Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Music should be a very social experience. Today, it sometimes feels as if we've lost sight of this.

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Opera in Virginia is changing, all right. For one thing, there’s more of it. 

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to Ad Report Card’s annual Super Bowl special....I liked several ads that ran this year. If I have a complaint, it’s the overall absence of the grandiose tone I crave from Super Bowl spots. Not enough budget-busting epics for my taste. I suppose times are still hard and production budgets are tight.

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The most generous members of the 1% devoted more than 2% of their charitable giving last year to arts and culture, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which issued Monday its annual ranking of America’s 50 most generous donors. Reporters for the Chronicle found specific donations of at least $1 million to arts and cultural institutions by 12 of the 50, totaling $213.4 million.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In the space of two-hundred years, opera has risen from being an artificial, showy art-form made-up of vocal gymnastics and demanding fat old ladies to a business-like, perhaps overly commercial and glamorous art form. In a world where opera managers and producers occasionally simplify opera to the point of demeaning it, where does this so-called ‘minority’ art-form stand a chance of survival?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

At bottom your website is a marketing tool. For many businesses, it’s the only source of business. If done right, it can be a major part of yours.

Here’s my quick-hit list of the top dos and don’ts before you get started.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

There has been a lot of controversy over the past couple of weeks concerning Google's new privacy policies. No matter how they change, Google is the largest, most powerful advertising system in the world. Have you ever wondered how ads show up next to your search results? How do they choose what ads you'll see? Most importantly, how can you get your organization in front of potential audience members' based on their search results? 

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Ms. Martina was born in New York City on this day in 1937. The younger of two children of Demetrio Arroyo, an immigrant from Puerto Rico, and Lucille Washington, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, Ms. Martina enjoyed much success as a soprano - but, it might not have been.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Fort Worth Opera has announced that the contract for General Manager Darren Woods have been extended for two years, meaning he'll be there at least through June 2018. And that's a good thing, because Woods has brought some positive changes to the organization, notably proving that you can get crowds for new and less often-produced opera.

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

As they say, the show must go on.