(Photo of Rebekah Heller, basoonist, outside the New World Symphony's home in South Beach.)

Dan Wakin has a piece in tomorrow's Times about the New World Symphony, America's foremost training orchestra for young musicians. As he writes, learning to play is just part of the game these days:

"In the increasingly professionalized world of modern orchestras, where merely playing beautifully no longer guarantees musical greatness, ticket sales or successful capital campaigns, New World has set itself a distinctive mission...The model player is not just a technical whiz but also a musician who can converse with the public, meld into an ensemble, generate interesting programming ideas, schmooze with donors and teach."

They'll be at Carnegie in two weeks - go check out the future.