Osmo Vänskä (on bike) has signed on for an additional four years at the helm of the Minnesota Orchestra, keeping him there (at least?) through 2014-15, effectively canceling his already modest chance to become the next music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mixed feelings about him, still.

Hans Graf, on the other hand, is getting ready to take his leave of Houston, committing to the Houston Symphony through 2012-13 and not a minute longer. After that, you can call him Laureate.

Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer is the new music director of the Utah Symphony/Utah Opera, succeeding Keith Lockhart. Fischer will continue his current gig as principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Can music directors make or break the box office? Our favorite music critic, Anne Midgette of the Washington Post, answers in a lively Sunday piece.

The question is relevant in Philadelphia, where the orchestra is more dependent than ever on single-ticket sales. In 1987-88, 83 percent of the house was sold on subscription. In 2008-09, subscriptions accounted for just 56 percent of capacity. And when you consider that the house has shrunk (Academy of Music was 2,929, Verizon about 2,500), and that you don't need to buy as many tickets as you used to in order to be considered a subscriber, you realize that the situation is even worse.

And finally, while it may leave music fans confused and bitter, we must share the news that Angela Merkel has removed herself as a candidate for music director with any orchestra. “Don’t expect to see me be some kind of conductor with a baton in her hand,” said Merkel after being elected to a second term as German chancellor. Simon Rattle can stop looking over his shoulder now.

(Photo: Ryan Donnell)

People will tell you the average age of an orchestra-goer with approximately the same relish they use when quoting the national debt, and with a similar calculation for drama. "What?" you are expected to say. "At that rate...(insert your own apocalyptic scenario here)."

I happen to identify with the (apparently) tiny school of thought that any listener is perfectly okay. I adore the Philadelphia Orchestra's older Friday afternoon audience; they're uniquely knowing, having seen it all. But I understand the panic over where the listener of tomorrow will come from, which is why I nearly gasped upon approaching Verizon Hall last night. Hundreds of college kids were standing around outside. Not an internet-organized melee, but a swarm waiting to hear a heap of Berlioz inside.

The best thing about the Philadelphia Orchestra's free "College Night" wasn't the free food, though the announcement of its existence, waiting in the lobby as post-concert reward, did get a big round of applause. Rather, it was the programming. Charles Dutoit didn't condescend. He gave the audience of 2,000 kids exactly what the grown-ups were getting this week, and they seemed happy to hear it.

Smart move at the top of the concert. Orchestra violinist Noah Geller got up and proclaimed himself to the audience as one of them: "Ladies and gentlemen...scholars and slackers." He had them. When he told them he had just graduated from Juilliard, mutual warmth and aspirations traveled across the normally obstructionist footlights.

Dutoit was pretty cute himself. At one point he made a circle with his hand, placed it over his ear as a signal for more applause, and got the sound he wanted. Conductors know how to do that sort of thing - conjuring sound from gesture - and the audience laughed.

Lessons? Larger significance? I don't know how many of these students will come back during the year for more, but the orchestra sure has removed all possible obstacles. For $25, college students can become members of eZseatU, and can come back to any concert all season long, to as many concerts as they wish, for free. After the $25, not only are concerts free, but students can score an additional "date" ticket for $8.

The orchestra's new concert format this year - Beyond the Score, a combination orchestra performance and spoken explanation of the music - makes an easy bridge for the newbie from College Night to others concerts.

Any excuse to not hear the orchestra this season will have to be exceedingly creative - something more scholarly or slackerish than "the dog ate my eZseatU ticket."

The sole candidate in the Philadelphia Orchestra's search for a new president/chief executive officer today announced that she is leaving her current post.

Allison B. Vulgamore, longtime president of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, has met several times in the last few months with Philadelphia Orchestra leaders and has emerged as the only current contender for the top job.

She is exiting the Atlanta orchestra after 16 years, she said, declining to speak about what her next move might be.

"When those new decades come, you take new challenges," said Vulgamore, 51. "I believe wholeheartedly in what the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has become with [music director] Robert Spano and [principal guest conductor] Donald Runnicles, but it has been a great 16 years and it's time for a new personal chapter."

Philadelphia would be a logical next step, but Vulgamore and the Philadelphia Orchestra have not consummated a deal, orchestra sources say.

"We are not commenting on the president search, and it is still ongoing," says spokeswoman Katherine Blodgett.

Two other finalists for the post, both also from smaller orchestras, are no longer in the running, sources say. One has already accepted a job with another orchestra.

It is possible that the orchestra will end this round of the search unsuccessfully, forcing it to start from scratch, several orchestra officials say.

Vulgamore is an orchestra-industry veteran who has led the Atlanta Symphony through a series of challenging events since her start there in 1993. Though Atlanta is a smaller and less prestigious ensemble than Philadelphia, it has grappled with many of the same issues this orchestra has - stormy labor relations, shifting plans for a new concert hall, the messy departure of a music director, a music-director search, fund-raising difficulties, and deficits.

Vulgamore said her decision to leave was tough and emotional.

"I cried in front of the orchestra, I cried in front of the staff, and I cried in front of Robert [Spano]. It's a long time in your life to be dedicated to an ensemble that has been every inch a part of your world."

She said that although her contract called for her to stay until next summer, she could leave earlier.

"One has to take opportunities when they arise."

In discussions with Philadelphia Orchestra officials, Vulgamore asserted the need for an emergency bridge fund to help gird finances against deficits for the next two years, according to orchestra sources; the need for such a fund was earlier articulated by previous president James Undercofler, who stepped down in January.

"An outstanding candidate emerged as our unanimous choice," wrote incoming orchestra board chairman Richard B. Worley in a memo to the board last week. "We are actively engaged in continuing discussions with that individual. To succeed in our recruitment, we will have to provide more clarity about our willingness to support the Orchestra in the immediate future. Candidates of the caliber that we have considered want to work with, and for, a board that is determined to succeed."

Worley said he would be raising the bridge fund from within the orchestra board. He is proposing a goal of $15 million, $3 million of which has already been committed by Worley and wife Leslie Anne Miller, and longtime orchestra friend Carole Haas Gravagno.

Vulgamore, who studied voice at Oberlin College, is married to Peter Marshall, a keyboard player in the Atlanta Symphony. She was appointed the orchestra's president and managing director in 1993, and was given the title of president and CEO in January 2008.

If the Philadelphia Orchestra took a creative route in hiring James Undercofler as the orchestra's last president - he had been a conservatory dean - Vulgamore would represent a return to standard industry practice.

She was a member of the inaugural class in the American Symphony Orchestra League (as it was then called) Management Fellow Program. Before coming to the Atlanta Symphony, she was general manager of the New York Philharmonic.

Previously, for five years, she was artistic administrator and general manager of the National Symphony Orchestra, and, in 1981 and '82 at the start of her career, she worked as assistant to the executive director at the Philadelphia Orchestra, where her current candidacy has been somewhat controversial within the orchestra board and staff.

In Atlanta, while it is difficult to sort out strategies and actions originating with the board as opposed to staff, Vulgamore's tenure was marked by a musicians' strike, squabbles with community groups, deficits, board resignations in protest and a large staff turnover shortly after her arrival.

She is credited with crafting a somewhat innovative collaboration with two conductors - music director Robert Spano and principal guest Donald Runnicles - and has managed to attract fans beyond the usual classical music club.

"I believe there are many in the Atlanta community who, when it came to classical music, could take it or leave it," former Georgia Gov. Zell Miller told the Atlanta Constitution-Journal. "Now they have taken it because of Allison and found out they loved it."

"The Board of the Atlanta Symphony has a sense of profound regret and respect as it acknowledges Allison's decision not to renew her contract as president and CEO at the end of the current season," said ASO board chairman Ben Johnson in a prepared statement. "This is a decision that we have unsuccessfully sought to have her reconsider."

The Atlanta Symphony has more than tripled its budget since Vulgamore's arrival, to $50 million in 2008 from $15.8 million in 1993, which would put it in the company of the largest orchestras in the country. But those numbers are rolled in with non-orchestra subsidiary businesses, including a new 12,000-seat amphitheater that books popular acts (for which the Atlanta Symphony sometimes plays backup).

The orchestra acquired SD&A Teleservices, Inc., a firm that designs and manages "telephone-based fund-raising, membership, and subscription sales campaigns for nonprofit organizations across the United States," including the Philadelphia Orchestra, according to marketing materials.

The Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in the northern Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta was opened a year and half ago as a "revenue-generating exercise" (in the words of one orchestra executive) that other orchestras would want to emulate.

"Arts groups are searching for new models, and the message is that you have to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit," Vulgamore told the Journal-Constitution.

Whether the new revenue-generating ventures will stem a string of deficits the Atlanta Symphony has run during the past several years remains to be seen.

Vulgamore's salary during this time has zoomed, from $275,305 in 2000 to $439,721 in 2003, according to the Journal-Constitution. It jumped again - to $597,669 in the nine months ending May 31, 2008, according to forms filed with the IRS.

This is considerably more than compensation for Undercofler, who had been dean of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., whose salary was $420,000 for the year ending Aug. 31, 2008, according to the orchestra's tax returns.

The Boston Globe's Geoff Edgers has a lovely profile today on Ann Hobson Pilot, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's harpist who is retired. Sort of.

The piece doesn't mention it, but she attended Settlement Music School.

(April Saul / Staff Photographer)

I hope no one associated with last night's "Fallen Heroes" concert at the Mann is feeling deflated this morning. While it's true that the event drew only 1,200 to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra - a number that looks mighty small at the Mann - in many ways the effort was a good model for the future.

It raised $160,000 (plus whatever donations were collected at the concert itself) for the survivors fund of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police. It gathered another $250,000 in in-kind donations.

It ran entirely on volunteer steam - from the ushers, to musicians, to host Tony Danza, everyone pitched in.

Where did it go wrong? Why did only 1,200 listeners show up on a clear, cool night for a free concert?

My best guess is that the weak link was the repertoire. Excerpts from Rocky and Superman, patriotic tunes and a Candide Overture weren't meaty enough to bring in the 3,000 or 4,000 pure orchestra fans who would have jumped at the chance to hear the orchestra for free in, say, a Beethoven "Eroica."

And the lure of an orchestra, no matter what it was playing, might not have been enough all by itself to draw a core group of police supporters. Many policemen and others there last night told me they had never been to the orchestra, the Mann, or both.

Don't fool yourself by thinking that now that they've been in the door once they'll come back for more. It generally doesn't work that way. The trick with these community concerts is for the orchestra to build on the large base of listeners who love the orchestra already and would come to hear it in classical repertoire or venues not being otherwise offered.

Still, it was impressive to see the orchestra, the Mann, the City and lots of other groups working in tandem to create something new. Worthy event, nice vibe.

Stephan Salisbury has more detail on and reaction to the state's new arts tax.

It's disturbing that public officials are unwilling or unable to give tax payers the full story:

A spokesman for Gov. Rendell, Gary Tuma, said he could not confirm specific elements in the budget package. But "we cannot do a budget without pain," he said, "and there is widespread pain in this budget."

In the late-night deal to end the Pennsylvania state budget stalemate, it seems the arts did not get forgotten.

They got taxed.

Look at this from the Inquirer's coverage:

But sources familiar with details of the agreement confirmed that Rendell successfully pushed to establish a sales tax on "theater, dance, music, and performing arts" tickets - everything from the ballet to Beyoncé - which have been exempted from the levy. The proposal does not tax tickets to movies or sporting events.

Details are few, so we don't want to jump to conclusions.

But, in a state that has spent hundreds of millions (billions?) on sports facilities, Gov. Rendell has chosen to put an additional burden on chamber music, opera and orchestras? At a time when many arts groups are about to face their worst financial year ever, our former Arts and Culture Mayor is going to make life harder for the arts?

Again, we don't know details. How much is the tax - a percentage or flat fee? Does it apply to all ticket prices? Will schools, such as Curtis and Temple and Settlement, have to tax student performances to which they sell tickets? Why performing arts, but, apparently, not museums or other cultural attractions?

And how will arts groups react? Protests? Will the Schuylkill River darken with tea?

One way of looking at this is that Rendell has been a friend to the arts, and now, in true politician form, he figures it's time for the arts to be friend to him.

The other way to look at this is that Rendell, having been the prime cheerleader behind the building of a new Barnes and Kimmel Center, has a special obligation to find additional public ways to fund the operations of these groups. Fund-raising for the Kimmel and the Barnes has soaked up hundreds of millions of dollars - money that arts supporters could use for operations right about now.

A new tax on the arts is the last thing anyone needs - unless Rendell plans to turn around and send the revenue back to the orchestras, museums and theaters of needy Pennsylvania.

It's a year today since Philadelphia Orchestra president James Undercofler announced his decision to not seek the renewal of his contract, and it's been an queasy year, both for the economy generally and for the world of orchestras. Undercofler intended to finish out his contract, which would have had him leaving July 31 - a mere six weeks ago - but months ago the orchestra put an interim leader in place instead.

Frank P. Slattery Jr. may love the orchestra and may love his job, but the organization hasn't benefited by bringing in a member of the business community. One of the things boards of cultural organizations have steadfastly refused to believe is that arts administration is a legitimate and distinct profession. No one steps in and does a good job of running an orchestra or a museum without special training and hard-won experience - especially if your organization is treading water in perilous times, which, the Philadelphia Orchestra admits it is.

You can't run a music director search without a real professional who can speak the confusing code of conductors and agents. You wouldn't know how to deal with an attendance rate that's dropped to 80 of capacity unless you're immersed in the kind of audience research lifelong orchestra CEOs are. You certainly can't turn ticket sales around without a marketing director - the orchestra currently has none - and you can't hire a marketing director until you have a president.

In short, a tremendous amount of institutional ambition has been held in abeyance since Undercofler's announcement a year ago. This at a time when the economy has been in free-fall and audiences are clutching their purse-strings tighter than any other time since the Great Depression.

A search for a new president is underway, and it now focuses on a single candidate - an experienced orchestra professional who has dealt, almost scarily, with all of the same difficulties that have deluged the Philadelphia Orchestra since about 1996 - a strike, shifting plans for a new concert hall, deficits, the messy departure of a music director and unclear goals for what the orchestra wants out of summer.

Is he or she the right choice? I wouldn't presume to say.

What I do know is that it's a pathetic sight to see this great orchestra struggling the way it is. This is a moment that deserves our pity and outrage, but our action, too. Hear the orchestra this season. Hear it a lot. A new music director will likely be chosen this season, so think about what's best for the orchestra's musical future and express your opinion to the board. This is perhaps the most important time for orchestra lovers to be fully engaged.

As for a new president, if this round of the search does not bear fruit and the process has to start from scratch, it's hard to see how the orchestra will prosper again anytime soon. It will continue to lose its considerably talented administrative staff. Funders will grow even more uneasy than they are now. Mere survival will consume the attention of every employee of the orchestra every day instead of the kind of institution-changing thinking that should be going on now.

Even the brightest new president, should that leader start tomorrow, will need a long list of friends and resources to help get the orchestra through this season. He or she deserves a little faith at a time when it might be hard to grant. More than a few orchestra fans and important funders were dismayed by the way layoffs were handled earlier this year. It may be standard corporate behavior to gather staff in a conference room and then, with security personnel standing near, escort them out of the building. But the rewards for both employees and employers at cultural organizations often stem from the personal love for the thing itself - the music, the well-being of the institution. To dismiss them in this way sends the sickening signal that working for the Philadelphia Orchestra is just another job.

The orchestra needs leadership now - not in the form of a mindless cheerleader, but with the quick arrival of a clear-thinking, lifelong practitioner of classical music, a professional who can mend fences and articulate to the entire city why the orchestra is something worth saving.

At this point, a full year after the announcement of a strong president's departure, finding someone who can hit the ground running is more critical than ever.

Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg (pictured) will become the New York Philharmonic's new composer-in-residence, thanks to a gift to the orchestra's endowment.

Henry R. Kravis and his wife, Marie-Josee Kravis, will give the Philharmonic $10 million, the proceeds from which (interest, market appreciation) will underwrite the newly reinistated position. The two-year post starts with opening night this Wednesday, when the orchestra will give the premiere of Lindberg's EXPO to open Alan Gilbert's first season as music director.

The Kravis gift will also endow a new music prize awarding $250,000 and a New York Philharmonic commission to a "composer for extraordinary artistic endeavor in the field of new music." The award will be given every two years starting in the 2011-12 season.

The Philharmonic used to have composers-in-residence (Jacob Druckman and David Del Tredici among them), but not since the 1996-97 season.

What better way to signal that a new music director's tenure is going to be about something other than being a conservator?