Minnesota Orchestra loses its chief
NewsThe Minnesota Orchestra’s president and CEO has jumped ship.
Michelle Miller Burns, who has led the orchestra since 2018 and delivered a smooth change of music director, has been made CEO and president of the Dallas Symphony, where she used to work before.
She succeeds Kim Noltemy, who is heading to the turbulent LA Phil.
Burns, 55, said that Dallas ‘feels like hom to my husband and me.’
More here.
Is six years that seem to have stabilised a sometime turbulent ship jumping from it, especially if it means a return home?
We are looking forward to what new ideas she brings.
I’m trying to imagine the change in scenery from Minneapolis to Dallas.
Anyone who needs to buy cold weather clothing (or sell hot weather clothing) should contact her ASAP!
Hot take
So she’s going from a progressive, forward-looking state that supports the arts and education to a right-wing quasi-theocracy where people walking around with loaded weapons and wear cowboy hats as standard business dress? Oh, and it’s 100 degrees F for several months of the year. OK, got it.
Oddly enough, they seem to have managed to squeak out the odd bit of high art. The Houston Opera Porgy and Bess is one of the best things I have ever seen — and heard — on a stage. (I’m less enthusiastic about their ballet company, but in fairness have seen it rarely).
As an academic, items in which I was interested were routinely sourced to universities in Texas. Their institutions hold some major literary collections.
It’s not quite all rodeos and oil, though these apparently provide the revenues to support what are doubtless minority interests.
Reality check. In every country in this world classical music is a minority interest. Yes, including Germany and Austria, as much as they pretend that it is not so.
Yes, depending on the country, or on the places within a certain country, this minority may be larger or smaller. But it is always a minority.
I wouldn’t call Porgy and Bess “progressive”, no matter how well performed.
Productions of Porgy provide employment for many talented singers, but it remains problematic and offensive to many African Americans.
I admire Porgy and Bess as I admire Madama Butterfly, but I recognize that society may have moved on.
So cowboy hats are actually very versatile and flattering when chosen correctly. But more importantly, Texas has a huge population, as diverse as any other. The sound bites and headlines give a narrow view into the lives of Texans so please keep your bias in check. Oh if you haven’t seen them, Dallas symphony is exquisite! Balanced programming, excellent musicianship, and a well behaved audience.
Disregarding the quality of either orchestra, if I had to choose to live in Minneapolis or Dallas, well…I probably wouldn’t choose Dallas.
Well, you cannot disregard the quality of the orchestra if you truly love music. Perhaps the Dallas and Minnesota orchestras are pretty well matched, but Dallas has the much more interesting music director (yes, I heard both of them live).