Our donation link is the colorful Fractured Atlas logo on the upper-left.

Just like a professional orchestra CutTime Productions operates with a mix of earned income, project grants, and charitable donations. Our pioneering work of cutting classical music loose from “theater rules” is new turf. To make sense of dramatic wordless music for an America who prefers songs and beats would seem a fool’s errand. And yet it is born of love and buoyed by love. Hence the partial need for your support and referrals. CutTime® has been discovered in restaurants, clubs, community spaces, offices, cafes, cafeterias, street festivals, on shaded streets, at artist collectives, in homes, churches and schools, and yes, in traditional concert settings too. There is no place we aren’t needed. With enthusiastic hosting, watch us make symphonic music edu-taining.  We are both a mission- and commerce-driven (paid concerts, publication sales, royalties) enterprise that proactively creates greater access to conventional classical music. We are fulfilling the promise of the public domain for more of humanity. Won’t you please support and recommend this unique mission?

Now if you’d like to support a new podcast series, a revival of Art As A Weapon or Phantom Detroit, the looming public premiere of For Interesting Times, or to commission new works, please contact us!

Since our two flagship ensembles began life in a major symphony orchestra, CutTime® has developed unique insights fueling our burning passion to feed the public a fun, inclusive, adaptive classical music tradition. First, we reduce famous symphonic works down to 4-8 instruments and sometimes abridge works to give a taste of the beauty and emotional power of the instrumental dramas audiences may never otherwise see.

Second, by featuring the heart-on-sleeve compositions of CutTime Artistic Director Rick Robinson, we show how tonal, conventional music language is still a valuable tool anyone can pick up to see themselves reflected, find expression, and build empathy. Even from the audience, or at home, our effective metaphors redefine the classical arts without the academic or sacred settings. Dumbing down? We say it’s time to smarten up classical music!

Our cities contain thousands of communities, each wedded to their own musical belief system. Yet we can create numerous opportunities to hold up cultural bridges anywhere. If people are mildly curious to learn about classical music— and even if not— we are ready to share our artistic license to work past stereotypes. Let’s have fun shaking up the symphony together as family and friends!
– Rick Robinson (Mr. CutTime)

Post-tiny tots mixer with young boy and bassist Rick Robinson
Young boy touches history through Mr. CutTime’s 200 year-old English bass. Photo 2000 by Detroit Symphony Orchestra

CutTime spun off the major orchestra in 2012 because it proved easier to innovate just outside its huge arts bubble. This is a place outsiders are marginally curious about, but not enough to change habits. CutTime feeds back to the arts bubbles new methods to become more welcoming, practical, inclusive and essential. We have won a fellowship from the Kresge Foundation in 2010, and an Arts Challenge Detroit grant from the Knight Foundation to launch and expand the club classical series Classical Revolution Detroit in 2013. Today we rely on our regular generous supporters through our innovative fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas of New York* for approximately a third of our annual budget.

Like most things classical music is a paradox. It is beloved directly by millions of musicians, arts staff, board members, patrons of the fine arts, and incidentally by almost everyone else via TV commercials, movies and Christmas shopping. Yet on the other hand, it is stereotyped, ignored and avoided by the public-at-large for being stuck, cold, boring, exclusive, elitist or otherwise dismissive of popular behavior. While the differences may at times boil down to group identity vs. individualism today, CutTime’s model is to hold up the middle of the bridge and invite everyone to cross culturally for a while; so that goodwill flows in both directions. Generosity is the building block of peace. With an open mind and good hosting skills, it is remarkably easy to do. Then CutTime can teach new ways to relate the why and how of this music.

CutTime Players rehearsal at Hot Springs Music Festival
CutTime Players rehearsal at Hot Springs Music Festival

Won’t you be part of our bold vision for classical music?

Robinson has been an innovative force in bringing chamber ensembles into non-traditional venues and classrooms, mixing it up with a variety of creative repertoire and generally proving that classical music belongs not on the fringes of contemporary culture but at the heart of everyday life.
– Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press Music Critic

Rick Robinson is bringing classical music to the masses— which may be one of the most challenging jobs in all of music.
Amy Haimerl, Crain’s Detroit Business

The work we are doing is not popu-lar; but it is popu-list, and necessary. The public domain is a birthright of all humans, and yet even the biggest DSO patrons may not understand how to use classical music like the musicians do. CutTime Productions needs support for events, self-produced concerts, operations, travel, booking conferences, marketing, most educational services, capital expenses, public relations and most of all seeking and hiring professional growth management.

Recently (2022), we raised gold sponsor support for: relocation to Pittsburgh, PA.

Here’s what your operational support will pay for:

  • $25 – Travel & meals, operating
  • $100 – Travel & meals, operating, reading session player
  • $250 – Sponsor a single player for a rehearsed concert, networking, operations
  • $800 – Underwrite a Classical Revolution Detroit event, buy an instrument mic, attend a state conference
  • $1,250 – Underwrite a Quartet concert, major advertisement, major, conference, operations
  • $1,500 – Underwrite one of our new animation projects to be projected during performances
  • $2,500 – Underwrite a CutTime Simfonica concert, major conference, professional consultations, video production, operations
  • $5,000 – Underwrite a CutTime Players concert, Silver sponsor on debut CD project, conference, video production
  • $10,000 – Gold sponsor on a recording project, showcase at a major conference,  paid intern, professional consultations, any of the above
  • $25,000 – Many of the above
  • $50,000 – Partnership level
  • Please contact info @ cuttime .com for more suggestions.

Your recommendations to concert presenters, orchestras and corporate event planners also unlock our work. But your financial help today with a tax-deductible credit card will keep us spreading good news about the classical arts today. Thank you for your help!

Donate today to Fractured Atlas*
for the CutTime Project using a credit card.

*CutTime® is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non‐profit arts service organization.  Contributions for the charitable purposes of CutTime must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax‐deductible to the extent permitted by law.