The Journal of the Royal Musical Association has just published a review essay by Jane Isabelle Forner entitled “Classical Music’s Conflicted Futures: Perspectives on the Industry and Academia from Recent Scholarship.” I recommend it to those involved with… Read More
Posted on 22nd Jan 2025 by Geoff Baker
This week, the Guardian published a long article entitled “Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra at 50: is it time for brickbats or bouquets?” Despite the title’s implication of an even-handed assessment of pros and cons, there was never… Read More
Posted on 17th Jan 2025 by Geoff Baker
It’s been a bad week for orchestras. An old sexual assault scandal at the New York Philharmonic hit the headlines again. But what could have come and gone quickly as a “bad apple” story – one that was… Read More
Posted on 21st Apr 2024 by Geoff Baker
Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community, by Kenneth J. Gergen, is a major work of scholarship in social psychology. It has a lot to offer the field of social action through music (SATM), despite saying nothing about it… Read More
Posted on 15th Mar 2024 by Geoff Baker
A recent psychological study (Hogan et al. 2023) found that intensive Sistema programs in the US brought no additional gains in executive functioning, self-perception, or attitudes toward school in young children, when compared to general music education (or… Read More
Posted on 23rd Jan 2024 by Geoff Baker
Geoff Baker
Geoff Baker