October 26, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
NEW BOOKS
The Search for Shining Eyes: Audiences, Leadership and Change in the Symphony Orchestra World, by Thomas Wolf, is a history of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s $13-million Magic of Music program. In 1994, as symphonies nationwide faced serious financial crises and declining attendance, the foundation began a two-part, 10-year effort to strengthen 15 orchestras: the first phase of grant making aimed at exploring new ways conductors and orchestras could interact with the audience, and the second studied “how Americans relate to classical music and their local orchestras.” The history describes the grants made, as well as lessons for fellow grant makers, orchestras, and other arts organizations.
Publisher: John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Wachovia Financial Center, Suite 3300, 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Fla. 33131; (305) 908-2600; http://www.knightfdn.org; 54 pages; available free for download on the foundation’s Web site; ISBN 0-9749702-3-9.
