The SoBe Music Institute is serving up an intriguing program of American music with a valedictory theme Friday night. Faculty musicians and guest artists will team up for Steve Reich's Holocaust-inspired Different Trains for string quartet and tape, Barber's Adagio for Strings, and the premiere of a new version of Dear John by Carson Kievman, music from his Chamber Symphony 1(628), inspired by the 25th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. http://www.sobemusic.org/sobemusicnews.html
The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m at the Carl Fisher Clubhouse, 2100 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach. Admission is free but parking can be tricky, so allow enough time to find a space. See you there.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
MusicalAmerica.com story
Miami Herald Drops Its Classical Critic
By Susan Elliott
MusicalAmerica.com
June 26, 2008
Last week it was the Kansas City Star; this week it’s the Miami Herald. When will the blood-letting stop?
On Monday, Miami Herald Classical Music Critic Lawrence Johnson received an “involuntary buyout” from his newspaper. Just to be clear, the word “buyout” when preceded by “involuntary” means laid off, in this case with eight weeks severance pay. Such is Johnson’s paper parachute.
The Miami Herald is located literally across the street from the two-year-old Carnival Center for the Performing Arts (now known as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, due to Arsht’s get-out-of-debt contribution), built at a cost to Miamians of just under $600 million and housing as resident companies the Florida Grand Opera, the New World Symphony, the Concert Association of Florida, the Miami Ballet and, for several weeks annually, the Cleveland Orchestra. Apparently, the Herald isn’t very interested in covering its neighborhood.
Like the Kansas City Star, the Herald is owned by the McClatchy Company, the third largest newspaper chain in the country. McClatchy is severely in debt from its 2006 purchase of Knight Ridder, and so is cutting ten percent of its workforce, company wide. At the Herald, it’s actually 17 percent, or 190 of its 1,400 employees.
The lay offs were apparently decided upon by grouping staffers into different pools and eliminating those with the least seniority. In the critics pool, Johnson, with only 18 months in the job, was the first to go. He was previously at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for six years; that position was eliminated as well, but not until after he left for Miami.
The Herald’s executive editor reported to Johnson that the hue and cry from the classical music community, which has grown during Johnson’s watch, was “massive.”
“The response has really been heartening,” said Johnson by phone yesterday, “and it makes the situation easier to deal with. There’s a lot more going on in South Florida than anyone would think. I’m going to do my best to make sure these groups continue to get coverage, even if it’s on a different platform.”
To that end, he has started a new blog: classicalsouthflorida.blogspot.com.
Commented Patrick Quigley, artistic director of Seraphic Fire, a professional chamber choir, “We have a vibrant music community in South Florida, in no small part because of Larry’s coverage.”
Howard Herring, President and CEO of the New World Symphony called Johnson “an informed, articulate critical voice.” He lamented that the Herald won’t have a “dedicated voice” to cover South Florida’s emerging and established companies “in a period when this city is experiencing unprecedented investment in its cultural infrastructure. Miami is but one of a growing list of American cities without a music critic on staff at their primary local newspaper. This is a national problem, and I am talking with my colleagues around the country about old and new media solutions.”
The Palm Beach Post is also cutting its staff, by 300. Classical writers there declined to comment, apparently because their status is in limbo. For now.
By Susan Elliott
MusicalAmerica.com
June 26, 2008
Last week it was the Kansas City Star; this week it’s the Miami Herald. When will the blood-letting stop?
On Monday, Miami Herald Classical Music Critic Lawrence Johnson received an “involuntary buyout” from his newspaper. Just to be clear, the word “buyout” when preceded by “involuntary” means laid off, in this case with eight weeks severance pay. Such is Johnson’s paper parachute.
The Miami Herald is located literally across the street from the two-year-old Carnival Center for the Performing Arts (now known as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, due to Arsht’s get-out-of-debt contribution), built at a cost to Miamians of just under $600 million and housing as resident companies the Florida Grand Opera, the New World Symphony, the Concert Association of Florida, the Miami Ballet and, for several weeks annually, the Cleveland Orchestra. Apparently, the Herald isn’t very interested in covering its neighborhood.
Like the Kansas City Star, the Herald is owned by the McClatchy Company, the third largest newspaper chain in the country. McClatchy is severely in debt from its 2006 purchase of Knight Ridder, and so is cutting ten percent of its workforce, company wide. At the Herald, it’s actually 17 percent, or 190 of its 1,400 employees.
The lay offs were apparently decided upon by grouping staffers into different pools and eliminating those with the least seniority. In the critics pool, Johnson, with only 18 months in the job, was the first to go. He was previously at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for six years; that position was eliminated as well, but not until after he left for Miami.
The Herald’s executive editor reported to Johnson that the hue and cry from the classical music community, which has grown during Johnson’s watch, was “massive.”
“The response has really been heartening,” said Johnson by phone yesterday, “and it makes the situation easier to deal with. There’s a lot more going on in South Florida than anyone would think. I’m going to do my best to make sure these groups continue to get coverage, even if it’s on a different platform.”
To that end, he has started a new blog: classicalsouthflorida.blogspot.com.
Commented Patrick Quigley, artistic director of Seraphic Fire, a professional chamber choir, “We have a vibrant music community in South Florida, in no small part because of Larry’s coverage.”
Howard Herring, President and CEO of the New World Symphony called Johnson “an informed, articulate critical voice.” He lamented that the Herald won’t have a “dedicated voice” to cover South Florida’s emerging and established companies “in a period when this city is experiencing unprecedented investment in its cultural infrastructure. Miami is but one of a growing list of American cities without a music critic on staff at their primary local newspaper. This is a national problem, and I am talking with my colleagues around the country about old and new media solutions.”
The Palm Beach Post is also cutting its staff, by 300. Classical writers there declined to comment, apparently because their status is in limbo. For now.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Un-Heralded Beginnings
Welcome. As many of you already know, I have been laid off by the Miami Herald through an "involuntary buyout" --- an Orwellian phrase --- in an effort to cut expenses. The position of classical music critic has been eliminated, and my final day will be July 3.
I'll have more to say about these events and the implications for the local music scene in future posts. But at this moment, I want to express my gratitude to the many individuals and arts and music organizations that have called or emailed the Herald's top editors on my behalf. In particular, Patrick Quigley, artistic director of Seraphic Fire, Howard Herring, president and CEO of the New World Symphony, and Dean Shelly Berg and colleagues of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Deeply felt thanks to you all.
The "massive" and heartening response by so many makes me even more determined to find a way to ensure that intelligent, honest, in-depth, and comprehensive coverage of our vital, evolving and often chaotic music scene continues in some form. This temporary blog is a first step. Stay tuned.
I'll have more to say about these events and the implications for the local music scene in future posts. But at this moment, I want to express my gratitude to the many individuals and arts and music organizations that have called or emailed the Herald's top editors on my behalf. In particular, Patrick Quigley, artistic director of Seraphic Fire, Howard Herring, president and CEO of the New World Symphony, and Dean Shelly Berg and colleagues of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Deeply felt thanks to you all.
The "massive" and heartening response by so many makes me even more determined to find a way to ensure that intelligent, honest, in-depth, and comprehensive coverage of our vital, evolving and often chaotic music scene continues in some form. This temporary blog is a first step. Stay tuned.
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