Board Retreats & Hiking

My desk serves as the inspiration for my news today: an excellent article from Barry Hessenius about board retreats and the story of a couple men that went up a mountain.

BOARD RETREATS
Barry’s Blog is an art policy and administration blog, written and sponsored by Barry Hessenius, former Director of the California Arts Council. He has a keen insight for what is happening in the arts today. More on him here.

It is always comforting for me to read about other non-profits and realize that we all face the same issues. Reading Barry's Blog helps to remind me of best practices that are put into use in the arts industry.

By the way, his blog is hosted by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), a 501(c)3 organization located in Denver, Colorado dedicated to the creative advancement and preservation of the arts. In this issue, he discusses his experiences with board retreats. You can read it by clicking here.

HIKING
Two men climbed up a mountain to settle an argument. Each was convinced of their point of view. While it is true that music depends greatly on the perspective of the listener, they were able to come to a consensus.What do you think? Does it "sound better rolled up?"

Collaborations and Space

Howdy to everyone out in internet land. Once again, I took a little break from writing. Glad to back to it though. Just moved last weekend to a new apartment in Mountain View. That–along with QUADRE's recent concert with Richard King–has inspired the topics today: Space and Collaboration.

SPACE
Never can have enough space, can you. As I emptied my 5x10 storage space and moved into my new place, I came to wonder how I had acquired so much stuff. Do I really need six ponchos? When will I ever come to need a double cassette player again? And who had the bright idea of starting a hat collection?

In terms of the group, we've gathered our fair amount of stuff over the years. With our tenth anniversary coming up this February (this won't be the last time I mention it-get your balloons ready!), I have seen the ensemble buy all sorts of things over the years. Our collection of stuff includes: 3000 of our albums, 100 demo cassette tapes, 10 music stands, 4 stools, dozens of various percussion, embroidered apparel galore, videos, posters, cups, plates, napkins, and a lifesize cut-out of Nathan Pawelek (don't ask.) Add on top of that my music library that includes all our horn quartet repertoire (over 200 titles) plus various other combinations (over 200 more), and you have a lot of stuff.

This week we were considering moving all of it into a storage unit. (Currently it occupies the basement at my parent's house - Thanks Mom and Dad.) The cost - $83/month for a 5x6x10 space with a light. If you're interested, they have 6 units available at Stowit Mini Storage in Mountain View. However, it looks like it is going to stay in the basement for now which saves the group $1000/year.

However, one must ask why? Why do we seem, as a society, in love with our stuff? We gather up stuff every chance we get only to have to find a place to put it. And we seem to be getting more enamored each decade. Back in the 1960s, storage facilities didn't exist. In 2001, Public Storage which operates over 2000 storage centers nationwide posted sales over $800 million. Along with its competitors, that is over a billion dollars spent to store extra stuff!! Where is the fun in it all.

I'm afraid I don't have any answers. However, I, for one am going to try and eliminate the clutter by giving my stuff to other people. I figure why deal with the problem when you can just pass the buck, right? It will all work itself out in land fills and incinerators I'm sure. Until then, do you have any free space? I got a bunch of great hats and ponchos that you would love.

COLLABORATION
Over the years, QUADRE has had the opportunity to work with some truly amazing artists. These enriching artistic endeavors help to give your art context. For instance, working with a dance troupe makes you understand the relationship between your music and their movement and, in turn, gives you a chance to reflect on how your music is expressed by itself. Additionally, the talents and different perspectives that collaborators bring to the table is immense.

Our organization has primarily had other horn players as collaborators. Some of the individuals that we've had the pleasure to work with include: Michael Thompson, Richard Watkins, Bill Bernatis, Douglas Hull and Robert Watt. Most recently, Richard King joined the ensemble for two works as part of the Music in the Vineyards summer festival in Napa, CA. Each of these experiences has been completely unique and enriching. The group dynamic of a chamber music ensemble can be a delicate thing at times, so adding another person to the mix can be a challenge. However, we've been fortunate not to have any jerks work with us yet. (Keeping my fingers crossed on that one.)

In addition to horn players, we've worked with vocalists, pianists, tuba players, symphony orchestras, jazz bands, and wind ensembles as well as a couple dance companies. The most important thing is to keep the lines of communication open and be willing to embrace a new artistic viewpoint. Half the fun is enjoying the shared moment of mutual creativity. Even if you have no idea how the product is going to turn out.

Perspective

Hope everyone is having a good week. I took a little break from the writing. Been crazy busy the last couple weeks. This week I introduce some musings of my own.

PERSPECTIVE
I've come to believe that most of the problems in the world today could be solved with perspective. Now, I'm not talking about a perspective where everyone sees their environment as it relates to chamber music. I may be optimistic, but I'm not nuts. While I love what we do, I recognize that it is a small niche in the grand scheme of things. No, the perspective I'm thinking of is where everyone is always aware how truly vast the universe is.

The fact that the hunk of rock that we are on called Earth is the only hunk of rock we have at our disposal should make some people think a little before they act. It appalls me to no end at how short-sighted us humans can be. "Let's toss junk in the water. Nature will fix it." "Let's go to war, because war always solves problems." "Let's spend money on the latest gadget and gizmo. We'll just throw away our old gadget we bought 3 years ago and have it join millions of other gadgets in landfill."

The funny thing about perspective though, is that we all have at least one. And even if we all used them from time to time, none of our perspectives are going to agree most of the time. That's why I say that we focus on just the "vast universe" one. We may not get anything done and just lie down in despair. However, we'll definitely kill less and ruin our planet more slowly. Just a thought.

Digital Downloads and Engaging Art

Hello everyone. This week's installment is care of two emails in the inbox. Nothing like electronic inspiration!

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS
QUADRE's music from its latest CD, Citrus can now be downloaded electronically from PayPlay.fm - an MP3 download store that is selling our music as part of CD Baby's Digital Distribution.

They work kind of like Apple's iTunes except that there is no software that needs to be installed. As CD Baby's CEO, Derek Sivers says, "They've got a nice easy-to-use website that is a great no-nonsense place to send fans that want to buy your MP3s. And since they're regular MP3 files, they'll work in every computer, and any portable player."

So if you know anyone that loves to download MP3 files, point them to PayPlay. They have a huge selection.

ENGAGING ART
Douglas McLennan has written a new book titled, Engaging Art: The Next Great Transformation of America's Cultural Life. View abstracts of the book by clicking here. I especially found chapter 4 to be compelling as it discussed how the culture of the arts has changed into passive and active models of participation. I feel strongly that the more one engages with the audience through the given art form, the more connected and satisifed the patrons are. Rather than watch the canvas come alive before my eyes, I'd rather be the canvas.

Music in the Schools and Publishing

This week's tidbits are inspired by the emails I've received in the last 48 hours. Now how did we get on before email came along? I wonder.

MUSIC IN THE SCHOOLS
Melissa Hendrickson, a former member of QUADRE from 1998-2001, sent me this wonderful link for a blog she frequents. The author who goes by tristero makes reference to an individual who believes schools should do away completely with all fictional content. Tristero's response, I believe, is completely inspired! :-) Another blog that also offers a response is written by Chad Orzel. His blog is here.

PUBLISHING
You may wonder how the music that gets played in our concerts gets in the hands of the artists. Well, for music that has been written and performed before, much of it is available to purchase from a music store. Like a bookstore, the music store buys their music from publishers. In the case of a lot of the music QUADRE plays though, it is unpublished. We have to call up friends of friends to get music that some woman who plays the horn in Canada has written. Or it is a piece that one of us in the group composed. In the case of the latter, I am starting to get each of them published with Emerson Horn Editions in Colorado.

The first work to be published is Reason to Rhyme by yours truly. It will be available to purchase for the first time at the International Horn Symposium in Switzerland mid-July. After almost ten years, it is nice to see our music make its way into the hands of horn enthusiasts.

Queries and Creation

QUADRE Queries
One of things that fascinates me is how we interpret our world. It seems that there as many perspectives as people on the planet. There are certainly tastemakers that influence our views, but by in large, I feel we each have a source of worldly insight that is unique given our upbringing, milieu, and experience.

For this reason, asking questions about the horn and music seem like a great opportunity to see some of those perspectives come to light. One of the pages on our ensemble's website is dedicated to these questions and answers. It is our QUADRE Queries page. For a laugh check it out here. And I pose a challenge to each of you - think of a question you'd like some perspective on and ask ten people independently. At the very least, it should provide a sense of connection between you and these ten individuals. At the most, you'll gain insights into your character and theirs. Good luck!

Composing for the Masses
Success is in the eye of the beholder. We live in a world where one hit wonders abound. Where the latest and greatest artists on the pop circuit today, may be a distant memory tomorrow. With these high peaks and deep valleys, how does a modern day "classical" composer function?

My first thought as one of those aforementioned composers is to just compose whatever comes to mind and disregard the establishment. However, I think that if one takes this approach a lot of opportunities can be missed. For example, a local brass quintet may want or better yet, need, a new piece for their concert. Do you turn down the work based on the fact that you're in the thick of constructing your requiem?

On the other hand, I think that bowing continually to societal pressures and composing what you think people will want is a recipe for artistic failure as well. While the monetary rewards may be great, I think taking such an approach can prevent the composer from finding their voice and establishing their style.

I think there can be a wonderful compromise in the middle that doesn't impinge upon a composer's aesthetics and allows them to be flexible to their artistic climate. What do I speak of? Why, the village bard of course!

These qualities seem central to the village bard's repertoire:

1. Finding the connections between their art and the community
2. Free expression of their thoughts and feelings
3. Learning to move on if the present crowd isn't into their style

The world has become so large, why not simplify it by bringing back the village bard. I'm all for it. Let the strings be strum.

Artists in Today's World and Momentum

Artists in Today's World
Check out this article forwarded by Derek Sivers of CD Baby. Fabulous piece about independent artists in today's world. Click here to read all about it.

Momentum
On Friday May 11, I spoke on a panel for the arts in Mountain View. The panel was brought together by Leadership Mountain View and moderated by Patricia Cheng, a local pianist. My hat is off to the great artists and arts organizations we have here in Mountain View. Participants on the panel included Scott Whisler, Executive Director of the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts; Jeffry Walker, Executive Director of the Community School of Music and Arts; Karen Simpson, Executive Director of Peninsula Youth Theatre; Phil Santora, Manager Director for TheatreWorks and Laura Deem, a local visual artist.

I found the discussions and ideas raised from the panel very illuminating. Questions like how are the arts relevant to our community, what would be an ideal future for the arts, and what does it take to create an atmosphere of creativity were raised. We even started a dialogue about the formation of a Mountain View Art Collective. We'll see how that develops.

In addition to the panel in the morning, each Leadership Mountain View (LMV) student chose a local non profit arts organization (either PYT, TheatreWorks, Quadre, or CSMA) to research. In the afternoon, the LMV students went over to Freestyle Academy where they worked with those students to create a public service announcement (PSA) based on the question, "Why is X organization important to Mountain View?".

I got a chance to hear and see the Quadre PSA done by LMV and Freestyle students in the afternoon. (Thanks to Sharlene Gee for getting it.) It went like this: "Caltrain's not the only horn in Mountain View... QUADRE - The Voice of Four Horns." Very clever.

There is an audio clip that goes with the slogan. Be sure to check it out by clicking here.