Salon.com: The Newport Contemporary Music Series was supposed to be a contemporary music festival unlike any other. It promised to feature a stacked lineup which included “Philip Glass, four-time Academy Award winner André Previn, and ‘Lord of the Rings’ composer Howard Shore.” Ambitious. Intriguing.
1 comment:
I’m not sure if it is the lure of fame and glory or just shear stupidity that drives people like Van Anglen to do stuff like this. If you are going to put on a festival that is bigger than something that would typically go into a high school auditorium, you may want to have the financial backing, venue, and other logistics figured out well before you even start rehearsal. Clearly this young lad is still wet behind the ears when it comes to concert logistics. It would be better that he had gone to work for another promoter and learn the trade before attempting something like this. Now we have another instance where professional musicians who depend on concerts for their livelihood have been stiffed all because some young guy wants fame and glory for pulling off a big show. Even in my experience that I have now, I would still have a team of people to help me if I ever wanted to undertake something like this. I would also have a plan, with contingency already in place before I sought money or booked talent. I would also seek to partner with other organizations who have expertise in this type of planning and execution and not do everything on my own. People like Van Anglen are bad for our industry. They leave a negative mark on those who are qualified to plan and execute these festivals and make it harder for those who should, succeed. It would be better for him to go back to school and learn how to do basic math again.
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