It was the concert heard around New York City. Or rather, not heard.

Last week, the New York Philharmonic stopped in the middle of a concert because a cell phone went off during the performance. The phone ringing wasn’t the only story, but the audience reaction: the fellow concertgoers began to heckle the cell-phone-ringer-attendee.  It was a big enough deal that even the New York Times had a story on it. 

Talk about a bad day for everyone involved.

But this incident got me thinking about concert etiquette, and not just silencing cell phones or avoiding unwrapping cough drops in the middle of Beethoven, but some larger issues as well. 

The first time I donated to the arts, it was through my university. DePauw had a really amazing music school and visual arts programs, so it seemed fairly obvious to me to earmark the small donation for use by the arts. 

Obvious might be the wrong word here, because I was also the only one of my friends who, even for my limited involvement with the arts, had actually allocated the donation.  I still find, my friends and I take advantage of free classical concerts, lectures or outreach, and don’t ever follow-up with a monetary donation or in-kind support.  So what gives?

This seems to me like a fairly big challenge, and also an incredibly important one for all art and culture institutions, because donor bases for the arts are aging.  My generation is going to be even more important to hook as donors now, rather than later.

"It's been said that musicians should not meddle in politics. It is significantly less dangerous to engage in pure art." - Gidon Kremer
 
When musicians step beyond the role of artist and into the role of activist, they bring attention to themselves in a way that almost certainly alienates some part of their audience. Matt Haimovitz supports the Occupy Wall Street movement. Does that impact your decision to listen or not listen to his music?
 
Musicians have the monumental task of learning how to effectively reach people with their art. This requires a great deal of introspection and strong sense of identity unique to them based on their life experiences. With such developed means of communication and defined awareness of self, it makes sense that they use their talent to overtly express more than strictly musical content.
 

An important milestone takes place this year and I want to draw some attention to it.  WFMT General Manager Steve Robinson is celebrating his 10th anniversary as GM of Chicago’s only classical music station and the WFMT Radio Network.  For those of us lucky enough to know and work with Steve, we can attest to his generosity and visionary leadership in the classical music arena.  His energetic and effective work on behalf of all of the classical music organizations, performers, and music schools in Chicago is enormous.

It would take a lot more space then we have to share all of the highlights of the last ten years of Steve’s stewardship, but here are a few that I would like to share.