Nutcracker is a Real Ballbuster for ABT

* American Ballet Theater foregoes a fall season to cash in on Christmas.

* Danny Elfman on Tim Burton: "...it’s his head in his hands shaking his head as if he’s just been stabbed in the heart. That’s the bad body expression when I play a piece of music. The good one is a kind of a slight nodding of the head."

* Philly's Ars Nova Workshop turns 10.

* Ray Still: "Reiner could make the orchestra dance on the head of a pin."

* Michigan's unemployment may be at 15%, but the Grand Rapids Opera has a brand new building.

* Portland's going on a new music bender.

For All The Süßmayrs

There was a fascinating little feature in New York magazine recently which showed a page of a Danny Elfman score along with his comments.

It is deeply revealing of just how much of a hand an orchestrator has in working with a composer like Elfman, in case you're interested.

And as this comment about the horns demonstrates, his notes also show the fantasy orchestras that movie composers get to use on a regular basis.

(The score is for the recently premiered Rabbit and Rogue.)