Local and Industry News

A new study by researchers at the University of Westminter, Can Music Make You Sick?, tries to identify why seventy percent of musicians have experienced anxiety and panic attacks.

The study finds that musicians often feel isolated because of their self-employed status, and that the leading contributors to musicians' poor mental health include poor working conditions, bullying, and financial concerns.

Pianist Stanley Garlitz has passed away at age 86. Garlitz, a member of AFM Local 655 from 1956 to 1990, was a graduate of the University of Miami School of Music and performed in big bands at the Fontainebleau in the 1960's and 1970's and with artists such as Jimmy Dorsey, Ira Sullivan, and Johnny Mathis. He also taught elementary school for the Dade County School System.

The Orlando Ballet is seeking its eighth executive director in six years. Caroline Miller, who was hired 16 months ago, has resigned from the job to return to London and care for her critically ill father.

Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic have scrapped a $500 million plan to renovate David Geffen Hall. The current plan, one of many over the past twenty years, was seen as too complicated by new Lincoln Center president Debora L. Spar and New York Phil president and CEO Deborah Borda. One of the main concerns was that construction might drag on and the Philharmonic be displaced for more than two seasons. They hope to craft a more incremental plan to deal with the hall's poor acoustics and lack of intimacy.

Designs have been unveiled for the $20 million revival of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, the 1927 theater which has stood vacant for a decade. The historic entrance would become a breezeway connecting Main Highway to a public plaza, and a new, state-of-the-art 300 seat auditorium would be constructed in a new theater building. Construction plans are being drawn with groundbreaking as early as late 2018, subject to preservation board and agency approval.

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Television audiences for network premiere week have fallen for the fifth straight year. Live viewership fell by 11 percent from a year ago as more viewers are watching television through DVR playback, video on demand, and on streaming platforms. However, advertising revenue on the major English-speaking broadcast networks rose 4.1 percent as networks generate more revenue from digital platforms.

Americans streamed a record 8.3 billion songs during the last week of September, another sign that consumers are moving away from physical products and downloads and toward streaming platforms. For the first nine months of 2017, Americans listened to 287 billion on-demand streams.

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The Kansas City Symphony has reached its five-year fundraising campaign goal. The Symphony raised $55 million for its endowment fund, bringing the total endowment to $100 million. Over 1,000 donors participated in the fundraising campaign.