Happy Bastille Day!
Now that the festivals are over (until Sunriver) for me, it’s time to enjoy the freedom from upcoming playing responsibilities. I’ve been getting up early to either ride or watch the Tour de France on television, and enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee for a change, instead of choking something down in a hurry on the way to teaching or rehearsing.
There was an interesting article in the Telegraph (UK) today, talking about things that arts organizations should and should not do in these tough economic times.
The situation in the UK is differs from the US in several important ways: the National Lottery funds building projects, whereas we have no national arts lottery here in the US (but it would be a great idea – why not set up some sort of national PowerBall type of lottery that would feed into the NEA or a music-specific foundation?). In addition, donors arts organizations do not get a tax deduction for their donations.
The most important element, in my mind, is local support from government for their own arts organizations, which is striking in the lack of funding of any kind that the Oregon Symphony receives from the City of Portland (most recently, lack of support for the orchestra’s upcoming trip to Carnegie Hall).