Industry News

Local/Club Date

The New World School of the Arts was one of five schools honored as Coca-Cola Company Distinguished Schools in the Arts. The five schools have had National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts ARTS award winners each year since the program’s inception.

Several efforts are underway to bring music back to Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. The Bring New Orleans Back Commission has recommended building a National Jazz Center, creating new artistic districts, and increasing the teaching of arts in the schools. They also encourage preservation of several buildings significant in the birthplace of jazz. And Harry Connick jr. and Branford Marsalis have raised more than $2 million to create a “musician village” neighborhood where musicians can live, teach, and perform. An estimated 11,000 cultural workers, including over 2000 musicians, have lost their jobs due to Katrina.

Recording

CD sales may be down by 7 percent for 2005, but single downloads doubled and album downloads more than tripled. Consumers also broke the 1 billion mark in downloads of all forms of music last year. CD sales still account for 95% of the music sold.

NBC Universal joins ABC in providing television shows for download from Apple’s iTunes store. Since October 20, more than 3 million videos have been downloaded at $1.99 each. In 2005, Apple nearly doubled its net income on record revenue last quarter, from $295 million to $565 million.

The first three copyright royalty judges have been sworn in. They will replace the temporary arbitrators used prior to the passage of the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004.

Symphony

Symphony of the Americas Director James Brooks-Bruzzese received the 2005 Hispanic Heritage Award for the Arts.

Florida Grand Opera and Atlantic Classical music director Stewart Robertson will step down as music director and conductor of Glimmerglass Opera after the 2006 season. Robertson plans to devote more time to his Florida directorships, as well as his directorship of Opera Omaha, and he also intends to start a music festival in his native Scotland.

The Florida Orchestra has raised $1.5 million for a new home and has asked the county government to give the remaining $2 million needed. The orchestra hopes to move its administrative offices, music library, instrument storage, and rehearsals rooms from leased space to a permanent facility adjoining Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.

New Palm Beach Opera artistic director Bruno Aprea will present symphonic concerts with the PBO orchestra beginning in March. He hopes the concerts will help create audiences for more challenging opera repertoire. Aprea had previously guest-conducted the PBO and for a number of years had a career as a solo pianist.

The Pensacola Symphony received $10,000 from the NEA to present Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde for the first time. Florida West Coast Symphony received $12,500 in support of the Sarasota Music Festival, and the New World Symphony received $50,000 to support their Musician Professional Development Program.

The Cleveland Orchestra has hired  south Florida resident Christina Littlejohn as director of orchestra residencies.

Broward County Court Judge Sharon Zeller has threatened to make those guilty of violating Hollywood’s noise code by playing unreasonably loud music listen to three hours of bagpipe or opera music. Interestingly, a few years ago West Palm Beach officials tried playing classical music outdoors to discourage crime.

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