Carol Bogash: “One thing is clear to me: The root cause of the financial problems that the BSO has faced over these past five years is directly related to decisions made by the management and board. Budgets have been approved that were built on wishful thinking. Huge amounts of money were spent on guest artists and guest conductors with the hope of being recouped through ticket sales and donations. Major projects were undertaken without sufficient underwriting. They were artistically worthwhile but financially went into the red. These are the business practices that lead to serious systemic problems and debt.” – Washington Post

Founders of the term provided vague justifications for lumping together anything that wasn’t deemed to be from a European or American tradition – “looking at what artists do rather than what they sound like”, as editor of fRoots magazine Ian Anderson said. The World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival, AKA Womad, which was founded seven years before the term gained prominence, similarly used it as a catch-all for its roster of international artists. – The Guardian

For the next three years, the team from la Société des arts technologiques will spend a week each year recording OSM rehearsals and concerts to create immersive acoustic projects. “For sure we want to use these recordings for an augmented reality smartphone app that we will be launching in the upcoming months and years,” said Simon Ouellette, head of special projects for the OSM. – Montreal Gazette

“The news of [the Canadian Opera Co. director’s] return to the Opéra national, where he worked more than a decade ago, comes after the months of speculation in opera circles about Neef’s future, peaking with last month’s reporting from Le Figaro that Neef’s place at the helm of the Paris opera was a sure thing. … Neef’s new post also means he will relinquish his role as Santa Fe Opera’s artistic director, a job that he accepted just last year.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)