"Orchestra"Post Gets A Quick Response

Last week (actually 2 posts ago) I wrote about the terrific time I had at the Disney music concert presented by Orchestra Kentucky at Van Meter Hall.

I mentioned that I was disappointed that the song "When You Wish Upon A Star" was not played. I also mentioned the name of the orchestra's conductor, Jeff Reed.

Only a few minutes after I published that post, while I was still sitting at my computer, I received an email from Mr. Reed.

I don't know how he knew that I published the post. I can only guess that he has something set up on his computer that alerts him to anything that's put on the Internet which mentions him or Orchestra Kentucky.

He wrote to me to explain the reason the concert did not include the Disney theme song. It was not an artistic decision. Like most things in the arts business it came down to money.

Mr. Reed explained:

 "Like you, I believe that “When You Wish Upon a Star” is the quintessential Disney song. When I planned the concert, I wanted to use it. When I inquired about the song, I was told by Disney that it is not available. Disney told me that they don’t own the copyright to the song. Apparently, it was sold, preventing them from licensing its use. In order to use it, I would have had to get a separate license from another company, adding to the $5,000 we were already paying for the music and video from Disney. We just couldn’t afford it.


I wrote back to Mr. Reed thanking him for reading my blog and sending an explanation. I told him that I understood how finances can effect what you want to do as an artist. I also suggested he read my January post I wrote about the Leroy Anderson concert.

Mr. Reed is the most "famous" person to ever repond to this blog. I was impressed. The other thing that impressed me was the immediacy of his response.

It reminded me of just how instantanously and permanent things posted to the internet can be and how they can effect others. It's something that I try to always keep in mind when I decide to write a post. It doesn't hurt to be reminded every once in a while. Thank You Mr. Reed.