CSO gets $32 million in gifts -largest in its history

[tofu]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... 761.column

Hopefully this will forestall the need for dumpy middle age women from the audience shaking their booty on stage.

[iiipopes]

So does this mean they won't be selling...nah, I won't go there. It's not fair.

[Michael Bush]

Excellent. I think a lot more of this sort of thing is possible.

[Steve Marcus]

The CSO, as nearly all other orchestras, is already programming "outside the box" or, if you will, "Beyond the Score" (a great series headed by Gerald McBurney). Playing the original soundtrack cues along with Hollywood films (West Side Story, etc.) is just one example (quite different from playing concert suites from films, some of which are already considered part of the accepted body of orchestral repertoire (example: Nevsky and, for that matter, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story).

True, CSO has not turned to an all-Pops format nor invited hip-hop soloists. Yet.