of the fabric of American culture — the auto industry, Motown — punk rock is often overlooked.

Detroit Symphony to host summer camp for metro Detroit teens

Jennifer Guerra — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:00:22 +0000

Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians will share their expertise with metro Detroit teenagers at a new summer music camp.

The six-day camp is part of the DSO's new Avanti Summer MusicFest, and is open to musicians ages 14 - 18.

Shelley Heron is an oboist with the orchestra, and she’ll be one of the instructors. Heron has taught at similar camps in Canada for decades. She says "the biggest thrill is hearing them the first day and wondering, oh my gosh how are we ever going to get these kids to produce a concert at the end of the week? And then a little miracle happens."

In addition to master classes and workshops, the campers will perform side by side with DSO musicians on stage at Orchestra Hall.

There are no auditions for the camp; the first 140 students to apply will be accepted. It costs $300 to attend the camp, but Heron says "we have raised financial aid funds in order to help those students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate in an activity like this." Financial aid is available on a first come, first serve basis.

Artpod: Songs from Seth & May

Jennifer Guerra — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:59:15 +0000

Today's Artpod features a live, in studio performance!

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mrartpod/Artpod_021612.mp3

Michigan musicians Seth Bernard & May Erlewine dropped by Michigan Radio to talk about their new album inspired by their journey across Ethiopia.

Interlochen will teach the kids how to write songs

Kyle Norris — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:07:08 +0000

The Interlochen Center for the Arts is creating a program that will teach young musicians the "discipline of popular music songwriting."

Interlochen has traditionally been a mecca for classical music, but in recent years the institution (which hosts both a summer camp and a year-long school) has embraced more contemporary art forms.

For example, students can major in "motion picture arts" and study the latest filmmaking techniques.

Interlochen has just posted a job opening for a lead instructor for its new singer/songwriter program.

From Interlochen's website:

This program will lead students to creative approaches to popular musical composition by developing skills in melody, harmony, arranging, and lyric writing, while seeking to nurture a distinct individual writing and performance style.

The northern Michigan institution has taught many young musicians who've gone on to become successful singer/songwriters, including

Norah Jones,
Rufus Wainwright,
Sufjan Stevens,
and, most famously, Jewel Kilcher.

This year try listening to ArtPrize

Lindsey Smith — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:04:37 +0000

ArtPrize 2011 begins Wednesday afternoon in Grand Rapids. Sound and performing arts will play a bigger role in this year’s contest. Music, ballet, and other performances are, after all, art. But there haven’t been a lot of entries in the past.

The winner of the art competition gets $250,000 in prize money. Organizers claim it’s the world’s largest art prize.

This is the third annual ArtPrize. The third time I’ve seen giant sculptures, breath-taking murals, funny and eye-opening drawings take over a three-mile zone in downtown.

Kids make music about their lives & struggles

Kyle Norris — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:24:05 +0000

A program based out of Flint teaches kids the fundamentals of songwriting and music production. But the songs kids write are not your typical bubble-gum pop. The program is a professional music studio that travels to schools and community centers in Flint, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo. It's called Studio on the Go.

Artpod: Two guys, one remote island, and a piano-hauling bicycle

Jennifer Guerra — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:42:03 +0000

On today's Artpod, we'll hear from a New York physician who bought a remote, uninhabited island in Lake Superior. His plan is to turn it into an artist residency next summer.

The land, known as Rabbit Island, is about a half hour boat ride from the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Mr. B pedals his 'boogie woogie' piano across Michigan

Jennifer Guerra — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 02:15:35 +0000

A quintet of musicians has been traveling across the state for the past 10 days. They don’t have a tour van or a u-haul stuffed with instruments. Instead, the guys are pedaling their bikes from Holland to Detroit…with their instruments in tow! They're also raising money for various charities along the way.

Clarence Clemons, The Big Man In The E Street Band, Has Died

Marc Hirsh — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:21:38 +0000

Clarence Clemons, saxophone player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, has died of complications of a stroke. He was 69.

If the above seems abrupt, that's because Clemons's death was abrupt. Unlike when his bandmate, keyboard and glockenspiel player Danny Federici, succumbed to cancer in 2008, there was no time to prepare, little opportunity to make peace with the fact and say goodbye.

Artpod: Homegrown talent

Jennifer Guerra — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:59:11 +0000

There's no shortage of musicians who got their start in Michigan: Madonna, Iggy Pop and The White Stripes come to mind. Problem is, they left the state to make it big.

Emily Fox reports there's a movement to try to encourage musicians and bands to stay in Michigan. On today's Artpod, we look at how local "music collectives" are hoping to keep homegrown talent in the state.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mrartpod/Artpod_060811.mp3

Detroit Symphony extends CEO's contract

Steve Carmody — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:02:26 +0000

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will keep its executive director for the next few years. The DSO announced this afternoon that its Board of Directors renewed CEO Ann Parsons’ contract through 2014.

Parsons led the Detroit Symphony through the recent dispute with its unions that shutdown the DSO for much of the past year. The six month strike came to an end after musicians agreed to a 25% cut in pay.

In hopes of luring back its fans, the DSO is cutting ticket prices for the upcoming symphony season.

DSO announces its 2011-2012 season

Steve Carmody — Fri, 20 May 2011 16:23:34 +0000

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra announced its 2011-2012 season today. The DSO is trying to recover from a contract dispute between its management and musicians that scuttled much of the 2010-2011 season. The DSO is late in announcing its 2011-2012 season plans. A Chicago based arts consultant says the late announcement will p

Detroit Symphony Orchestra rehersals to begin today

Zoe Clark — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:53:13 +0000

Rehearsals are scheduled this morning for musicians at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The DSO musicians ended their six-month strike earlier this week after they reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with DSO management.

The Symphony's first post-strike concert is scheduled for Saturday night. From the Associated Press:

The dispute was over how deep a pay cut the musicians would have to take to help the struggling symphony balance its budget. The musicians were offering to accept a 22 percent cut, while management sought and then imposed a 33 percent cut.

In an announcement on the DSO's website, DSO Music Director Leonard Slatkin said:

“As we return to our home, I’m confident that the artistic product will continue at the highest possible level. There is much to be done but the DSO will emerge a healthier and stronger institution."

Detroit Symphony may face "steep" hills once strike is resolved

Jennifer Guerra — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:36:15 +0000

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians strike may be nearing its end, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done to get things back on track at Orchestra Hall.

For starters, the organization has to figure out how to overcome some ‘image’ problems that come with a six-month strike.

Elizabeth Weigandt is a DSO spokeswoman. She says it hasn’t been pretty to watch the strike unfold, and some patrons may not be happy with how things were handled over the last six months, but "we're hoping that as we get back to making music for them, doing what they love, they will be able to let go of what’s happened, just as we will, and move on to an even better future."

Then there's the music. Nearly all of the current season has been lost to the strike, and the summer season was threatened as well. But Weigandt says the summer season is back on and she doesn’t think the 2011-12 season will be delayed:

"Obviously we have to move quickly to get the word out about what next season will be, but we do have a lot of interest. We will probably make the announcement as soon as we can. I would say within the next couple weeks."

Neither side has released details about the proposed contract.

Detroit Symphony musicians agree to go back to work before voting on new contract

Steve Carmody — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:36:10 +0000

The Detroit Symphony announced late this afternoon that orchestra musicians have agreed to return to work before voting on a new contract. The DSO and its musicians' union reached a tentative contract deal over the weekend.

The musicians' union met this afternoon. After the meeting, the DSO announced the musicians will return to work on Thursday to begin rehearsing for upcoming concerts. The union plans a vote on the union contract later this week.

In a written statement, music director Leonard Slatkin expressed the hope that the DSO will emerge strong from the strike that has silenced it for the past six months:

“As we return to our home, I’m confident that the artistic product will continue at the highest possible level. There is much to be done but the DSO will emerge a healthier and stronger institution.”

Tentative deal could end Detroit Symphony Orchestra strike

Zoe Clark — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:29:19 +0000

Update 6:36 a.m.:

From the AP: Musicians' spokesman Greg Bowens says the tentative agreement was reached late Sunday. He says musicians will vote this week on whether to ratify the deal.

6:27 a.m.:

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra says a tentative agreement has been reached with striking musicians that could resolve a six-month strike, the Associated Press reports. From the AP:

Management spokeswoman Elizabeth Weigandt tells The Associated Press in an e-mail Monday morning that details of the agreement reached following talks over the weekend weren't being immediately released.
A message seeking comment was left with musicians spokesman Greg Bowens... Musicians had said they were given a deadline of last Friday to settle the strike or face losing the summer performance season and jeopardizing the fall season.

Musicians have been on strike since October 2010.

DSO management, striking musicians to schedule "face-to-face" talks this weekend

Jennifer Guerra — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:02:10 +0000

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra board gave management and its striking musicians until today to reach an agreement in order to avoid canceling the orchestra's summer season.

But according to a DSO press release issued at 5:37 p.m. today, the two sides will continue talks through the weekend:

Conversations with the Musician's leadership via phone and email have been robust this entire week. TheDSO agreed to get together to work through the remaining issues as soon as acceptance of terms proposed by one of our intermediaries had been acknowledged by both parties. The DSO agreed to these terms on Monday. The DSO learned this afternoon that the musicians have accepted this framework as well and we will be scheduling a face-to-face meeting this weekend to resolve all other remaining issues. A decision regarding our summer season is on hold pending the outcome of these meetings.

Earlier this afternoon we spoke to Greg Bowens, the musicians' spokesperson. He said the head of the United Auto Workers and the AFL-CIO have shown their support for the striking musicians:

"The longer that things delay, the more national attention and pressure is put on the DSO to settle this situation."

The current $34-million, 3-year contract under negotiation is similar to a proposal musicians rejected back in February.

Fate of Detroit Symphony's 2011-12 season still unknown

Jennifer Guerra — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:27:07 +0000

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians strike is now in its 26^th week and the remainder of the season has been canceled.

The New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and many other orchestras around the country have announced their 2011-12 orchestra season, and tickets are already on sale.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has not been able to announce its upcoming season because of the current musicians' strike.

Mark Clague says that’s too bad because season subscriptions are an orchestra’s bread and butter.

Future of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra still up in the air

Jennifer Guerra — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:18:24 +0000

Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians said last week they would return to the stage if management agreed to binding arbitration. But management has yet to agree…so the musicians are still on strike.

Roland Zullo is a labor specialist at the University of Michigan. He says binding arbitration is all about persuasion; which side can best convince a panel of the merits of their bargaining proposals:

"If management looked at their proposal carefully, weighed it against what’s happening elsewhere in the industry and saw that they were on weak ground, they might refuse arbitration."

Zullo says it would "be good for the public" for management to accept binding arbitration "and get the Detroit Symphony Orchestra back up and operating again."

In a statement, a DSO spokeswoman said management proposed several ways to return the musicians to work.

What's next for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra?

Jennifer Guerra — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:18:11 +0000

Now that the striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians have rejected management’s final proposal, many are wondering: What’s next for the organization?

Management 'suspended' the orchestra's current season, and doubts are swirling around the 2011-12 season.