February 22, 2022: The latest coverage of orchestras, people, and trends in the arts. Here are stories we're following. (Photo credit: Barbara Hannigan, taken by Marco Borggreve)
Business: Digital music, dismal returns
A report from UNESCO confirmed that digital distribution models are failing to adequately pay artists, continuing trends from before the pandemic, the Globe and Mail reports.
As the recent Joe Rogan controversy focuses attention on Spotify, New Yorker classical music critic Alex Ross describes the economic impacts and injustices of Spotify and other streaming services’ artist fee models, which have received comparatively little attention.
And as venues reopen in Quebec and across Canada, many expect a long recovery for live performing arts venues, the Globe and Mail reports.
People
Canadian conductor and singer Barbara Hannigan has been appointed Associate Artist by the London Symphony Orchestra, Ludwig Van reports. (photo: Marco Borggreve)
Peter Oundjian has been appointed Principal Conductor of the Colorado Symphony and will lead the organization artistically, Colorado Public Radio reports. The Colorado Symphony’s previous Music Director, Brett Mitchell, resigned in mid-2021.
The Hamilton Spectator profiled Jean Norman Iadeluca, who this year celebrates his 50th season as principal timpanist with the Hamilton Philharmonic.
The New York Times profiled German conductor Michael Gielen, who died in 2019, on the occasion of a major career retrospective.
And Yannick Nézet-Séguin sat for a recent interview with Tom Power on CBC’s Q, moments after a rehearsal with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Orchestras
A San Antonio Symphony mediation session was held in mid-February, but the outcome remains unclear, Texas Public Radio reports. Music Director Emeritus Sebastian Lang-Lessing spoke with TPR about the impasse and the need for the wider community to step up support for the arts.
San Antonio Symphony musicians will perform independently in March, their first concerts as a full orchestra since the strike began in September, the San Antonio Report notes.
Musicians of the Springfield (Massachusetts) Symphony are also performing in March despite a long-running contract dispute, MassLive reports. A National Labor Relations Board settlement last month ordered the SSO to pay musicians back wages and stage two concerts.
CBC News reported on artist responses to the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa. While the occupation canceled many arts events, a trio of National Arts Centre Orchestra musicians recorded chamber music for CBC Radio.
This month the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony played its first live concert since March 2020 – 706 days ago – and The Record columnist Luisa D’Amato captured the emotional scene.
The Calgary Philharmonic announced its spring season, including a show with Bernadette Peters, previewed in the Calgary Herald.
CBS News reported on Me2/Orchestra, an ensemble founded by conductor Ronald Braunstein to support those with mental illness and counter associated stigmas.
On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Orchestre Métropolitain produced an online documentary. La Presse reviewed the film (in French), available on the OM website.
Compiled by Matt Heller and Melissa Goodchild, with assistance from the OCSM Editorial Committee. Please send comments, corrections, and content tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..