An important milestone takes place this year and I want to draw some attention to it.  WFMT General Manager Steve Robinson is celebrating his 10th anniversary as GM of Chicago’s only classical music station and the WFMT Radio Network.  For those of us lucky enough to know and work with Steve, we can attest to his generosity and visionary leadership in the classical music arena.  His energetic and effective work on behalf of all of the classical music organizations, performers, and music schools in Chicago is enormous.

It would take a lot more space then we have to share all of the highlights of the last ten years of Steve’s stewardship, but here are a few that I would like to share.

Our good friend Drew McManus sent me an invitation to list the four holiday songs/pieces I enjoy the most and the least, the four holiday concerts (live) I enjoyed the most and the least, and the four holiday CDs in I enjoy the most and least at his website Adaptistration. 

Anyone who has read my posts here knows that I love making lists, and I signed right on to Drew’s wonderful site and left my choices.  But why should I have all the fun?  I invite all of you to visit Adaptistration and give your 2 cents worth. Rather than actually follow Drew’s suggestions, I added my favorite holiday movies to my list and took a few swipes at various artists along the way – all in good fun (and good cheer, of course!). 

A contemporary phrase about flamboyant jewelry? An overused hip-hop reference?  Further proof that language is in a constant state of flux?  Yes, to all of the above, and also the title of composer Michael Daugherty’s most recent piece entitled Bling Bling for Full Orchestra and Break Dancers.  You can catch a short video excerpt of this work at www.thecereallist.com

Ah, technology!  It seems that the National Symphony Orchestra’s conductor, Emil de Cou, has prepared real-time program notes to Beethoven’s Sixth that will be beamed via Twitter to people sitting on the lawn of Wolf Trap on July 30. According to an NSO press release, “The messages will begin during intermission and provide facts about Beethoven’s life and work. Once the concert begins, the tweets will be sent at specific points in the score, becoming streaming program notes that mark musical signposts depicting Beethoven’s symphonic tribute to a day in the country.”
 

Special Guest, Courtney Perkins and Angela Golden in a dialogue about Million Dollar Quartet.

CP:  One of the benefits of running a blog, or having a co-worker/friend that does, is that you get invited to events with the comical name "blogger night" offering free tickets to an otherwise pricey show that I've wanted to see for some time.  Advertised on cabs and local buses everywhere, Million Dollar Quartet.

AG: I may have ignored those cabby signs, but I paid attention when I got an opportunity to get free tickets. 

CP: Blogger Night became our mantra leading up to the performance --it had a certain ring to it.

AG: But we bloggers didn't get any special recognition which was sort of disappointing.