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Morning reads - lots

Boston Music Award nominations get a brief from the Herald here and I can't find anything in the Globe. ... The Herald also endears itself to the music industry with a how-to on downloading bootleg recordings. ... Another good get for the Exhibitionist with news of the hacking of the web site at Israel Horovitz's theater company, Gloucester Stage. ... Cate McQuaid surveys university gallery exhibits. ... A Globe stringer has a rather negative review of our Amesbury colleague (and fellow Globe stringer) James Sullivan's book on blue jeans, and manages to make it sound interesting in spite of himself.

Out of tune at Symphony Hall

Story of the day today is this piece by Geoff in the Globe about changes facing longtime house-crew members at Symphony Hall, specifically a cutback on overtime and offers of early retirement. The workers don't sound happy about it, and neither do the orchestra's musicians. The daytime crew's nighttime OT during concerts could be neccessary in ways that aren't easily quantifiable - or maybe it's just a quaint tradition that has outlived its usefulness. Problem is, the only people we're hearing from directly are the workers and their supporters.

A while back I wrote that Boston arts organizations hurt themselves by acting like they're guarding the state secrets when it comes to information, whereas they ought to be as open as local sports teams. Well, here's a classic example. Geoff's story suggested that the BSO may have good reasons for what it's doing, beyond the obvious fiscal savings - but orchestra officials are damned if they're going to talk to the media about it. So we're left with another story about a big organization screwing some little guys, when it may not be that simple at all. You can bet if this were the Red Sox, say, getting rid of the scoreboard crew in the Green Monster and replacing them with another Jumbotron, they'd explain themselves quite publicly. Geoff tries to get at the truth by talking to a former BSO official, but the Kremlin silence from orchestra administration - the same thing you'd hear from the MFA, in a similar situation - tends to drown out those words.

River of no copyeditors

The Idaho Mountain Express has a nice feature on Laura McPhee's exhibit of large-format photographs of the state, "River of No Return," now on exhibit at the MFA through Sept. 17. (I wrote: "A distinctly contemporary sensibility looks at life and death, man and nature, the high country. And if you've ever wondered what an elk heart looks like...") Only problem is, the paper's arts editor, who wrote the story, misspells Huntington Avenue. In the first sentence.

Marking the arrival of fall

The Exhibitionist posted this last night about the Revels' upcoming RiverSing, and rather than duplicate his effort, I link you thusly.

Collaboration Down East

Good piece on a big Maine exhibit spread over a couple of dozen institutions this fall, as well as the retiring curator (and print collector) who made it happen.

Exsultemus sets season

Exsultemus period vocal ensemble has set a three-program season for 2006-07, with concerts of each in Boston and Andover. The schule kicks off with the exuberantly named (for this sort of thing) "Bonfire of the Vanities: Music in Florence Under the Medici and Savonarola," Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church of Boston and Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. at Cochran Chapel at Phillips Andover Academy. Details on this and subsequent programs here. Tix, $15-$35, here or by phone at 857-998-0219.

Concert note

An Evening with Aaron Neville, Oct. 8, Berklee Performance Center. Tix, $38-$48, on sale Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. at the box office and Ticketmaster.

ART in the air

An email from Cambridge says the American Repertory Theatre Company leaves today for Edinburgh, where its "Three Sisters" will be closing out the Edinburgh International Festival next week. Rehearsals are also underway in Holland for the troupe's co-production of "Wings of Desire" with Toneelgroep Amsterdam, which will make its way to Brattle Street eventually after a Euro-tour.

Morning reads

Tons of items to get to you, when we get a break from paying work, but first ... Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton treated for throat cancer. Joe Perry sideman David Hull will fill in. And there's a greatest hits disc dropping soon. ... Mozart and the Harvard polymath. ... David Hare play a Wellfleet fundraiser.

Morning reads

Slow day ... A brief interview with Mark Wahlberg about "Invincible" (and "The Departed") is here. ... Cate McQuaid on the new MFA exhibit of Soviet textiles is here. ... And Charles Laquidara writes from Hawaii to swear that he was the one who pulled the plug on his WBOS show, not the station.