Local and Industry News

The Carbonell Awards Scholarships have been renamed in honor of arts critic Jack Zink, who passed away in 2008. The Jack Zink Memorial Carbonell Awards Scholarship is awarded to three high school students annually to assist them in pursuing careers in journalism or theater.

The Miami City Ballet will perform in New York in April 2016, the first time since its 2009 debut at New York's City Center. The performance will be a gala benefit for the Joyce Theater Foundation, which is covering the costs for the production and travel.

A report by the Theater Communications Group found that theater attendance has fallen nearly 9 percent in the nine years since its peak in 2005. The study also found that theaters raised ticket prices 29 percent on average over that period. Theaters have also covered the losses in attendance revenue through increased donations, which rose nearly 23 percent since 2010.

The Orlando Ballet has let go interim director James Cundiff and key fundraiser Julie Gillespie, cancelled two performances of The Nutcracker, and questioned whether it will continue to use live orchestra. The Ballet currently has an agreement with the Orlando Philharmonic to provide live accompaniment for the season.

A study led by E. Glenn Schellenberg of the University of Toronto-Mississauga has shown that music classes increase sympathy and pro-social behavior in children. The Canadian study of 84 third- and fourth-grade students showed that students that took group music lessons for a year had increased social cohesion, were more cooperative, and had a more pro-social orientation.

Old School Square in Delray Beach has hired Rob Steele as president and CEO. Steele has served as executive director of the Williamsport Community Arts Center in Pennsylvania since 2005. While at Williamsport, Steele devised an endowment campaign that raised $5 million.

recording

Congratulations to Ed Calle for winning a Latin Grammy. Dr. Ed Calle Presents Mamblue was chosen as this year's best instrumental album.

A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that in the case of Spotify, streaming prevents losses due to piracy but provides virtually to financial gain. The report showed that all gains from converting illegal downloads to legal streaming were offset by displacement of legal downloads or permanent track purchases by streaming.

Pandora has settled a lawsuit by the major record labels over use of songs made in 1972 or earlier. Federal copyright protection applies only to recordings made after 1972. Sony, Universal, and Warner sued Pandora under New York state law, and Pandora agreed to pay $90 million to settle the lawsuit.

Disney has released 360-degree footage of the song Circle of Life from the Lion King. The footage was filmed using a half-dozen GoPro cameras mounted in the center of the stage, and can be viewed on computers via YouTube and Facebook and by using virtual reality headsets such as Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR.

symphonic

Musicians of the Dallas Symphony have ratified a new agreement. The two-year agreement calls for raises of 2.785 percent each year, as well as a $750 bonus at the beginning of the 2016-17 season.

Musicians of the Chicago Lyric Opera have ratified a new three-year agreement. The agreement calls for raises of one percent in year two and 2.6 percent in year three.

Opera Fusion and Fort Lauderdale resident Michael W. Ross have launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund the production of Not In My Town. Not in My Town, an opera written in 2013 by Ross, tells the story of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student who was beaten and left to die. If funded, the debut performance would take place in June 2016.