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How Summer Music Festivals Get Programmed
Summer Music 2012: Where to Find It Columbus: Matching an Orchestra to Its Hometown Is the Pipe Organ the Hip New Instrument?
Indie-Rocker Ben Folds • Dvoˇrák in America • The “Perilous Life” of Symphony Orchestras
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I
t’s a rite of spring: the annual announcements of the music festivals that showcase great orchestras in the great outdoors. Whether it’s music under the stars of a western sky or in an urban park surrounded by skyscrapers, the music at summer music festivals can appear fairly unchanging, a bit of smooth sailing with familiar repertoire. But summer festivals are not the easy-listening monoliths they might initially seem to be. And programming a music festival is a balancing act: how to balance crowdpleasing standard fare with rarities that will draw the cognoscenti? How to welcome the newcomer and intrigue the connoisseur? Events like the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood festival, which this year turns 75, maintain a careful equilibrium between the accessible and the experimental, while more tightly focused festivals, like Cabrillo in California, are consecrated to the new. Nationwide, there is, quite literally, something for everyone. In this issue, we take a look at what it takes to program a summer music festival, with a wide-ranging who-where-when preview of what’s ahead. But as the summer-music scene heats up, the financial scene for orchestras—for all the arts—continues to present challenges. As the Clinton-era saying goes, it’s the economy, stupid. Economists predict that things will gradually improve, but it sure doesn’t feel that way for the orchestras that are struggling, or the ones that have had to make painful cutbacks across the board. In his Critical Questions column, League President and CEO Jesse Rosen examines a controversial new study, Robert Flanagan’s The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras, that offers a hard-nosed perspective on the business side of orchestras. It’s not an easy topic, but it’s one we all must confront.
The Magazine of The L e a g u e o f Am e r i c a n O r c h e s t r a s
symphony®, the award-winning quarterly magazine of the League of American Orchestras, discusses issues critical to the orchestra community and communicates to the American public the value and importance of orchestras and the music they perform. editor in chief Robert Sandla
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Website
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spring 2012
symphony sp r in g 2 0 1 2
T h e M a g a z i n e o f T h e L e a g u e o f Am e r i c a n O r c h e s t r a s
4 Prelude by Robert Sandla 6 The Score Orchestra news, moves, and events 12 Critical Questions Robert Flanagan’s controversial new book highlights the need for astute financial planning by orchestra leaders. by Jesse Rosen
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16 Board Talk Board members are on the front line as orchestras maneuver through today’s thorny economic and cultural challenges. by Robert Sandla
12 Randall L. Schieber
20 At the League The League’s 2012 National Conference in Dallas offers four days of opportunities to connect face-to-face with orchestra colleagues. by Russell Jones
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New Worlds Music Unwound, a new multi-orchestra project, is off and running— with the help of a rare NEH grant. by Chester Lane
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Going Organic The “king of instruments” is making a comeback in the concert hall. by Thomas May
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Hello, Columbus The Columbus Symphony has a new lease on life, thanks to a partnership with the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts. by Rebecca Winzenried
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61 Advertiser Index 62 League of American Orchestras Annual Fund 64 Coda Nashville singer/songwriter Ben Folds is returning to his symphonic roots. Throughout this issue, text marked like this indicates a link to websites and online resources that can be accessed by visiting SymphonyOnline at symphony.org.
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64 about the cover The innovative design of Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, makes the concertgoing experience open to the great outdoors. Photographer: Steve Rosenthal
Kim Tonelli
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Summer Festivals 2012 An overview of what’s on this season
Zach Mahone
Picking Summer’s Playlist What does it take to program a summer music festival? by Heidi Waleson
SCORE News, moves, and events in the orchestra industry The
New Rules for Musical Instruments on Airplanes
February 2012
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Life is about to get easier for musicians, following Congress’s passage in February of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, setting a consistent national policy regarding musical instruments as carry-on luggage on airplanes. The bill (H.R. 658) includes a policy that allows all musical instruments on board that can fit into the overhead bin or beneath the seat of an airplane. For oversized instruments like the cello, musicians are permitted to either buy a seat on the airplane or check the instrument. Existing law had allowed each airline to set its own policy regarding musical instruments, and size requirements varied widely for carry-on and checked baggage. The League of American Orchestras and the American Federation of Musicians partnered closely to advocate for a policy that will improve the ability of musicians to fly with their instruments in cabin. The FAA must next develop regulations that will lead to implementation of the new law, and the AFM and the League are calling on the agency to do so much sooner than the two-year window allowed by Congress, so that musicians can experience more reliable travel with instruments as soon as possible. For more information, visit the League’s advocacy page and click on the “travel for musicians” tab. CelloBello.com
This winter, Gustavo Dudamel returned to his homeland, Venezuela, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in tow. The group assembled in Caracas to perform Mahler’s epic Eighth Symphony (“Symphony of a Thousand”) with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela as the final installment in its Mahler Project—the performance of Mahler’s nine symphonies. “Sunday night at about 6:30 p.m. the LA Phil flight back from Caracas touched down at LAX,” wrote Executive Director Deborah Borda LA Phil violinist Guido Lamell with El Sistema students in Venezuela, in the orchestra’s Mahler Project blog. “At that precise February 2012 moment, an enormous cheer went up from the entire orchestra and staff. People cheered not simply because they were glad to be home but truly in celebration, pride and recognition of making history.… For one shining five-week period we and the Bolivars became one family.” The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra is the flagship ensemble of El Sistema, Venezuela’s iconic music-education program, from which Dudamel emerged as violinist and conductor. The Mahler Eighth on February 18 was given in the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas and seen in more than 400 movie theaters in North and South America. The LA Phil traveled to several núcleos—El Sistema’s educational centers—to teach Venezuelan LA Phil violinist Elizabeth Baker with students and learn more about the program. El Sistema students in Venezuela,
Gerardo Gómez
L.A.-Caracas Connection
Nohely Oliveros
In February, Gustavo Dudamel led a performance of Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand” in the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas, Venezuela, that lived up to its name. In addition to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, forces included the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, several choruses, and vocal soloists.
Members of the woodwind section of the 2012 Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival
Musical Chairs American conductor KAZEM ABDULLAH has been named general music director of the City of Aachen, Germany, effective August 1, 2012. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has appointed TEDDY ABRAMS assistant conductor, effective September 2012. LAURA ADAM has been named education director of the New Haven (Conn.) Symphony Orchestra.
California’s Santa Barbara Symphony has appointed SUSAN ANDERSON director of operations and artistic administration. has stepped down as music director of the Sarasota (Fla.) Orchestra following a fifteenyear tenure.
LEIF BJALAND
Kristen Loken
At the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, JAMES WILLIAM BOYD has been named director of artistic planning and production, and W. MARK McCREARY director of development. has been appointed Boyd vice president for marketing and audience development at the North Carolina Symphony.
The impulse to help the less fortunate was at the center of a January event in California
The Carmel (Cal.) Bach Festival has named DEBBIE CHINN executive director.
involving more than 500 young musicians. For the third Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival benefiting homeless youth in the San Francisco Bay Area, six orchestras—the California Youth Symphony, El Camino Youth Symphony, Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra, Oakland Youth Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and Young People’s Symphony Orchestra—played works by Borodin, Dvořák, Prokofiev, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Saint-Saëns. Proceeds benefited Sunday Friends (San Jose), InnVision (South Bay and Peninsula), Homeward Bound (Marin County), Covenant House (Oakland), Students Rising Above (San Francisco), and YEAH! (Berkeley). The festival normally occurs in odd-numbered years, with this year’s additional festival presented by the San Francisco Symphony as part of its 100thanniversary celebrations. Last year’s Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival raised $24,751.
Ohio Junction
In Dayton, Ohio, three of the largest arts organizations have formed the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, with a single management structure and three artistic directors. At press time the merger between the Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Ballet had been approved by each of the organizations’ boards, and a new DPAA board was in the process of being created. The DPAA leadership team includes Paul Helfrich, president of the Dayton Philharmonic, who is serving as president and CEO of the DPAA; Thomas Bankston, Dayton Opera’s artistic director; Neal Gittleman, Dayton Philharmonic’s conductor and artistic director; and Karen Russo Burke, Dayton Ballet’s artistic director. americanorchestras.org
Musical Chairs
Bay Area Youth Help the Homeless
LINDA CHARLTON
will step down as music director of the Phoenix Symphony when his contract expires in June 2013. He has been appointed music director of the Minnesota Opera, effective with the 2012-13 season.
MICHAEL CHRISTIE
San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque has promoted from general manager to the Robert A. Birman Executive Director Chair. MICHAEL COSTA
The Kansas City Symphony has announced two appointments, effective with the 2012-13 season: ARAM DEMIRJIAN , assistant conductor, and NOAH GELLER , concertmaster.
has been appointed education director at the Eugene (Ore.) Symphony.
JENNIFER DIAZ
Montana’s Glacier Symphony and Chorale has named MAGGIE DOHERTY patron services manager. The Des Moines (Iowa) Symphony has appointed development and special events manager.
ELAINE FOGDALL
has been elected president of the Wichita (Kan.) Symphony Society.
PHILLIP S. FRICK
At the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, KEVIN has been named to the newly created post of vice president for strategy and special initiatives.
GIGLINTO
HANS GRAF will step down as music director of the Houston Symphony when his contract expires at the end of the 2012-13 season.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Music Director MIGUEL HARTH-BEDOYA will take on an additional post as chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, effective in September 2012. The Peoria (Ill.) Symphony Orchestra has appointed SUSAN HOFFMAN executive director.
has been named media relations manager at the Cleveland Orchestra.
CHRISTINE HONOLKE
Hoffman
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Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Gaillard Auditorium, 2011
Mixing Art and Music in St. Louis
Lutman
ROSSEN MILANOV, music director of New Jersey’s Princeton Symphony Orchestra and Symphony in C (Camden), will take on an additional post as principal conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain, effective with the 2012-13 season.
has been promoted to president at Boosey & Hawkes Inc., where she will oversee the firm’s New York office.
ZIZI MUELLER
Colorado’s Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival has named JAMES W. PALERMO executive director, effective September 1, 2012.
has been appointed Helaine B. Allen Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
JESSICA SCHMIDT
The New York Pops has promoted ANNE M. SWANfrom general manager to executive director.
SON
JAMES WARD has been named president and CEO of the Phoenix Symphony.
South Carolina’s Greenville Symphony Orchestra has appointed TODD WEIR marketing director. has been named executive director of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra.
LEE A. WILLIAMSON
The Peninsula Music Festival (Ephraim, Wis.) has appointed IGOR YUZEFOVICH concertmaster.
Williamson
Talk to Us If you have any questions about the League, here’s how to get in touch. Advocacy • 202-776-0214 Development • 646-822-4034 Executive Office • 646-822-4062 Learning and Leadership Development • 646-822-4091 Marketing and Membership Development • 646-822-4080 Public Relations • 646-822-4027 Research and Development • 646-822-4004 Symphony • 646-822-4041
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Spoleto’s Year of John In China it’s the year of the dragon, but in Charleston it’s the year of John. In a concert of American premieres at South Carolina’s Spoleto Festival USA this May and June, Resident Conductor John Kennedy will lead the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra in works by sonic-freedom-fighter John Cage and rocker Jonny Greenwood. In this centennial year of Cage’s birth, Kennedy will lead Jonny Greenwood Cage’s 1991 triptych Twenty-six, Twenty-eight, and Twenty-nine, pieces that leave critical decisions (like whether to play or not) up to the musicians. On the same concert, 48 Responses to Polymorphia by Greenwood, lead guitarist for the band Radiohead, makes its debut; the John Cage piece is a response to Penderecki’s 1962 Polymorphia. Also scheduled is Doghouse, scored for string trio and orchestra and written during Greenwood’s 2010 residency with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The festival orchestra will also present works by Wagner, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky, the last public concerts in Gaillard Auditorium before a threeyear renovation.
Tucson Symphony Celebrates Arizona’s 100th
Arizona, the last of the contiguous states to join the U.S., marked 100 years of statehood in February, and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra was on hand to perform its “Arizona Centennial Celebration.” Music Director George Hanson led concerts at Tucson Music Hall on February 10 and 12 featuring the world premiere of James DeMars’s Desert Solitude, a three-movement suite for Native American flute and orchestra, with R. Carlos Nakai as soloist. Also on the program were Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, narrated by former Tucson Mayor Robert Walkup; Márquez’s Danzón No. 2, performed with the University of Arizona Dance Ensemble; and Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite, accompanied by images of the Grand Canyon by James Westwater.
Jason Evans
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra President and Managing Director SARAH LUTMAN has stepped down from that post to pursue a career as an independent consultant. She has established a consulting arrangement with the SPCO, and will assist the organization in the transition to new management.
Rex Rystedt
JUSTINE LAMB-BUDGE has been appointed concertmaster of the National Philharmonic in North Bethesda, Md.
William Struhs
Musical Chairs
The Seattle Symphony has announced two artistic appointments. STILIAN KIROV has been named Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor, effective in September 2012. ALEXANDER VELINZON begins his tenure as concertmaster in June 2012.
To mark its tenth anniversary this June, the St. Louis-based Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts will present three chamber music concerts programmed by David Robertson, music director at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. “Retrospectives and Innovations: A Celebration of 10 Years of The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts” will be held June 14-17 in the Pulitzer’s main gallery, with the exhibit In the Still Epiphany as the backdrop, and will include musicians from the St. Louis Symphony and the Brooklynbased ensemble So Percussion. The programs consist mostly of works composed in the last 40 years, and will each include at least one work performed previously at the Pulitzer and one work new to the venue, among them Unsuk Chin’s Fantaisie mécanique, which balances improvisation and structure, and David Lang’s the so-called laws of nature, an exploration of mathematical formulas in music. Other works, heard in the Pulitzer before, include Steve Reich’s trancelike Four Organs and George Crumb’s haunting Black Angels.
Members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra rehearse for the Pulitzer Contemporary Music Festival in the Pulitzer’s exhibition space.
symphony
spring 2012
Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
Musical Chairs
Paging All Musicians
Das Lied von der Cellphone
Three upcoming initiatives are casting the widest possible nets for emerging musical talent. In
Despite a 2003 law by the New York City Council banning the use of cellphones in performance halls, few concerts actually come off without electronic accents. Performers generally ignore the interruption, though, “because addressing it is sometimes worse than the disturbance itself.” This is what Alan Gilbert, music director of the New York Philharmonic, told his January 10 audience after stopping the orchestra thirteen bars before the end of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony because of a cellphone ring in the front row that persisted for six minutes. The incident was widely discussed—everywhere from Philadelphia composer Daniel Dorff ’s tweet “Changed my ringtone to play #Mahler 9 just in case” to YouTube recordings of Mahler’s Ninth with the ringtone superimposed. The patron, who later apologized, has been an orchestra subscriber for twenty years; he explained that he had gotten an iPhone the day before and was mortified to have upset “the very enduring and important bond between the audience and the performers,” he later told The New York Times.
January, Carnegie Hall announced the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of the U.S.A., which will meet for three weeks each summer beginning in 2013, before heading off to Washington, D.C.; Moscow; St. Petersburg; and London under the direction of Valery Gergiev. Carnegie is accepting audition videos from musicians ages 16 to 19 at carnegiehall.org/nyousa from June 1 through November 1. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is also accepting video applications for a new concerto competition, with the winner set to receive $10,000 and a performance with the PSO at Heinz Hall in November or December. While the date to submit videos, March 22, has passed, the public can pick favorites from twenty semifinalists through April 30. The top four finalists will audition in person for Pittsburgh Symphony Music Director Manfred Honeck on June 11. Finally, composer Lisa Bielawa is hoping to showcase some 600 amateur musicians in a September 2012 performance of her 60-minute piece Tempelhof Broadcast at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, site of the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift. A call for musician-participants is included on the project’s tumblr site, tempelhofbroadcast.tumblr.com/news.
Ice, Ice, Baby Courtesy The Juilliard School
americanorchestras.org
Chronic Creative
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate during the orchestra’s 2012 New Music Festival
For its 21st annual New Music Festival, from January 28 to February 3, Canada’s Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra looked north—way north, to Iceland. Co-curated by WSO Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate and Composer-in-Residence Vincent Ho, the event featured works by Icelandic composers Kjartan Sveinsson, Daníel Bjarnason, Valgeir Sigurdsson, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Atli Heimir Sveinsson, among other composers. The final tally: five world, four North American, and three Canadian premieres, as well as recent works by the likes of Kaija Saariaho and Nico Muhly. Sponsored by IMRIS, the festival attracted more than 8,000 new-music fans, including many from Winnipeg’s Icelandic community. Several of the concerts are available online; visit the Winnipeg Symphony’s website for links. In May of 2014, look for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall as part of Spring for Music, the annual festival that spotlights highly creative programming at North American orchestras.
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A Bias for the Violin
Symphony is always on the lookout for gifted music writers, and three young journalists with a love of classical music recently submitted articles for consideration. At McVey Elementary School in East Meadow, Long Island (N.Y.), students in Mr. Targove’s fifth-grade class were assigned to write an essay on the topic of “bias.” Rather than discuss the negative connotations of the term, three students—Arianna Calabrese, Gillian Ramirez, and Juvaria Zahid—focused on “bias” in the sense of personal preference. And their personal preferences, it turns out, are for the violin, which they are learning to play. The girls’ parents say that their children are passionate about the instrument and classical music; one mother says that her daughter “hates to put her violin down, even when doing homework.” Kerry Dunne, principal at McVey, reports that culture is included as part of the school’s language-arts program. The articles are printed with permission.
VanBesien Begins New Post
Matthew VanBesien assumed leadership of the New York Philharmonic on March 1, succeeding Zarin Mehta, the orchestra’s executive director since 2000. He will work with Mehta at the Philharmonic during a transitional period through the end of the 2011-12 season. VanBesien’s new post follows a two-year stint as managing director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Australia. Prior to Melbourne, the St. Louis native had spent seven years at the Houston Symphony, first as general manager and subsequently as chief executive officer. A graduate of Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in French horn performance, VanBesien began his orchestral career as a member of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, serving as second horn from 1992 to 2000. The switch to management was prompted by his participation in the League of American Orchestras’ Orchestra Management Fellowship Program in 2001-02. Philharmonic Chairman Gary Parr remarked that VanBesien’s “knowledge, creative passion, and reverence for Philharmonic tradition will be remarkable assets to the orchestra and the institution. The synergy of his ideas and the vision of [Music Director] Alan Gilbert for the future of the Philharmonic make him the ideal choice.”
James Penlidis
Matthew VanBesien
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Courtesy of Kevin Mazur/WireImage for United Way of New York City
Jay-Z performs with Alicia Keys at Carnegie Hall to benefit United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation.
That’s a Rap They may seem like strange bedfellows, but there have been some surprising overtures recently between classical music and hip-hop. In a February 1 column at the Huffington Post, Grammy-winning hip-hop producer Drumma Boy, son of an opera singer and a Memphis Symphony Orchestra clarinetist, paid tribute to his classical roots, riffing, “There is an electric synergy between the two genres of Classical and Crunk, but one has to have a discerning ear to recognize the instinctive connection. … If people were a little more like Beethoven, closed their ears and actually listened, the relationship between two genres that, on the surface, seem polar opposites, wouldn’t be such a far-fetched idea.” As if to prove Drumma Boy’s point, on February 6 rap icon Jay-Z played a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall backed up by 40-piece orchestral arrangements from Daniel Felsenfeld and featuring appearances from singer-songwriter Alicia Keys and rapper Nas. (Former Symphony editor Jayson Greene reviewed the event for GQ.)
New Orchestra Says Aloha
Twain Newhart
Professional orchestral music is back in Honolulu. On March 4, the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, made up of many of the musicians of the defunct Honolulu Symphony, launched its inaugural season at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Naoto Otomo led a program of Weber’s Overture to Oberon, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with Lisa Nakamichi, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and Virginia Symphony, has been serving as artistic consultant, helping plan a spring full of well-known classics by Dvoˇrák, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and others, and appearances by Honolulu favorites such as cellist Zuill Bailey and pianist Jon Kimura Parker. The formation of the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra was announced last June after the 110-year old Honolulu Symphony declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in late 2010.
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Dan Kamin
Comecdeyrtos Con 412-563-0468
www.dankamin.com
questions
critical
Investing in the Future An economist’s controversial but must-read study highlights the need for astute financial planning on the part of orchestra leaders. A new toolkit from the League will help identify the challenges and point to solutions.
R
obert Flanagan’s recently released book, The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras: Artistic Triumphs and Economic Challenges (Yale University Press), has something to make everyone bristle, from marketing and development staffs, musicians, trustees, and managers to soloists and conductors. To make matters worse, his tone is clinical and he uses the language of pathology. But then again, Flanagan is an economist—they don’t call it the dismal science for nothing! But when is the last time a credentialed social scientist took a rigorous look at the business of orchestras? As a field and here at the League we have increased our focus over the last five years on strengthening board and staff leadership, enhancing artistic vibrancy, and finding new ways to engage with our communities. Flanagan’s book addresses the other area that is critical for orchestras’ successful future: financial health. For me, the book’s overarching significance is that it clearly lays out the imperative for decision making based on facts as opposed to inherited wisdom. And the author argues persuasively for the need for boards to resist pressure to satisfy near-term financial needs at the expense of long-term stability. Read the book, no matter how much you may not like what it has to say. Orchestras can’t afford to ignore the issues it raises. Flanagan analyzed nineteen years of
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orchestra financial data drawn from the League’s Orchestra Statistical Reports (OSRs). The main sample consists of the orchestras that had the 50 largest budgets for at least two years between 1987 and 2005, a sample of 63 orchestras. These orchestras showed an increasing gap between performance expense and performance income during the years studied. Flanagan attributes the increase to the performing arts “cost disease” that economists Baumol and Bowen first identified in 1966: the fact that it takes the same
The author argues persuasively for the need for boards to resist pressure to satisfy nearterm financial needs at the expense of long-term stability. number of musicians the same amount of time to perform the Brahms Second today as it did when it was written in 1877. This means that technology cannot help orchestras increase productivity to offset their growing costs. Flanagan then offers evidence for the impact of both business cycles and structural issues on the growing deficits, showing that deficits continue to grow even when business cycles are factored out. Many of us might ask, “So what— hasn’t it always been so? And aren’t we still here?” After all, Phil Hart’s landmark 1973 book Orpheus in the New World looked at the growth in structural deficits between 1961 and 1971 and found they
Klaus Lucka
by Jesse Rosen
Jesse Rosen, president and CEO, League of American Orchestras
increased by 178 percent. By the mid1970s American orchestras were in their heyday, lengthening seasons, active in recording and television, increasing wages, etc. But Flanagan’s analysis clarifies how the strategies orchestras have employed to fill the gap simply are not working anymore. He shows that adding concerts has the effect of lowering per-concert attendance, which means there is not enough incremental revenue to offset the additional costs. He re-introduces us to the NEA’s Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) report from 2008, which shows steep declines in participation in classical music—along with every other performing art and many commercial forms of art, entertainment, and sports. The SPPA report concludes that the classical music audience is getting older and that people with college educations (the largest predictor of classical concert attendance) are participating less, at a time when the highest proportion ever of the population has college degrees. (The report is available online at americanorchestras.org; search for “Public Participation.”) Flanagan also points to a changing landscape in which the proportion of all arts philanthropy has been declining steadily since the 1990s. Add to this the multiplicity of choices available for leisure symphony
spring 2012
not solve the problem. They simply push it down the road. So, what to do? Flanagan provides some of his most interesting analyses in his chapter on endowments and governance. I was delighted to find this 1958 quote from the iconic former League CEO Helen Thompson:
time activity, the competition for arts funding that now places orchestras as only one among many musical genres vying for support, and the continuing perception of orchestras as serving a narrow slice of the public—a slice that can well afford to accomplish its goals without the benefit of public or private institutional support. For an example of this thinking, see the recent
report commissioned by the National Center for Responsive Philanthropy and presented to the Grant Makers in the Arts Conference last fall, which argues that large-budget arts organizations delivering the “Western canon” receive a disproportionately large share of foundation money. (The report is available online at ncrp.org; search for “Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change.”) These are only some of the factors telling us that the future is already here, that it’s not like anything we’ve encountered before, and that it is time to respond. Those who believe that our current challenges result from the failure of orchestra marketing and development may conclude otherwise after reading Flanagan’s book.
Yale University Press
Beyond Breaking Even
americanorchestras.org
One of the greatest barriers [to getting the long-term benefits of endowments] is the efforts of current claimants to obtain the benefits of endowment resources at the expense of future claimants.
The League has spent many years studying various aspects of orchestra operations in an attempt to isolate those factors which seem to predispose an orchestra toward success or failure. Invariably, investigation into these factors leads back to the orchestra’s governing board, which holds the power to engage personnel, formulate and carry out basic policies of operation. The story of a successful orchestra is, in reality, the story of an effective board.
The book clearly lays out the imperative for decision making based on facts as opposed to inherited wisdom.
Balancing the budget is essential but not sufficient to address orchestras’ needs. While for many years orchestras have broken even and met increasing expenses with more fundraising, cost controls, and musician concessions, as a field we have lost significant opportunities. It is the rare orchestra balance sheet that has sufficient cash reserves for evening out cash flows, or sufficient savings for the inevitable next down cycle, or sufficient dedicated funds for innovation. And Flanagan points out that the “cost disease” accumulates over time, so operating deficits not only persist, they increase over time. This means that one-time solutions involving an “angel donor” or an increased endowment draw do
chasing power. These tradeoffs should be a focus of any orchestra’s investment committee deliberations. As Flanagan writes:
Flanagan’s analysis of endowment draws and investment results clearly makes the case that orchestra investment committees should pay closer attention to these tensions and exercise discipline. His analysis also accentuates the board’s critical responsibility to engage in the “long view” financial planning and decisionmaking that promote long-term fiscal health. In this context, it follows that One of the board’s functions is to boards should consider terms for their establish investment policy and oversee chairs that are long enough to develop endowment performance. Flanagan notes and implement plans that span more than that when costs can be anticipated to rise either a one-, two-, or three-year term, annually—for example, at 4 percent—an or the term of a labor contract cycle. In comparing investment results from 32 orchestras with similar investment allocations, Flanagan finds an unusually wide variation in investment results. After acknowledging that different boards will have differing tolerances for Robert J. Flanagan, author of The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras: risk, he finds that Artistic Triumphs and Economic Challenges, from Yale University Press even those whose investment choices reveal similar risk annual draw of 5 percent must be accomtolerance are still getting differing results. panied by a nominal return of 9 percent To Flanagan, this signals inefficiencies on the endowment value to support a in endowment management that boards constant level of activities in the future. need to address. While the current volatility of the markets Flanagan also discusses the range of may make this seem like a pipe dream, local market circumstances that impact Flanagan’s analysis of endowment draws orchestras. He touches on the economic and investment results clearly points out capacity of a community to support an the tradeoffs between meeting near-term orchestra and the competitive nature of inoperating needs and sustaining future pur-
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dividual markets. He points to population size, per capita income, and unemployment rates as important factors. He dips his toe in the water of local competition by testing for the interrelationship between audiences for opera and for orchestras in his sample markets, and finds a “statistically significant but small” correlation. There is room here for more analysis of the impact of local presenters, particularly those that present orchestras and classical music, regional clusters of orchestras, university concert series, ballet, and commercial arts activity, in a metro area. An analysis that looks holistically at an arts ecology could stimulate planning that would take in to account a variety of external factors beyond an orchestra’s own ambitions. The result could be greater efficiencies, collaborations, and scaling the activity to the market. Incidentally, the discussion of local market diversity raises some cautionary flags about our field’s traditional benchmark-
ing practice. Comparing one orchestra to another with a similar annual budget is a blunt and potentially misleading form of assessment. As a field we have tended to compare ourselves to one another while looking at single “national” models of suc-
Too often, financial challenges come as a surprise when the time for remedy is short and the options for solutions narrow. cess in all arenas, from musicians’ wages to length of seasons, expenditures on soloists, return on income generating investments, etc. How helpful can this be when local competitive markets and economic capacity are so widely variable? Elsewhere in the book Flanagan takes time to wonder whether high-priced soloists generate a sufficient return to justify their expense, and whether or not
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A previous study, Phil Hart’s landmark 1973 book Orpheus in the New World, looked at the history and growth of American orchestras— and found orchestras’ uncertain financial status to be “a matter of national concern.”
orchestras have even asked the question. While the economic impact of such choices is worth noting—and in my experience orchestras routinely do the cost-benefit analysis—these choices are typically informed by artistic drivers, as they should be. He examines musicians’ salaries and finds that they increased at rates in excess of equivalent jobs in the economy. However, other data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, cited in a blog by my predecessor Henry Fogel, showed that the annual increase in the salary of the orchestras Flanagan studied was generally equivalent to rates of compensation growth for liberal arts college faculty, employees of hospitals, and other health service industry employees. Here it is appropriate to acknowledge the limitations of national aggregated data. Regardless of any discrepancy noted by Flanagan, among the individual orchestras in the sample (to say nothing of the hundreds of smaller orchestras outside the sample) there is a wide variation of salary for both staff and musicians. So there may in some circumstances be very good reasons to increase and even accelerate the rate of increase of musicians’ wages. However, no individual or orchestra benefits from adding expense that cannot be sustained. Flanagan’s prescription for orchestras’ future is not news; he concludes there symphony
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Orchestras have learned that there is no single approach to a healthy future. Instead, each orchestra needs to explore what will work for its organization and its particular community. are no silver bullets. For him fiscal health comes down to manipulating three levers, which must all be in play—no single one will do: 1) raise performance income, 2) slow the growth of expenses, and 3) increase non-performance income. He further comments on the reluctance of orchestras to tackle the second of these imperatives. If Flanagan’s three-pronged prescription seems somewhat simplistic, and begs the question “What can orchestras really do?” I would answer as follows: Start by fully understanding and being transparent
about your near- and long-term financial condition. To help orchestras do this essential work, the League is introducing a planning toolkit that “diagnoses” fiscal health by identifying any vulnerability in near- and long-term plans. While we debate the national trends and their causes, I think we can all agree that a critical first step in improved fiscal management is a clear understanding of current and future risks. Too often, financial challenges come as a surprise when the time for remedy is short and the options for solutions narrow. The toolkit is designed to help managers identify potential problems as part of their planning process as well as to improve transparency, as it strongly encourages that board, musician, and staff leadership all have access to the tool’s outputs. The tool will be available to members later this spring. Returning to Flanagan, it is important to recognize that he views orchestras only
through one lens. His book does not and cannot address factors such as organizational culture, quality of leadership, relevance and quality of programming and performance, and community engagement. These factors often add significant layers of complexity to what may seem on the surface to be a simple formula. Orchestras have learned that there is no single approach to a healthy future. Instead, each orchestra needs to explore what will work for its organization and its particular community. Still, I encourage you to make it a subject of conversation within your orchestras among trustees, musicians, and management. It’s not important that everyone agrees. What is important is that Flanagan provides a fact-based platform for analyzing your own business decisions, and for running your orchestra with a solid fiscal foundation on which to deliver your mission.
Weill Music Institute
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Corey Seeman
No w
National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America In the summer of 2013, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute brings together the brightest young players (ages 16–19) from across the country to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. Following a comprehensive audition process and a two-week training residency with leading professional orchestra musicians, these remarkable teenagers embark on an international tour to some of the great music capitals of the world.
Registration Deadline: September 7, 2012 carnegiehall.org/nyousa nyo-usa@carnegiehall.org | 212-424-2024 Important funding for the launch of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America has been provided by Joan and Sanford I. Weill and The Weill Family Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, and Ann Ziff.
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Bringing out the best in US
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talk
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Board members are on the front lines as orchestras maneuver through thorny economic and cultural challenges. Two distinguished leaders discuss what it takes to be an effective board member today. by Robert Sandla
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ustainability. Fiscal responsi bility. Diversity. Endowments. Underwater endowments. Executive-director searches. Community connections. Serving on an orchestra’s board of directors can be immensely satisfying— but the job also comes with its fair share of challenges and complexities, many of them unique to the field. Strong governance is essential to the efficient functioning of nonprofit organizations, but it can be daunting to get up to speed on all the topics involved. And as seldom before, nonprofit organizations and their boards are coming under new scrutiny. We caught up recently with two board leaders with extensive experience on orchestra boards to talk about the evolving roles of boards of directors. Lowell Noteboom, chairman of the League of American Orchestras’ Board of Directors, has written and lectured extensively on the subject of nonprofit governance and strategic planning. An attorney, he has focused his communitybased activities in the areas of music education and orchestras; he’s a past chairman of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, a member of the Board of Overseers at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, and serves on a variety of other nonprofit and for-profit boards. As president of the San Francisco Symphony for the past ten seasons, John D. Goldman has overseen tremendous
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growth in the orchestra’s artistic profile under Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, leading-edge media projects, and expansion of the orchestra’s education and community programs. Active in the Bay Area’s community and philanthropic endeavors, Goldman was also recently appointed by President Barack Obama to the Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Robert Sandla: The economy and the cultural scene are changing fast, and orchestras are facing a lot of challenges. But are those challenges unique to the present moment? John Goldman: There are underlying issues and challenges that have long have faced orchestras. But the economy has exacerbated those issues and brought them to the forefront. Many of these forces have been endemic to the industry—especially structural deficits—and have been covered over in better times. So everything has become more acute. But the fundamental issues have always been there. Lowell Noteboom: One of the debates in the industry has been whether the stress being felt by orchestras is cyclical and will improve when the business or economic cycle improves, or whether we’re dealing with something more fundamental and structural—that is worse in bad economic times and continues at unacceptable levels even in good times.
Jeff Roffman Photography
Charting a Path Lowell Noteboom, chairman of the League of American Orchestras’ Board of Directors, at the League’s 2010 National Conference
The evidence shows that it’s both of those things. In good business cycles, we’ve either been able to camouflage it or somehow better cope with it. But what we’re facing and what we have to address, what I think is really the underlying governance challenge, is structural. High fixed costs that continue to grow and declining audiences are chief among them. Having been involved with a number of large and small orchestras that are in distress, I am more convinced than ever that we must address not only the financial deficits but also the governance deficits. To navigate these troubled waters orchestras need strong boards that are really engaged, focused on the right stuff, and have the courage to act. I think it’s all about governance. Sandla: How do boards work to ensure sustainability? Noteboom: Let’s start with the fact that boards need to fully understand all the realities of their financial situation and that they are dealing not just with shortterm financial stability, such as balancing this year’s budget, but with longer-term financial viability. They should be doing financial planning five years out, not one year out—and strategies for the orchestra should be capitalized in the sense that they know where the money is going to come from. Goldman: In San Francisco, one of the things that has made us relatively successful is that our board is populated by individuals who aren’t serving simply to build up their resumes; they are active, they are involved, and they are passionate. People seek out being on our board not only because the expectations are high, but also because we’re recognized as a well-run organization. symphony
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americanorchestras.org
San Francisco Symphony
Sandla: What is the board’s role in your organization? Goldman: The board is charged with making the critical policy decisions and charting the organization’s path. At the San Francisco Symphony, we’re very much a volunteer-led organization. Lowell and I have been involved with organizations that are not volunteer-led; when you have rotation of board chairs or presidents every couple of years, it becomes more staff-driven. There’s not as much involvement on the part of the volunteers when there’s regular turnover in leadership. And that’s one of the things that’s unique for us: we have what some may call “endlessterms” participation and a longstanding presence of volunteers. It’s important to build a culture of involvement and know that oversight on policy and financial matters is done without getting involved in day-to-day management. Sandla: Should there be an expectation, particularly for board chairs, of a certain length of service? And on the other side, should there be term limits? Noteboom: Continuity of service is invaluable. On the staff side, we would never think of hiring a new CEO every two years or simply have people take turns in that role. Nor would we want any other significant staff position to rotate every two or three years. Too many orchestras do precisely that with their board leadership position. It is no better to have high rotation in board leadership than it would be in the CEO or senior staff positions, because the board’s role is so vital and the board leadership is so critical. Longer is better, provided the person has the capacity and willingness to serve and that it doesn’t create a situation where the board member overstays his or her effectiveness. The San Francisco Symphony has been a wonderful example of how longer-term service is even better. John is in, I think, his eleventh year. Goldman: I’ll have served eleven years when I’m finished in October. Noteboom: And John’s predecessor served fourteen years. An important part of that orchestra’s stability and growth over those 25 years has been incredible
John D. Goldman, president of the San Francisco Symphony’s Board of Directors
continuity of leadership. Term limits were imposed historically because boards didn’t trust themselves to help the nonproductive board members to leave; they’ve used term limits as a crutch. But term limits deny continuing service from really good board members, and it’s better to find another way to help the non-engaged board members to leave, than to have everybody be subject to term limits. Goldman: Symphony organizations are quite complex, given the multitude
“The Bay Area is quite diverse, and we have made an effort at all levels to be more reflective of the diversity, ethnically and otherwise, in our society.” —John Goldman of constituencies with which they’re engaged. It takes time to see how the pieces fit and to be in a position to address the issues of every constituency. As far as term limits, I agree with Lowell. We have three-year terms for board members, but there is no limit to the number of terms that one can serve. We have expectations that we review with every new and existing member of the board, and we review each person’s compliance with those expectations every year. If there is an issue with any one of them, we’ll bring it to the attention of that individual and ensure that this is a good fit with them and with us. And if they can’t comply, that’s an opportunity for us to say, “Well, maybe this isn’t the best place for you.” This raises the topic of self-assessment. Each year for the past four years, the board has evaluated me and my performance, as well as the effectiveness of the
board in general. This has fostered some good thinking about what we can do to make the experience better and is a great feedback loop to learning what we can do to improve. We figure out what to do and bolster areas that might not be as successful. That’s important in getting us to a stronger place as a board and reflects the interaction that’s needed among board, administration, and musicians. Noteboom: This evaluative process works both ways: to provide constructive feedback to the leader and to own the question of whether that continuing leadership is right for the organization. Sandla: How do you interest a diverse range of individuals in board service? Goldman: That’s something near and dear to me. Since the beginning of my tenure as president, I have emphasized how important it is for us to reflect our community. The Bay Area is quite diverse, and we have made an effort at all levels—including board, administration, and, to the extent that we can, in the orchestra itself—to be more reflective of the diversity, ethnically and otherwise, in our society. One effort that I’ve insisted on is a goal that half of our incoming board reflects the diversity of our community. Our executive director, Brent Assink, fully subscribes to this objective, and we’ve made progress on the board and administrative fronts. For the orchestra, it’s much tougher because we have blind auditions. That’s a big issue: how do you attract people of color and diverse backgrounds to be players? You can’t go out and say, “I want this person.” You hope that there are two or three candidates of equal talent, and then, perhaps, diversity comes into play. I think we all recognize that, to attract a broader audience, we have to reflect the demographics of our community. Noteboom: John, do you work at diversifying the staff of the San Francisco Symphony? Goldman: Yes, we do. We don’t have a lot of turnover because our staff is excellent and committed to staying with us, but whenever there’s an open position, we do take that into consideration.
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San Francisco Symphony
Following John Goldman’s retirement this fall after a decade as president of the San Francisco Symphony, Sakurako Fisher, shown here with Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, will lead the orchestra’s board of directors.
Noteboom: What we’ve learned as an industry over the last several years is that orchestras must be more than institutions that put on performances in halls and expect the community to come and consume what we provide in that venue. We must engage with our communities in a twoway process in a much more complete way than was historically understood. And if we’re going to have a true two-way relationship with our community, then we need people on our board and staff who come from the diversity of our community to help us make those connections. It’s essential to our mission. Sandla: This feels like a change in course for what orchestras have traditionally been. The notion of excellence, of the canon—is that changing? Noteboom: This isn’t a matter of
dumbing it down or reducing the quality standards. This is a matter of understanding that, in addition to mounting the finest performances possible, we have to be much more engaged with our community if we expect the community to be engaged with us. Goldman: I’ll add one more point: orchestras would be nowhere if they weren’t excellent. What we have strived to do for years is not only to make a symphony experience more accessible, so it’s not just a purview of the privileged, but also go out into the community. We strive to engage our Chinese and Hispanic populations by having special concerts. And we’re going to continue to broaden our base of activity to reach further into society, including the free concerts that we do. Sandla: Where do you think things will stand for orchestras and their communities ten or twenty years from now? Noteboom: The music will survive, and orchestras will survive and thrive in proportion to their ability to adapt as their local cultural and philanthropic patterns change. Doing things the same old way and expecting improved results when our environment is undergoing significant change makes no sense. The vast majority of our orchestras are not going to disappear, because communities will want live music. But those that don’t adapt and
Governance Resources The League of American Orchestras offers a vast array of resources for orchestra board members. The League’s Governance Center, made possible by MetLife Foundation, spotlights the most up-to-date information about governance to help board members tackle the issues they are facing now. “There are many things that the League provides for its members,” says John Goldman, president of the San Francisco Symphony. “Clearly, advocacy and education are key elements, but I think that the toolkits are a critical adjunct, especially for board development.” Among the resources at The Governance Center are self-assessment tools; a toolkit to help communicate public value; and audio and video interviews in which board members share their strategies and tactics. In addition, The Governance Center connects board members with governance experts through conference calls, mentoring circles, and discussion groups. The Governance Center also features vlogs, among them League Chairman Lowell Noteboom’s “Avoiding the Governance Deficit.” And the League’s National Conference, June 5-8 in Dallas, includes sessions and meetings exclusively for board members, about which Goldman comments, “There’s nothing better and more impactful than getting people in similar positions together to talk about the issues in an unfettered and unrestrained matter.” Find out more about The Governance Center at americanorchestras.org.
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change will be at much greater risk. I started this conversation by saying it’s all about governance. But I would say it’s also all about accessibility. That means both location and price. The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra has greatly expanded the concerts that we do in neighborhood venues all across the metropolitan area. We still do a full season of performances at our main downtown venue, but we also do 60 or 70 performances a year in suburban communities. And the second thing we’ve done is dramatically reduce ticket prices so that you can go to those concerts for a top price of $25. With both location and pricing we are eliminating barriers to entry. That has allowed us to grow our subscription sales by 40 percent during a time when other orchestras generally have continued to see decline. Whether it’s location or ticket price or a half a dozen other things, accessibility is the key to the future. Goldman: We’re part of the entire entertainment field, and we have to make going to a concert a viable alternative to other entertainment choices. We also must be an organization that addresses how people listen to music—and today, they listen electronically and over the Web. Who knows where technology is going? One of our goals is to not only disseminate the music we create but also receive music—and performances—from around the world and integrate that into our performances and activities. It’s a different model entirely from just concerts in the hall. Noteboom: That kind of innovation is what matters. This field needs to continue to explore what San Francisco, Saint Paul, and other people are doing to adapt and change and engage their communities. Those are the laboratories where we as a field will figure out what can work. It has to fit the local community. At the end of the day, this is not about one-size-fits-all. It’s about being innovative and recognizing the dynamics and needs in your own community. ROBERT SANDLA is editor in chief of Symphony.
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League of American Orchestras National Conference June 5 – 8
Dallas Hosted by
League
At The
Conference Camaraderie
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hy do nearly a thousand board members, managers, musicians, and volunteers of America’s orchestras—from more than 250 orchestras and related organizations— make the annual pilgrimage to the League’s National Conference? With the advent of technology, and the League putting materials from key Conference sessions online within hours, why go to the expense of being there? I asked three seasoned Conference attendees about why they attend the Conference, which this year runs from June 5 to 8 in Dallas, hosted by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Despite the geographic range and divergent sizes of their orchestras, all three find value in the Conference for similar reasons. First, just being there—having the experience of interacting in person with colleagues is something you don’t get sitting in your office and watching Conference highlights on YouTube. As Mark Hanson, president and CEO of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, says, “I have not missed a Conference in my fourteen-year career. I find it personally and professionally beneficial, and an opportunity to reconnect with many people I have built relationships with. I appreciate the repeated interaction through attending every year.” J.L. Nave, president and CEO of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, describes the Conference as “my source of
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personal and professional renewal. There is no one in Fort Wayne who does what I do, so it is vital to be around others who share my issues and challenges. I can exchange information with friends and colleagues. It is very rewarding.” Attendees have come to rely on the ideas exchanged and connections made at Conference. Both Hanson and Nave speak of the spirit of rejuvenation they felt. “The Conference exposes you to ideas; it’s energizing, and there’s no price tag you can put on mental rejuvenation,” says Hanson. “As a result, I am part of the orchestra field, which has important and challenging work to do. We can all benefit from collective brainstorming and problem-solving through regular interaction.” One might expect larger institutions like the orchestras of Houston and Fort Wayne to appreciate the investment in the Conference, but what of smaller-budget orchestras? Jamie Steinemann, executive director of the Firelands Symphony Orchestra in Sandusky, Ohio, says that after attending her first Conference, she never questioned its value. “My board chair and I attended our first conference a few months after we took over our respective positions,” Steinemann recalls. “Neither of us had orchestra management experience, and we took copious notes. The first two Conferences we attended provided a framework for success. We applied the structure and principles learned in the Conference and turned our orchestra
around from almost insolvent to a successful, thriving model regional orchestra. I attend the Conference each year, gleaning new ideas and strategies to continue moving the orchestra forward. We’ve adopted ideas and strategies on pricing, marketing, development, governance, and finance that all have contributed to our success. Our orchestra is now a model nonprofit in the community, and I am often asked to share insight on nonprofit management principles. Most of these skills were developed through the training and advice offered by the League of American Orchestras.” Conference is a must-attend for orchestra leaders, but what about staff members? Hanson says that “The Conference Conference is for exposes you to ideas; it’s energizing, and all his coworkthere’s no price tag ers: “I know it is you can put on mental hard to find the rejuvenation.” —Mark resources to send Hanson, president people to Confer- and CEO, Houston ence, but it really Symphony Orchestra is an investment and not a cost. I’d say to any of my executive-director colleagues that your people will come back energized and with unlimited new ideas and contacts. I would hate for us to miss the real-time knowledge of the field we gain and the clear sense of what is happening. I always try to send as many staff, board members, musicians, and volunteers as possible. I know they benefit from the rejuvenation process—plus when we Bruce Bennett
The League’s 2012 National Conference—which takes place June 5-8 in Dallas—is a unique opportunity to connect with colleagues. Russell Jones, the League’s vice president for marketing and membership development, looks ahead.
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“Thanks to two League Conferences my board chair and I turned our orchestra around from almost insolvent to a successful, thriving orchestra. We received the cost back in spades.” —Jamie Steinemann, executive director, Firelands Symphony Orchestra
Can your orchestra afford not to be at Conference? With more than 100 different sessions addressing the questions, issues, and concerns you have, the League of American Orchestra National Conference is the place to be June 5 – 8. Here’s a quick glance at some of the serious learning we’ve got planned – visit americanorchestra.org for a complete list of sessions! Building Your Board’s Fundraising Muscles How Labor and Management Came Together at the Ford Motor Company Beyond Breakeven: An Update Orchestras Ascending Setting Realistic Fundraising Goals Conducting Masterclass with Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra YouTube Symphony Orchestra: Key Results and Applications
League of American Orchestras National Conference June 5 – 8
Dallas Hosted by
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tangible benefit, and the costs take care of themselves.” If cost is a concern, the Firelands Symphony’s Steinemann offers some advice. “After returning from the first Conference and hearing about the experience and seeing the results, my board has never questioned the value of the Conference expense,” she says. “We have received the cost back in spades and recognize that in order to continue moving the orchestra forward, we need to continue to get our inspiration, advice, and tools from the experts. Ask your state arts agency for possible available grants as well as local community foundations and other local funding sources. The planning and management tools you will receive will more than offset the cost and contribute to an improved business “It is vital to be around model for your others who share my orchestra.” issues and challenges. And what do I can exchange these orchestra information with friends executives say and colleagues at the they’d miss most if Conference.” —J.L. Nave, president and they could not CEO, Fort Wayne attend the Philharmonic Conference? All three are in agreement: they’d miss the opportunity for professional growth and development as well as the support and camaraderie of peers. As Nave puts it, “I have been coming to Conference for more than a decade. I’d miss the rejuvenating quality of the interaction with my peers, but if I didn’t get a return I wouldn’t come back. Fortunately, I always do, and I don’t expect Dallas to be any different.” Joel Faurote
Firelands Photography
all return we are able to share our experiences and knowledge with more of the Houston Symphony family.” But when resources are as tight as they are for everyone right “We applied the structure and principles now, how do you learned in the make the case to Conference and turned board and managour orchestra around ers that attending from almost insolvent to a successful, thriving the Conference is an investment and regional orchestra.” —Jamie Steinemann, not a cost? Fort executive director, Wayne’s Nave Firelands Symphony argues that it is Orchestra one of the most important and strategic investments he makes all year, and he encourages as many staff, board, and volunteers to attend as possible—the orchestra has been represented by a team of thirteen in the past, many of whom paid their own way. “There has never been a year in which we didn’t come home with ideas and plans that went on to outweigh the expense of attending,” he says. “Before Conference starts we look as a team at what’s on offer, how we will allocate our time and attendance at sessions and focus on what we have to get from each session that will offset our expenses. We have found ways to make cost savings; met face-to-face with artists’ managers and negotiated upcoming engagements; heard about revenue-generation ideas we went on to implement; thought afresh about how we do our annual-fund campaign; and learned so much from the various round tables and constituency meetings. When you think of it that clearly, it becomes easy to measure the
Only Connect The League of American Orchestras’ 2012 National Conference: June 5-8 in Dallas, Texas, hosted by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Join your peers from orchestras nationwide at the Sheraton Dallas for learning, networking, and extraordinary music. American Airlines offers a generous airfare discount for League members. Visit americanorchestras.org/conference_2012 to learn more and to register.
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At the core of the coming League Conference are three different but interconnected plenary sessions that underline the ways in which American orchestras continue to evolve. On the topic of management and labor relations, the Conference takes a look outside our field at a new model through keynote addresses by Jimmy Settles Jr., vice president of the United Auto Workers, and Marty Mulloy, vice president of labor affairs at Ford Motor Company. These representatives from labor and management explain how they came together to help save the auto industry. This session will spill over into a meeting that examines possible implications for orchestras. The second plenary session features thought leader and innovation guru Jeff DeGraff, whose expertise has been shared at such think tanks as the Aspen Institute and with companies including 3M, Apple, American Airlines, and Coca-Cola. DeGraff is focused on how to lead innovation: developing the culture, capabilities, and collaborative connections that result in revenue and market growth. Finally, the Conference offers an opportunity to affirm our belief in the power of music as a force for good. Carnegie Hall Executive and Artistic Director Clive Gillinson will issue a call to action to our field for an integrated approach to serve music, and our wider communities, through a single unified mission. There are dozens of other sessions at the 2012 Conference, with topics as diverse as Check This Out, which features orchestras’ most creative projects as voted on by League members, and a master class with Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for emerging conductors working on Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7. Find details of the Conference offerings—Perspectives, Toolboxes, Constituency Meetings, Exhibitors, social gatherings, and sponsored events—as well as the Conference concert and Tune Up Party, hosted by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, at americanorchestras.org/ conference_2012. symphony
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The North Carolina Symphony’s Dvoˇrák events opened with a February 12 performance of the “American” String Quartet at Raleigh’s Humble Pie Restaurant. Pictured are NCS musicians Dovid Friedlander and Maria Evola, violins; Christopher Fischer, viola; and Peng Li, cello. Leading the audience discussion is NCS Director of Artistic Programs Amy Russell.
Michael Zirkle
Worlds by Chester Lane
Through an NEH-funded consortium project called Music Unwound, three orchestras explore Dvoˇrák’s “New World” Symphony in a rich context of history, art, and literature.
Dvoˇrák was inspired by the vastness and grandeur of the American landscape in composing his “New World” Symphony, as suggested by Peter Bogdanoff in this collage used in the multi-venue “Dvorák and America” concerts.
Courtesy Pacific Symphony
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eekend getaways are an annual tradition at the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, but the one that took place last December was a bit unusual. Held at a retreat center a few miles north of Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, their performance venue in Costa Mesa, California, it featured a rehearsal structured around an audiovisual presentation and discussion led by music historian and educator Joseph Horowitz. A leading authority on Dvořák’s American period (1892-95) and the author of Dvořák in America, a book aimed primarily at teenaged readers, Horowitz was there to lead an exploration of the historical, biographical, and cultural circumstances surrounding the Czech composer’s final symphony— the work he had composed in New York during his brief tenure as director of the National Conservatory and had titled “From the New World.” It was this work that the PSYO would be performing in March, not just for an audience of parents and friends and supporters but for other students in the Orange County schools. symphony
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The youth orchestra was representing its parent organization, the Pacific Symphony, in a project also being undertaken this season by two professional orchestras, the Buffalo Philharmonic and the North Carolina Symphony. All three orchestras had programmed a “Dvořák and America” subscription concert designed to provide in-depth contextualization for the “New World” Symphony—through narration, song, orchestral excerpts, and an array of visual materials—followed, after intermission, by a complete performance of the work. The “Dvořák and America” concerts were scheduled for February, March, and April of this year, and each of the orchestras was working with schools or universiamericanorchestras.org
Charles Abbott
Dvoˇrák authority Joseph Horowitz (left) speaks up during a Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra workshop and rehearsal in December. On the podium is PSYO Music Director Maxim Eshkenazy, who led the young musicians in their March 4, 2012, performance of the “New World” Symphony at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
ties, museums, and chamber-music venues on activities that would enhance the value of the project in their communities. “Dvořák and America” is the first phase of Music Unwound, a project supported by a $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, awarded last year to a consortium of orchestras led by the Pacific Symphony and including the Buffalo Philharmonic, the North Carolina Symphony, and the Louisville Orchestra. A second phase of the project, now in the rudimentary planning stage, will focus on Aaron Copland and his connection to the music of Mexico. Music Unwound is a multi-year commitment to integrate language, literature, culture, philosophy, and
visual art with music, while forging new alliances among orchestras, museums, and educational institutions. And it’s the first public-programs grant that the NEH has awarded to an orchestra in a decade. In its use of multimedia to contextualize an orchestral work, the “Dvořák and America” project is part of a larger trend. In live concert settings, numerous orchestras have used narration, video, and slides to enhance the work they are performing. Video has also been used effectively outside the concert hall to contextualize orchestral works, a notable example being the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score series, which not only provides deep background for individual works—
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Forsyte says that in forming the consortium, he and Horowitz “reached out to other orchestras whose music directors or executive directors we felt would have an interest in community partnership efforts, and would have the education departments or the resources or the existing relationships to leverage this money from the NEH. It’s not [funding] that allows for adding staff or anything of that nature. What it’s really about is access to the resource materials, paying for Joe’s time as project coordinator and educator, and money for the guest artists who are playing a role in this.”
paintings produced by video artist Peter Bogdanoff. Excerpts are performed live by the orchestra—including one from John Knowles Paine’s Symphony No. 1, designed to show how closely the style of this American work from 1875 resembles that of Paine’s European models. And the show concludes with the “Hiawatha Melodrama,” a nine-minute performance piece devised by New York University Professor of Music Michael Beckerman, which pairs music from the Scherzo and Finale of “New World” with verses from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s mid-19th-century epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.
Courtesy Pacific Symphony
Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Ives’s Holidays Symphony, etc.—but actively humanizes the music director and musicians by having them talk on camera about the music and the performance. Live concerts pairing a complete performance of Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony with an in-depth exploration of its historical and cultural background have a precedent in the production that debuted in 2009 as part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Beyond the Score program, a series of multimedia presentations focusing on individual works that was created and written by CSO Artistic Programming Advisor Gerald McBurney and is available for licensing to other orchestras. Horowitz, who wrote the NEH grant proposal for Music Unwound in his capacity as artistic advisor to the Pacific Symphony, believes that “humanities-infused programming is a 21st-century template for American orchestras. It has to do not just with the concert experience and with rethinking the concert experience, but with impact in the community. What the grant proposal says is that this is the future for orchestras.” League of American Orchestras President and CEO Jesse Rosen has stated that he regards Music Unwound as “of the utmost significance not only to the participating organizations, but to the evolution of programming and audience building in American orchestras.” Music Unwound takes its title from a program at the Pacific Symphony, launched with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and dedicated to what Pacific Symphony President John Forsyte calls “everything related to experimenting with the various tools and strategies for audience engagement.” One of the most successful innovations to come out of that program, says Forsyte, has been the Pacific Symphony’s “Departures” series exploring the final orchestral works of important composers—the ninth symphonies of Mahler and Bruckner, for example—over a period of three years. The new NEH-funded consortium project, says Forsyte, “is much more than that. It’s about reaching into the community and finding ways to connect social and cultural themes to a broader population than those who strictly attend concerts.”
Albert Bierstadt’s The Buffalo Trail is one of the 19th-century American landscape paintings in Peter Bogdanoff’s collage shown during the first half of the “Dvoˇrák and America” concerts
Historical Themes, Local Variations
With the exception of the Buffalo Philharmonic’s April 27-28 concerts—which Music Director JoAnn Falletta has chosen to open with Dvořák’s Scherzo Capriccioso from 1883 in order to highlight the differences between his “European” or “Bohemian” style and what he composed a decade later in New York—the entire first half of each “Dvořák and America” concert is essentially the show that was presented by the New York Philharmonic in 2008 as part of its Inside the Music program. It employs a script by Horowitz, a vocal soloist demonstrating African American melody as it was experienced by the composer, and a collage of historical photos and 19th-century American landscape
As Horowitz writes in his book Dvořák in America, the Longfellow poem is an attempt by a Bostonian poet of distinguished European lineage to narrate, over the span of some 160 pages, “a golden age of precivilization and its twilit end: the passing of a noble race.” And the “Hiawatha Melodrama” is perhaps the most intriguing and original part of the “Dvořák and America” concerts. Beckerman calls it “an attempt to give the listener a sense of what might have inspired Dvořák” to evoke Native American culture in his “New World” Symphony. The Song of Hiawatha, originally published in 1855—and required reading for generations of schoolchildren well into the 20th century—had been translated into symphony
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Czech by a friend of Dvořák. The translation came out in the 1870s, says Beckerman, so Dvořák “probably knew it” before coming to the U.S. “I don’t think he read Longfellow’s lines and imagined the finished symphony, but the poem did inspire him to think in that direction, and the end product is the symphony.” As Horowitz explains, each of the “Dvořák and America” concerts may have a similar format, but outside of the concert hall the three orchestras’ projects were intended to “take on a life of their own.” The Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the North Carolina Symphony—organizations that are respectively county-based, city-based, and statewide in orientation—all tailored
calls “The Burleigh Show”: a re-creation of Dvořák’s discovery of African American spirituals as they were sung to him in 1892 by Harry Burleigh, his student at New York’s National Conservatory of Music and the grandson of an American slave. In California’s Orange County, the “Dvořák and America” project was conducted mostly by students for the benefit of students. Forsyte says that involving the Pacific Symphony’s youth orchestra in the project rather than its professional one was “a very intentional decision. We feel that there’s a really tremendous opportunity for students to benefit from this kind of deep
syte continues. “With composers who are not living, all we can do is reflect through the prism of history—and in this case, try to find ways for the students to feel a sense of contemporary relevance. Why will they stay on their instruments, or remain committed to the art form, if they don’t feel a sense that this is relevant to their lives?” Consisting of 96 musicians aged thirteen to eighteen, the youth orchestra is directed by Maxim Eshkenazy, who is also assistant conductor of the Pacific Symphony. As he sees it, “Dvořák and America” is “the first time that a project aiming to enrich a performance for the audience is also
activities to the specific needs and cultural amenities of their communities. The NCS, under Music Director Grant Llewellyn, presented “Dvořák and America” concerts in each of its subscription venues—Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Fayetteville, and New Bern—on four successive days beginning February 16. Ancillary activities had begun several days earlier. At Raleigh’s Humble Pie Restaurant, members of the orchestra performed Dvořák’s “American” String Quartet—a work composed during Dvořák’s sojourn in Spillville, Iowa, during the summer of 1893—and talked about its “new world” characteristics. Horowitz gave a talk at Fayetteville State University hosted by Jimmy Gilmore, the orchestra’s longtime former principal clarinet and now senior advisor to NCS President and CEO Sandi Macdonald. And students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill attended a discussion led by Horo witz; a vocal master class with bass Kevin Deas, featured soloist in the “Dvořák and America” concerts; and what Horowitz americanorchestras.org
Michael Zirkle
Music Unwound is a multiyear commitment to integrate language, literature, culture, philosophy, and visual art with music, while forging new alliances among orchestras, museums, and educational institutions. And it’s the first public-programs grant that the National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded to an orchestra in a decade.
Fielding questions from the stage at the North Carolina Symphony’s “Dvoˇrák and America” concert in Raleigh: bass Kevin Deas, narrator David Hartman, NCS oboist/English hornist Michael Schultz, NCS Music Director Grant Llewellyn, Music Unwound project director Joseph Horowitz.
investigation of cultural themes around the music they’re preparing.” Advanced youth orchestras, he notes, take on the “New World” Symphony with some regularity, “but rarely with this kind of immersion. All of our youth orchestra members have read Joe’s book about Dvořák’s time in America, and many of their parents have as well. Joe led a deep discussion [at the December retreat] around race and the evolving cultural identity of our young country. Dvořák was a catalytic figure in that. “Any time a composer comes to a reading of one of their works and provides a context for how their life or their sociopolitical or philosophical identity plays into the writing of their music, you hear a change immediately in the orchestra,” For-
aimed at enriching the experience of the musicians. And it has a ripple effect: all of the people onstage, the audience, even our managerial personnel, are getting educated, or at least looking at the ‘New World’ Symphony from a different perspective.” During the week preceding the youth orchestra’s March 4 concert at Segerstrom Hall, Horowitz led an assembly program for fourth- through sixth-grade students at Orange County’s Alderwood School accompanied by bass Terry Cook—who joined a student chorus in two of the spirituals that Dvořák had heard sung by Harry Burleigh. Horowitz also attended rehearsals by several Orange County high school orchestras. And the Alderwood students—all 360 of them, according to
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Pam Blaine, the Pacific Symphony’s vice president of education and community development—attended the “Dvořák and America” concert.
Eshkenazy, a native of Bulgaria, got his first look at the visual materials that would be used in the youth orchestra’s concert during the December retreat. “We talked about the paintings and how they were portraying America through the eyes of the times,” he says. “There was this openness and endlessness and vastness, which Dvořák sometimes actually found depressing; he was more used to Bohemian-Moravian smallness. Joe is making a case that is very important, especially for an Eastern European like me. In school we learned that it was Dvořák’s sadness and his Bohemian past that made him recall those themes he used in the symphony. That’s what was presented to us, not that the themes sound the way they do because he had listened to some African American and Native American
Michael Zirkle
New Light on an Old Canvas
Accompanied by Joseph Horowitz, bass Kevin Deas sings a spiritual at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as part of “Dvoˇrák’s American Accent,” a free chamber music event for students and the public.
music. It has made a dent not only on the kids, but on me and everybody around me. Some people argue that this is the first truly American symphony. “At the retreat,” Eshkenazy continues, “we played musical examples from the symphony, saw the art that Dvořák was looking at, the music he was hearing from African Americans and Native Americans—everything that was surrounding him and that we know he was present for. The kids were asked for their opinions about whether this was helpful or not in interpreting the piece. Some said they were definitely enriched by it. Different kids said, ‘Well, I just love how it sounds. Maybe historical data helps, but it’s still absolute music, not programmatic.’ They were encouraged to form their own opinions. And that’s the important thing, because a strong stand or opinion in a musician brings out better playing.” Many of the students involved in the Dvořák projects have not only read Horowitz’s book Dvořák in America but have had access to From the New World: A Celebrated Composer’s American Odyssey, an interactive DVD produced by Robert Winter and Peter Bogdanoff. (Both the
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book and the DVD were underwritten by an education grant that Horowitz, with organizational sponsorship from the League of American Orchestras, secured from the NEH in 2001.) And all three of this year’s “Dvořák and America” projects have involved teachers who attended a Dvořákfocused training seminar that Horowitz presented in Pittsburgh in the summer of 2010. They include a choral director at four Orange County elementary schools; a media specialist at Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts (a public school with a largely African American student population); and American history teachers at two North Carolina high schools, one in Wilmington and one in Mecklenburg County. All of their students—about 120 of them between the two groups—were bused to Raleigh for the “Burleigh Show” and the “Dvořák and America” concert on February 17. “Really deep scholarship is the fountainhead for this project,” says Scott Freck, the North Carolina Symphony’s vice president for artistic operations and general manager. Freck was especially pleased that history teachers and students were involved in the North Carolina events. “So often symphony
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we go to a concert to hear a piece of music and enjoy it in and of itself. There’s nothing wrong with that. But this approach is a potent reminder that music is not created in a vacuum. It’s a product of a person or people in a very specific place and time, with all of these other factors and subcurrents going on around it. This project has allowed us to get into that place and that time and understand how the music got created. It’s allowed us to broaden our scope beyond the walls of the concert hall—beyond what we normally do with music, or even music history. And to have music students alongside history students, or art students, really gets you to understand the value of cross-pollination.” Complementing the Buffalo Philharmonic’s “Dvořák and America” subscription concerts in late April will be a talk on American landscape painting—and a tour of relevant works—at the city’s AlbrightKnox Art Gallery by Tim Barringer, a professor of art history at Yale University.
“This project is a potent reminder that music is not created in a vacuum,” says Scott Freck, the North Carolina Symphony’s vice president for artistic operations and general manager. “It’s allowed us to broaden our scope beyond the walls of the concert hall—beyond what we normally do with music, or even music history.” Musicians from the Philharmonic will also perform the “American” String Quartet at the gallery. But beyond highlighting the American influences that Dvořák absorbed through the paintings, and incorporated into his quartet and his symphony, JoAnn Falletta hopes to set the “American Dvořák” in a larger context. “By pairing the ‘New World’ Symphony with the Scherzo Capriccioso,” she says, “we want to present two sides of Dvořák—to open up with some music that has him solidly in his home, in the milieu he was comfortable with, and then bring him to the U.S. We want people to understand how seriously he took this obligation to his new country, and how much he was influenced by it. Dvořák didn’t just come here and continue to americanorchestras.org
write the music he was writing. He came knowing that Jeannette Thurber and her conservatory and the country, especially the northeast part of it, were relying on him to help young composers and their musical development.” Reflecting on the “Dvořák and America” concert format, Falletta notes that some members of her audience “will perhaps feel that it’s controversial to do this kind of thing on our main series. But I think
they will be very intrigued. ‘New World’ is a piece that almost everyone in our audience has heard and knows well. The idea of casting a completely new light on it, on how it fit in with Dvořák’s life, how it was the germ for a whole American music that followed it, is I think going to throw this symphony into relief in a way that people will never forget.” CHESTER LANE is senior editor of Symphony.
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Michael Hart
Organic by Thomas May
Going
Genre-busting organist Cameron Carpenter
Blame it on Stravinsky. Explaining why he opted against using the organ in his Symphony of Psalms, the composer complained that “the monster never breathes.” His notorious putdown may have only mirrored a larger bias fashionable in the heyday of modernism. Still, as a revered musical icon, Stravinsky condemned the organ in a
first important religious celebrity of the new mass media era,” as the composer describes her. The piece represents one among an extraordinary range of fresh commissions intended to take advantage of the renaissance of pipe organs that have sprouted up in newly built or renovated concert halls during the past twenty years. “The organ is like an orchestra in itself,
The Nashville Symphony’s Martin Foundation Organ in Schermerhorn Symphony Center will be featured in the world premiere of an organ concerto by Roberto Sierra and other works during the American Guild of Organists’ convention this July.
Bill Steber
The “king of instruments” makes a comeback with orchestras. way that reverberated through much of the latter half of the 20th century. A similar attitude can still be encountered among those who write off the instrument as the concern of a specialist, even fringe constituency. Yet recent trends indicate that the organ is earning a rediscovered sense of respect—and creating musical pleasure—in concert halls across America. In February, for example, California’s Pacific Symphony and Music Director Carl St.Clair gave the world premiere of Michael Daugherty’s organ concerto, The Gospel According to Sister Aimee, which dramatizes the life and career of early-twentieth-century evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, “the
so in effect a concerto is like writing for two orchestras,” says Daugherty. “Yes, this is the king of instruments, but it can produce delicate sounds, too. You can get hundreds of different timbres from a great organ.” He adds that concerts of original music presented by his students at the University of Michigan have increasingly featured the organ. The soloist in Daugherty’s concerto was Paul Jacobs, who last year became the first musician to win a Best Instrumental Soloist Grammy Award for a disc of solo organ music with his interpretation of Messiaen’s Livre du Saint-Sacrement. A performer who is equally compelling in solo recitals and orchestral settings, Jacobs plays a significant symphony
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Architect Frank Gehry designed the organ as the focal point of Walt Disney Concert Hall’s interior. Composer Terry Riley dubbed the instrument “Hurricane Mama” when he started to write a piece for it.
organ department since 2004—he was appointed to that position while in his twenties—Jacobs also influences emerging performers and composers.
role in the effort to reclaim the organ’s place in concert life: above all as a liaison to various sectors of the music world. He consults with composers and with such conductors as Michael Tilson Thomas, who brought Jacobs along as soloist for the San Francisco Symphony’s tour to the Lucerne Festival in 2010, performing Copland’s Organ Symphony. As chair of The Juilliard School’s
Return to the Concert Hall
Bassel Jadaa
“Each season we endeavor to program a work with a major organ feature/solo or a prominent organ orchestral part,” says Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Stacy Ridenour. “The organ as a visual backdrop for all our orchestra concerts is a stunning piece of art.”
The organ’s comeback in today’s concert halls represents an astonishing reversal of institutional opinions that prevailed until late in the previous century. For decades, it seemed that the organ would survive in the concert hall only in attenuated, electronic form, or as a ghostly memory, in the guise of flashy orchestral transcriptions à la Stokowski of music originally written for the instrument. In the current climate, it’s hard to imagine approval of the kind of decision that led to the elimination of Avery Fisher Hall’s pipe organ during the venue’s acoustic renovation in the 1970s. Yet even when accommodations were made for a permanent organ in those years, the actual instruments were sometimes poorly designed owing to widespread ignorance of—or indifference to—their unique function, explains Jeff Weiler, a Chicago-based consultant and restorer of historic pipe organs.
Federico Zignani
Unlike a typical church organ or instruments used by academic institutions, Weiler says, “Concert hall organs need to supply pitch frequencies that are outside of what the orchestra produces on both the low and the high end. Without necessarily drawing attention to itself, this type of organ should be able to fill out the orchestra, making it seem even larger.” Cherry Rhodes, professor of organ at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, remarks that the right factors have paved the way for the organ’s resurgence. “Now, as new halls are being built, people are looking at the literature and realizing we need to make a place for the organ as well.” Rhodes, who has played familiar repertory and new works with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, singles out what the organ adds to the symphonic experience: “It produces frequencies and sounds unlike what any other instrument can replicate and doesn’t try to imitate another orchestral instrument. So one performer can add all of these different, rich colors to the ensemble.” Indeed, according to Chad Smith, vice (continued on page 34)
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Celebrating the Campaign for a The League celebrated the successful close of its five-year, $25 million Campaign at a festive event on January 26, 2012 in New York. Hosted by Campaign Co-Chairs Peter Cummings and Daniel Lewis, the event took place in the recently-opened DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Board Chair Lowell Noteboom reminded us that we needed the Campaign so the League “could act with clarity, discipline, intelligence, creativity, and urgency to serve American orchestras.” League President and CEO Jesse Rosen focused on how the Campaign has helped orchestras evolve and change. To illustrate his message that the League “has an essential role to play in helping ‘the new’ take shape,” Peter Cummings engaged in a provocative conversation about programming with Maya Beiser, the founding cellist of the new music ensemble, Bang on a Can All-Stars.
“Orchestras have become keenly aware of the profound changes in their environment, the threats and the opportunities. With the League as the catalyst, convener, source of information and knowledge, and occasional provocateur, they are becoming a community of learners and innovators.” —Jesse Rosen
“Orchestras and their communities are vital to each other; and orchestras are essential to the evolution and vitality of music.”
—Lowell Noteboom
Success of the New Direction As the campaign arrives at its ending, we are also opening a new door in the League’s work. This moment is like an elision in music. The chord that concludes a phrase, giving a sense of arrival, is exactly the same chord that simultaneously introduces the next phrase. We are especially focused now on helping orchestras strengthen board practice, meet the public value challenge, improve sustainability, and nurture creativity. THANK YOU to all Campaign contributors for your generosity!
“I believe the League exists for one reason: that is, to do for orchestras collectively what none of them can do on their own.” —Peter Cummings
Anne Parsons (left), president and executive director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Katy Clark, president and executive director of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, which created the DiMenna Center as its home, as well as a rehearsal space for other New York City ensembles. Both Anne and Katy are proud alumnae of the League’s Orchestra Management Fellowship Program.
(continued from page 31) president of artistic planning for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Frank Gehry designed the organ as the focal point of Walt Disney Concert Hall’s interior, so that it “crowns the hall above the orchestra” and is a visual presence even when the instrument isn’t being played. Taken by its powerful personality during the Philharmonic’s “Minimalist Jukebox” festival several seasons ago,
has become known as the “bad boy of the organ” for his combination of outrageous, glam-rock fashion, thrilling virtuosity, and boldly original programming in recitals that typically mix his own transcriptions of Chopin with Kate Bush or Leonard Cohen. But his attention-grabbing outfits of tight jeans and Swarovski crystal-encrusted tee-shirts are about much more than an organ-loft equivalent to the flashy stage presence of a
according to F. Anthony Thurman, director of development and communications for the American Guild of Organists. That was when the 4,535-pipe Fisk concert hall organ was inaugurated as a centerpiece of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s newly built Meyerson Symphony Center. Mary Preston, the DSO’s resident organist, observes that as audiences are increasingly exposed to “glorious pipe organs in
“An organist has to be the most versatile contemporary musician: we play five centuries of music, on an instrument that’s never the same but that varies from one venue to the next.” —Paul Jacobs
Paul Jacobs
composer Terry Riley set about making the acquaintance of “Hurricane Mama,” as he dubbed the Disney Hall organ, so as to write a piece for it. Soon after the instrument was inaugurated in 2004, James MacMillan’s organ concerto A Scotch Bestiary was premiered, and the orchestra also commissioned a new symphony by Stephen Hartke that will feature organ. Additionally, Smith points out that the organ figures prominently in some of the Philharmonic’s signature multi-disciplinary festivals that focus on eras and places of creative ferment, such as “Minimalist Jukebox” or, this coming season, a festival focused on the new-music scene in Brooklyn, during which Brooklyn native Aaron Copland’s Organ Symphony will serve as a historical anchor. On hand as soloist for the Copland will be Cameron Carpenter—a maverick whose iconoclastic vision conjures a radically different future for the instrument. Carpenter, 30,
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Lang Lang. “The organ remains the last frontier and is the ultimate instrument for me since it’s both a part of classical music and foreign to it, a total outsider” says Carpenter, who studied briefly with Paul Jacobs at Juilliard. “I look up to a musician like guitarist Andrés Segovia, who was able to win back attention and earning power for his instrument.” Although he’s achieved the distinction of being an organist who is able to sell out concert halls, Carpenter’s outspoken views about the pipe organ itself reveal him at his most controversial: “I hate the inflexibility and immobility of the instrument. For centuries the pipe organ represented the most technically executed and precisely constructed, pre-digital computer that the mind of man had created. It represented a technical revolution akin to the clock. But why do we need such an expensive backdrop nowadays for an orchestra to play in front of?” His alternative to this “relic” is a digital organ—a “virtual pipe organ” he plans to unveil in the next year or two. “I want to expand the organ in the way Dudamel is expanding the orchestra, so that instead of being confined to the concert hall, I can play with the orchestra when it goes on tour, in open-air festivals. I’ll be able to play in schools, prisons, around the world.” A Luxury of Necessity?
Consultant and restorer Jeff Weiler navigated the restoration of Chicago’s Orchestra Hall organ in the 1990s and is currently advising the National Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center, which last fall announced that the instrument in use since the concert hall opened in 1971 will be replaced by a new organ. The tipping point for the revolution in thinking about the concert organ’s importance arrived two decades ago,
fabulous halls with extraordinary symphonies, the more they want to hear.” The organ has also influenced recent repertory choices, says DSO Publications Manager Chris Shull. Last season, Preston was soloist in Poul Ruders’s Symphony No. 4, a new organ symphony and “a commission that was solely based on having that great organ here.” Meanwhile, Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva and the Te Deum by Berlioz have featured on this season’s programs. How does the installation or reinstallation of an organ, with its labyrinth of pipes and empty spaces, interact with or affect acoustics in a concert hall? “The presence of a pipe organ in a concert space enhances acoustics even when it is not being played,” explains Weiler. “Considering the internal resonance of organ pipes, the sounds of the orchestra tend to excite these resonances, and, as such, they tend to reinforce the sounds of orchestral instruments in a unique way.” Along with the instrument itself, the AGO advocates for new repertory. The Guild collaborates with orchestras during its biennial conventions to showcase works for organ and orchestra it has commissioned. This year’s convention, to be held in Nashville in July, will feature the Martin Foundation Organ in Nashville Symphony’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center in the world premiere of an organ concerto by Roberto Sierra as well as in the Grand Concerto for Organ (2004) of Stephen Paulus, composer of concertante works for the instrument. Yet aside from such events, says Nashville Symphony Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero, the organ, which debuted in 2007 and survived the city’s flood in 2010, “has become a star in its own way.” It gives the ensemble “great flexibility in planning our symphony
spring 2012
This June, the Kansas City Symphony will inaugurate a custom-built Casavant Frères organ, donated by the Julia Irene Kauffman Donor Advised Fund, in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Chris Lee/Kansas City Symphony
Orchestra was in a similar predicament but found an alternative solution a decade ago when it became the first American orchestra to install a rebuilt, historic organ into its new venue, Jacoby Symphony Hall. Its Bryan Concert Organ took four years to complete after the hall was inaugurated, but the acoustic design of the hall took the organ “transplant” into account.
seasons” so that works “featuring the organ as either a soloist or as part of the orchestra” can easily be programmed. Nashville, along with orchestras whose new halls were built with pipe organs, has begun offering an organ recital series. The instrument yields numerous payoffs, notes Guerrero: “By creating interesting projects, like having the organ accompany silent films, it has attracted new audiences into our hall who are now becoming big supporters of the Nashville Symphony.” Andrew Risinger, a teacher and performer who serves as curator for the ensemble’s organ, gives one example of its acoustic interaction with the orchestra: “Many concertgoers probably notice the vibration of the floor in the hall when certain low-pitched pipes speak with the orchestra. Even though the range of the orchestra is vast, no other instrument can speak quite as low as some of the organ’s pedal stops.” The Kansas City Symphony, meanwhile, is just starting out of the gate with its first season in the recently opened Kauffman Center, where a new organ will be inaugurated in June. “It will take time to get to know the instrument,” says KCS Executive Director Frank Byrne, “but we have a firm commitment to using it with the orchestra and are excited about the opportunities it will present.” Kansas City Symphony’s previous hall lacked an organ, and any piece that called for one had to settle for an electronic instrument. Florida’s Jacksonville Symphony
Creative Collaborations
Despite his many performances as solo organist, Jacobs views the instrument’s place in the concert hall as part of an orchestra’s larger mission. Organophiles are known to be as opinionated as opera fanatics, and they lavish untiring attention on the specific design elements of a particular instrument. Still, observes Jacobs, “I’m less interested in pushing the ‘organ’ but rather organ music, performed at the highest artistic standards—it’s a subtle but crucial distinction.” Mason Bates and Wayne Oquin are two under-40 composers who worked with Jacobs for their own recent pieces featuring the organist. In Mass Transmission, premiered this season by Michael Tilson Thomas as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s American Mavericks Festival, Bates uses the organ as an instrument that mediates between the cold world of pioneer-radio technology and the warmth of the human voice. “Jacobs makes the organ sing in a way I never imagined possible,” says Bates. “Knowing that he would be at the console for the premiere of Mass Transmission hugely impacted the direction of the piece.” Oquin, who, like Jacobs, also teaches at Juilliard (where he’s a member of the Graduate Studies and Ear Training faculty), explains that writing for the organ “has lots of consequences for what I want to say with my
Perceptions of organs in concert halls changed when the Dallas Symphony Orchestra inaugurated the 4,535-pipe Lay Family Concert Organ in 1992 at the Meyerson Symphony Center.
harmonic language, since the organ’s capacity to sustain notes indefinitely means a little bit of dissonance goes a long way.” Because every organ is different and the performer takes responsibility for working out the most effective registrations, “the organist has leeway like no other instrumentalist to make decisions about a piece from performance to performance,” says Oquin. Jacobs for his part speaks of the rewards of collaborating with composers, calling Oquin’s Reverie (2008) a “magical and contemplative work that is virtuosic in the sense of its subtle phrasing and use of time.” With the new energy being tapped in concert halls and fresh thinking about the instrument across generations of composers, audiences are discovering that the organ can mean a lot more than they may have assumed. “When you celebrate the sheer glory of its sound, which is not in the service of anything else but music,” says the LA Phil’s Chad Smith, “it’s a visceral experience that shakes you to your core. You feel it as much as you hear it.” Thomas May writes about music and the arts for many publications, including the program books of the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Symphony, and contributes criticism to crosscut.com.
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Specialists in Restoration, Conservation, Voicing & Tonal Finishing of High-Pressure Pipe Organs 1845 South Michigan Avenue, #1905 Chicago, Illinois 60616 312-842-7475, jeff@jlweilerpipeorgans.com 35
Hello Columbus by Rebecca Winzenried
An unusual organizational sustainability have given
Terry Gilliam
Left to right: Martin Inglis, Columbus Symphony board chair; Bill Conner, Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) president; Roland Valliere, Columbus Symphony president and chief creative officer; Michael Petrecca, CAPA board chair
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T
he city of Columbus, Ohio marks its 200th birthday this year, which means a calendar packed with celebrations. Among them, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra will anchor festivities downtown by relocating its summer Picnic with the Pops concerts from their longtime home a few miles away. It’s a fitting symbolic gesture for the CSO: Columbus Commons, a new park behind the orchestra’s Ohio Theatre home, has just opened as part of downtown revitalization efforts; city leaders asked the orchestra to consider moving its pops concerts to the venue as an investment in the area’s renaissance. The very request was a sign, says CSO Board Chairman Martin Inglis, that the orchestra has been reborn in the minds of civic leaders. Just two years ago, the Columbus Symphony was teetering on the brink of collapse, staring into the abyss with no operating funds, no balance sheet, and no endowment to draw upon. Columbus was in real jeopardy of losing its orchestra, and there was no certainty that the community would shed many tears if it did. More than a decade of cyclical funding crises, management turnover, and acrimonious relations with musicians that culminated in a six-month work stoppage in 2008 had created a sense not just of donor fatigue, but symphony
spring 2012
The Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni onstage at the Ohio Theatre.
partnership and a disciplined focus on “right-sizing” and central Ohio’s principal orchestra a new lease on life. Terry Gilliam
americanorchestras.org
Students head into the Ohio Theatre for a Columbus Symphony Young People’s Concert.
Randall L. Schieber
“drama fatigue,” in the words of Douglas Kridler, president and CEO of the Columbus Foundation, a nonprofit organization that assists with charitable giving locally. Kridler had even stepped in to manage the orchestra on a volunteer basis during one of its periodic financial meltdowns in the 1980s, when he was serving as president of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, better known as CAPA. Add the depressed philanthropic mood of a recessionary climate, and there was a sense in early 2010 that maybe this time the orchestra had exhausted all its lifelines. Instead, an unusual solution emerged. In March 2010, the CSO announced it was turning over administrative duties to CAPA. The new partnership would take the shape of a five-year agreement in which CAPA would handle finances, administration, ticketing, stage production, and other back-end services. Bill Conner, president of CAPA, would become CSO managing director and CEO on a volun-
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Randall L. Schieber
to CAPA.” The CSO has maintained a separate board and development operations. Valliere focuses on artistic and community-engagement goals while Conner handles day-to-day responsibilities.
orchestra. “We did this because we didn’t want to lose classical music in our community,” he says. A friend told him, “I liked it when you were a performing arts center. Now you look like you’re in the distressedasset business.” According to Inglis, the new partners created a 28-page document pressing on “the hot buttons, the critical decisions, who inputs, who recommends, who decides. It set the template for how the symphony would continue to be run, relative
CAPA Adapts
CAPA’s standing as a major player in the community allowed some measure of assurance that this time things would be different. The orchestra had to set about regaining a level of trust on its own—among
“We did this because we didn’t want to lose classical music in our community,” says Bill Conner, president of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts.
Randall L. Schieber
teer basis, while Roland Valliere, who had joined the orchestra in 2009 as president and CEO, would assume the title of president and chief creative officer. The action had unfolded with lightning speed over the course of six weeks from February to March of 2010, driven by extreme financial duress (the CSO had only 60 days of operating funds) and relying on relationships that had already been established between the partners. CAPA owns and operates the Ohio Theatre, among several other venues in Columbus and nationwide, and acts as a presenter for touring productions of Broadway shows and musical events. The triumvirate of Valliere, Conner, and Inglis had previously established a routine of meeting over dinner to discuss operations and the arts community in general. In fact, consolidation had been discussed at different junctures over the years, and ultimately rejected because the CSO did not want to give up its autonomy. A real concern was that confusion over who handled governance, management, and fundraising would leave an impression that the orchestra had taken a backseat, or had been taken over by CAPA, which could further damage its standing in the eyes of the community. The CSO did owe CAPA money, but Conner points out that his board saw no real financial advantage to collaborating with a nearly insolvent
Columbus Symphony Principal Trumpet Thomas Battenberg, a CSO veteran, performs at Picnic with the Pops.
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Columbus Symphony Principal Cello Luis Biava gives conducting lessons before a family concert.
donors that gifts would be used wisely, with musicians and staff that they would be treated with respect, with patrons that ticket purchases would not be a risky proposition, and with the public at large that the orchestra is a valued resource. Among orchestra insiders, much credit for rebuilding that sense of trust is given to Martin Inglis. The executive vice president and chief financial officer of Columbusbased Battelle, a research and development organization with worldwide operations, he joined the CSO board in late 2008, becoming its chair the very same day. Inglis recalls with a laugh that no one else wanted to touch the job. The orchestra was coming off an extended work stoppage during which the music director had departed, followed soon after by the executive director, and already skittish funders were set on pause by the global economic symphony
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americanorchestras.org
Randall L. Schieber
collapse. Inglis brought Valliere on board and they set out to create an atmosphere of transparency and improved communication, laying out exactly where the orchestra stood financially and extending an invitation, says Inglis, to “come in, crawl through the numbers with us, and ask any questions you want. We may, and we should, have a debate.” The first budget Valliere drafted, which showed a potential deficit of $1.5 million, was shared with board, musicians, and staff, “so there was no surprise when we got to the moment of crisis,” he says, of the tipping point in 2010 that prompted the CAPA partnership. Analysis of true potential revenue from ticket sales and contributions in Columbus, compared to other cities, suggested that a “right-sized” budget should be closer to $8 million than the $12.5 million of 2008. (The 2011 fiscal year budget was $7 million, and the current year is closer to $8 million.) It was time to adopt a business model that operated on supply and demand rather than by sweating through one fiscal year to the next. The CSO, like many arts organizations, had grown at a pace that did not match the capacity of its community, says Conner: “The orchestra had been on a bridge for ten years, in crisis funding, and still had a deficit.” The audience issue, or lack-of-audience issue, was overstated, he adds: “We have a really good market for classical music in our city, but we never had a market for 52 weeks of classical music in Columbus, Ohio. Only a few cities in the world can support that.” The CSO-CAPA agreement was estimated to save about $750,000 in administrative costs. From there came the task of right-sizing the orchestra season, which meant additional concessions from musicians, who had ended the 2008 conflict by agreeing to a salary cut in lieu of a reduction in the number of full-time players. The season was reduced from 46 to 38 weeks in 2009-10, then to 26 in 2010-11, with 46 full-time orchestra members instead of 53 under the previous contract. (Due to vacancies and leaves, the actual number of full-time musicians in 2009-10 was around 42.) The cuts were dramatic, to be sure, but Valliere says the season length and orchestra size have probably reached a level of normalization for what is truly achievable in a market the size
Students at a CSO Young People’s Concert at the Ohio Theatre
of Columbus. He advised building what he calls a hybrid-model orchestra, with a smaller number of full-time musicians supplemented by an increased number of associates, and opt-in participation for newly developed programs such as inschool residencies. Re-engaging with the Community
For all the CSO’s difficulties, the artistic level of the orchestra was never in doubt. Principal Bassoon Betsy Sturdevant came to Columbus in the early 1980s from the Rochester Philharmonic, where she had played while studying at the Eastman School of Music. Colleagues advised her that the CSO was about to blossom, completing its transition from part-time to full-time orchestra. That depiction turned out to be true, and expectations were high as the artistic level continued to rise. The same could not be said of the musicians’ relationship with management.
Columbus Behind the Scenes
In
November 2011, the League of American Orchestras produced an online video called “The Columbus Symphony: A Portrait in Stabilization,” that goes behind the scenes to reveal what happens when an organization finds itself threatened and challenged to think strategically in order to bring itself back from the brink. The complete 34-minute video can be viewed on the League's YouTube channel. For more about the Columbus Symphony, and for additional resources for orchestras concerning finance, governance, fundraising and other topics, visit the Learning and Leadership area of the League of American Orchestras website.
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Sturdevant joined the music director search committee in 2008, after feeling left in the dark during the work stoppage. She wanted to be able to experience things firsthand, to sort out fact from fiction. By the time she was involved in contract negotiations as chair of the orchestra musicians’ committee in 2011, the bond between musicians, board, and management had grown, in part through Valliere’s implementation of regular meetings and briefings on the orchestra’s status, to a point where suspicion had been supplanted by collaboration. Instead of being handed edicts after the fact, she says, musicians’ suggestions and input were welcomed during the process. A labor agreement was reached six months ahead of schedule, with everyone believing, according to Sturdevant, that the early accord would assist the orchestra in fundraising efforts. This latest agreement with musicians has some flexibility to create additional service dates for things like new ensembles or community activities; the orchestra is using “ensemble” in the broadest sense
especially during lean economic times. The CSO-CAPA relationship is “well-conceived, well-executed,” he says. “That is the prevailing perspective of our community.” A more stable financial footing has allowed the orchestra to build up some cash reserves and lay the groundwork for an endowment campaign. It also means Valliere can shift attention to his capacity as chief creative officer and focus on a broader range of programming, venues, and community-engagement activities. The CSO’s 2012-13 programming draws on lessons learned from the current season, in which some Masterworks concerts were shifted to the Southern Theatre, a restored opera house downtown. The venue has proven attractive to new and younger audiences, who have responded to the more intimate feel and superior acoustics of the 900-seat theater (vs. the 2,800-seat Ohio Theatre) and to the reconfigured programming offered there. Its smaller stage has been utilized for traditional works that call for a smaller complement of musicians, and for pro-
to include such possibilities as in-school educational ensembles or other to-be-determined ideas as well as chamber groups. Principal Clarinet David Thomas, who has been with the CSO since 1989, says the situation among musicians is improved but that many are wary of issues like those new services, details of which are still to be worked out. On one hand, he says, musicians are justifiably resistant to the idea that work they may have been doing outside their contractual obligations might be co-opted by orchestra management. On the other hand, they realize that it’s an unprecedented time of metamorphosis in the arts world, and orchestras need to create new value and relevance to survive. Thomas imagines future orchestra job descriptions that might include teaching, chamber music, lectures, recitals, and community engagement as part of the package, with both sides needing to exhibit some flexibility and creativity in defining what those roles might be. Principal Trumpet Thomas Battenberg, a 46-year CSO veteran, has navigated with
Instead of being handed edicts after the fact, Principal Bassoon Betsy Sturdevant says, musicians’ suggestions and input were welcomed. A labor agreement was reached six months ahead of schedule.
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the orchestra from part-time to full-time to perhaps something in between. “We’re all happy to be working—period,” he says. “We wish we had a 48-week season but since we don’t, we’re making the best of it.” He adds that Music Director JeanMarie Zeitouni, who came on board with the 2010-11 season, is a dynamic presence who has good rapport with musicians and has reinvigorated the orchestra artistically. And while musicians haven’t felt many operational changes under the new administrative structure, CAPA’s support has earned the confidence of civic leaders, giving the orchestra an additional boost. Valliere directly credits the CAPA arrangement for bringing in transitional funding from city and regional sources, among others, that, along with the CAPA partnership and concessions in the musicians’ contract, allowed the CSO to end its 2010 fiscal year in the black—a somewhat miraculous feat, and one that was repeated in 2011. Kridler notes that business leaders understand the idea of consolidation, 9/4/05, 12:21 PM
Betsy Sturdevant, CSO principal bassoon and chair of the orchestra musicians’ committee, in 2011
Mary Farrington
WORD PROS, INC.
symphony
spring 2012
Scott Cunningham Photography
CSO Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni
grams that build on a theme, like “The Satirist and the Philosopher.” That April program mixed the Overture to The Magic Flute and Also sprach Zarathustra with the world premiere of a symphony by Columbus composer Donald Harris, in an exploration of intellectual, spiritual, and mystical themes in music. Building Buzz
The Southern Theatre concerts have literally showcased the CSO in a new light, with musicians swapping tails for less formal black attire, tuning up backstage, and entering en masse. Music Director Zeitouni has utilized videos to illustrate concepts such as how the Golden Ratio mathematical formula has been used in the arts, specifically in relation to Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, which the orchestra then performed. Audiences reportedly responded enthusiastically to the experience of that rather challenging program. Post-concert meet-ups in the adjoining hotel bar give musicians and audience members a chance to mingle, and the orchestra has had success with new social media and marketing initiatives, such as Groupon offers to lure last-minute ticket buyers. The resulting buzz has helped attract new board members as well, according to Inglis. Younger members from a broad range of experiences and interests have breathed new life into long-dormant committee structures, resetting them for the future. “We’re now living a more normal life of a symphony,” says Conner. Building new muscle memory around americanorchestras.org
an organization, replacing drama and crisis with dependability and excitement, isn’t done overnight, says Kridler. “Arts leaders will be most successful if they can engage audiences, taking them on a journey that they want to be a part of.” That’s exactly what Valliere has in mind. “The underlying thing we’re trying to accomplish is to move from a more singular focus on orchestra concerts toward a way of looking at the orchestra as an indispensable part of the community,” he says. Concerts at the Ohio and Southern theaters would be just one aspect of what the orchestra does, along with neighborhood residencies, chamber and small-ensemble performances, an El Sistema-type project in the schools, and more. “In other words, to be part of the social fabric of the community as well as the cultural fabric,” he says. Valliere is the first to admit that such goals will depend upon additional resources and that the CSO is still in a fragile state, bucking “strong economic headwinds” for the near future. At the same time, the orchestra’s ambitions match up generally with national orchestra trends, and with specific recommendations for the local market outlined in a 2011 sustainability analysis by the Columbus Foundation. The sustainability report, online at columbusfoundation.org, suggested that arts organizations should align with broad community goals; pursue partnerships with business, government, education, sports, tourism, and entertainment; and achieve further efficiency and right-sizing by promoting strong management practices that align with community capacity and demand. The CSO’s strategy also aligns with the kind of career envisioned by younger musicians like 29-year-old horn player Adam Koch, who joined the orchestra in 2007. Already in his brief career, Koch has experienced the unsettling realities of playing for orchestras in crisis: his first job was at the Charleston Symphony in 2006, when that orchestra was undergoing a financial upheaval. He’s a firm believer that offering innovative experiences and getting musicians out into the community, whether it be performing in restaurants and bars, at downtown businesses or community organizations, can forge a new identity for the orchestra as the place people want to be. “All orchestras should cease the no-
tion that we provide ‘music’ to our audiences and instead adopt the notion that we provide a ‘musical experience’ to our audience,” says Koch. “The music may be the end result, but what about the packaging, the marketing, the customer service, the wow factor?” He cites the example of Steve Jobs, who helped Apple rebound in the late 1990s with a strategy that was not about selling computers but about offering users an experience that could change their lives. Consider a basic question, says Valliere: Why should Columbus have a symphony orchestra? “It goes back to the value the orchestra provides to the community,” he says. A symphony orchestra should not be in the business of merely being a symphony orchestra, but in the business of connecting people to music. As Valliere puts it, “With all the new tools available to us, it’s a real opportunity.” REBECCA WINZENRIED, former Symphony editor in chief, writes about arts and culture at rwinzenried.com.
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Playlist Picking Summer’s
by Heidi Waleson
What does it take to program a summer music festival? Finding the right balance of traditional fare, mini-festivals, jazz and pop, and the occasional rarity, according to those who know best.
O
n July 10, the Hollywood Bowl opens ten weeks of classical concerts by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with—what else?—Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. But there’s a tweak: in celebration of the 150th birthday of artist Gustav Klimt and his iconic Beethoven Frieze in Vienna, the Philharmonic and the Getty Museum have commissioned video imagery to accompany the “Ode to Joy.” “For a venue this size—17,500 seats—we need to program works and artists that appeal to a broad public, but there’s always room for something adventurous at the Bowl,” says Arvind Manocha, the LA Phil’s chief operating officer. “Presenting these newly commissioned visuals for something as familiar as the Beethoven Ninth is a way of having both.”
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symphony
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Roger Mastroianni
Programming a summer orchestra festival is an art of its own, with different parameters than those of the winter season. Size matters: venues that serve as summer homes for major orchestras are often large and outdoors, and with 5,000 seats in a shed, plus 12,000 or more lawn places, programmers hope to maximize attendance with blockbuster repertoire and big-name soloists. Since the orchestra may play several programs with different conductors in a single week, rather than playing one program multiple times, there’s less rehearsal time available. What is more, orchestra programmers say that summer audiences like the standards and the famous soloists. “We have not heard audiences asking us to push the programming in a more challenging direc-
Something for everyone: A child enjoys a family concert in Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood. The summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 75th anniversary this July. americanorchestras.org
Hilary Scott
A typical scene on the lawn at the Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Music Center.
tion,” says Gary Ginstling, general manager of the Cleveland Orchestra, which takes up residence at the Blossom Music Center, 45 miles south of Cleveland, for sixteen to twenty concerts in the summer. “They want to come and sit on the lawn under the stars with a picnic and hear lots of great repertoire. Overall, programming—particularly composers with more name recognition—has the most impact on box office.” This summer, for example, the Blossom lineup includes an all-Tchaikovsky program, a Gershwin/Bernstein evening, and Emanuel Ax playing Mozart and Chopin on a program with Brahms’s Hungarian Dances. A pair of programs last summer featuring Bruckner symphonies led by Cleveland’s music director, Franz Welser-Möst, a collaboration with the Lincoln Center Festival, was the exception rather than the rule. The more relaxed summer environment can serve as introduction to symphonic
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that is responsible for Disney Concert Hall during the rest of the year, is built on subscriptions covering about 58 concerts: classical programs on Tuesday and Thursday, pops on Friday and Saturday, a world music or pop artist on Sunday, and jazz on Wednesday, plus ten to twelve non-subscription concerts that can be any of the above. The Tuesday and Thursday concerts draw about 8,000 people a night, “enormous for a classical concert,” Manocha points out. Weekend nights average 12,000 to 15,000 people. This August, the weeklong “Americas and Americans” festival incorporates many of the genres at the Bowl, where Music Director Gustavo Dudamel enjoys the diverse, informal atmosphere. Not surprisingly, the big summer festivals tend to schedule their “broadest
There are exceptions: the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, California, which turns 50 this year, has resolutely focused on orchestral music of the here and now. The Bard Music FesAt the OK Mozart Festival in Oklahoma, Amici New York, the festival’s resident orchestra, performs at the Bartlesville Community Center with conductor Giancarlo Guerrero.
OK Mozart Festival
repertoire for a large swath of the audience; hence, a number of listeners may be encountering the Beethoven Ninth for the first time. “Some of our audience only comes to Blossom, so we program with that in mind,” Ginstling says. “We make sure they hear us doing what we do best.” Even summer festivals with smaller venues to fill are conscious of the impact of programming on box office, and tend to stick to standards. The Bellingham Festival on the picturesque coast of Washington, whose 45-member orchestra is assembled each summer from players around the country, plays in a 650-seat hall. “Standard repertoire is our métier,” says Michael Palmer, Bellingham’s conductor and artistic director. “We play to our strengths.” This year, the festival will open and close with all-Mozart programs, including the Mozart C-minor Mass.
Ravinia Festival
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia with James Conlon conducting
Mathew Imaging
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel leads his first Hollywood Bowl concert as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009.
tival in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, organized around single composers (this year, it’s Saint-Saëns), is densely packed with often obscure repertoire. Each year, the Ojai Festival in California invites a new music director to put a distinctive stamp on the four-day event; this year, pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has programmed repertoire that includes John Luther Adams’s spatial work Inuksuit and Reinbert de Leeuw’s reworkings of Schubert and Schumann songs. And the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago regularly features unusual repertory. The Hollywood Bowl, which is operated by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has the mix down to a science. The fourteen-week season, programmed by the same team
Fireworks are a longstanding tradition at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Hollywood Bowl.
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appeal” programs on the weekends. In the case of Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home, Tanglewood, which marks its 75th anniversary this summer, these are orchestra programs. BSO Managing Director Mark Volpe says, “At Tanglewood, we have maintained the primacy of orchestral music for the eight weeks that the BSO is in residence. There is symphony
spring 2012
ciated with Tanglewood are planned. Some, by Michael Gandolfi, André Previn, and John Harbison, are brief concert openers. The world premiere of Edgar Meyer’s Double Concerto for Violin and Double Bass is slated for July 7; a Tanglewood Music Center-commissioned work by Gunther Schuller will be played by the TMC
Norman Timonera
Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, home of Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival
Ravinia Festival
pressure to have more popular programming. The innkeepers would love it: on the annual James Taylor weekend”—Taylor plays three concerts over the July 4 weekend—“we have 17,000-plus people for each concert; they back up the Massachusetts Turnpike for miles.” To accommodate that demand, Tanglewood has gradually expanded the season before
Programming a summer orchestra festival is an art of its own, with different parameters than those of the winter season. the winter season, which are fresh in their minds,” says Anthony Fogg, the BSO’s artistic administrator, who devises the programming with Volpe and input from the marketing department. This summer, for the anniversary, eight world premieres of commissioned pieces by composers assoamericanorchestras.org
Orchestra on July 8. Three commissioned works by former TMC Fellows are also slated. The BSO presents large-scale events at Tanglewood, such as this summer’s Damnation of Faust and La Vida Breve; top-drawing soloists, like Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax, are The Boston Symphony Orchestra in performance regulars. Tanglewood can also make at Tanglewood, 2011. The summer home of the space for programs with less than Boston Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 75th blockbuster appeal, however. “Ozawa anniversary this July. Hall, which opened in 1994, changed Tanglewood,” Volpe says. “We can a niche audience as well as a more casual program everything from a John Williams crowd. For new audiences, old music may movie event to a student concert with 22 be new; some portion of the “old” audience people.” The annual Festival of Contemmay want actual new music. porary Music has benefitted from the building of this additional venue. This five-day, six-program festival, co-directed Downtown, Uptown this year by John Harbison and Oliver What if a festival didn’t have to worry Knussen, attracts a dedicated crowd of about box-office income? The free tennew-music fans, and the small hall enables week outdoor Grant Park Music Festival Tanglewood to have it both ways, serving in Chicago is a case in point. The $4.8 Hilary Scott
and after the orchestra’s residency, into June and through Labor Day, presenting artists like Diana Krall, Garrison Keillor, and Chick Corea. “We have a mix of works that are core repertoire for the orchestra, as well as pieces that they’ve performed in Boston during
Tenor Salvatore Licitra (pictured, right) joined soprano Patricia Racette and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor James Conlon for Ravinia Festival’s semi-staged production of Puccini’s Tosca in 2011. That year was the 75th anniversary of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s summer residency at Ravinia Festival.
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Orchestral pops programs tend to bring in big audience numbers, with film nights that include big-screen projection having special appeal: the “broad audience” shows up when John Williams conducts
At the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California, Larry Rachleff conducts the Academy Chamber Players in Hahn Hall, 2011.
J u n e 2 2 - J u ly 2 7, 2 0 1 2
film-music nights at Tanglewood. This year, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra will play three nights of “Pixar in Concert” and a celebration of Paramount’s 100th anniversary, and the LA Phil will play Frozen Planet Live, accompanying the BBC and Discovery Channel nature film. (Frozen Planet will also make an appearance at Grant Park.) At Ravinia, last year’s biggest hit was the first Lord of the Rings movie, with the CSO playing the Howard Shore score, bringing in 14,000 to 15,000 people each night. Ravinia also has a soundproof 450-seat theater, so it can program a violin recital on the same night that Steely Dan plays the 3,400seat Pavilion. Kauffman is responsible for all of Ravinia’s programming, which this summer will be about 60 percent classical and 40 percent non-classical. “Ravinia had gotten into a rut with the non-classical programming—something that was just there to pay the bills,” he says. “I love popular
W W W. R I V E R C O N C E RT S E R I E S . O R G
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programming, and I’m trying to bring the non-classical side of what we do up to the standard of Plácido Domingo and the CSO.” Kauffman says that artists like Diana Krall, Maroon 5, and Wyclef Jean
David Bazemore
million festival receives half its budget—what would otherwise be ticket revenue—from the Chicago Parks Department and raises the rest through sponsorships, donations, grants, and memberships. “Because the concerts are all free, it opened up the possibility of doing more non-traditional repertoire,” says Executive Director Paul Winberg. This year, the 50th anniversary of the Grant Park Chorus is being celebrated with a pair of 20-minute commissioned works by Sebastian Currier and Michael Gandolfi; also planned is Dvořák’s rarely heard dramatic cantata Spectre’s Bride. The festival has surveyed its audience, and “We find that they like variety; we get a response if we tip too heavily in any direction,” says Winberg. Grant Park attracts a relatively young crowd, with 10,000 to 12,000 people a night. The move from the Petrillo Bandshell to the new Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park has been a “game changer” for the festival. “Physically, it puts us closer to the Loop,” says Winberg, “so it’s more convenient for audience members to pop over after work.” In general, it is a different crowd from the Grant Park audience that heads north along Lake Michigan to the Ravinia Festival, where the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has its summer home. Still, Welz Kauffman, president and CEO of Ravinia, who programs that festival with its music director, James Conlon, consults with Grant Park to be sure that there are no major programming overlaps, in order to avoid occurrences like the year that the Verdi Requiem was performed by the Grant Park, Ravinia, and the CSO in downtown Chicago in the space of four weeks.
Orchestral pops programs tend to bring in big audience numbers, with film nights that include big-screen projection having special appeal. have been “huge for us. Our biggest pop act has been two nights of Sting. There are very few in our audience who only buy one genre. They love the venue, and they want to be here.” Home, Sweet Home
A venue can also be the heart of a smaller summer festival. The OK Mozart Festival, now in its 28th year, was born when the flutist and conductor Ransom Wilson and his Solisti New York orchestra played a community concert in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in 1983. “We had no idea that Bartlesville had a wonderful concert hall,” says violist Adria Benjamin, “and we thought we had died and gone to heaven! After our performance, Nan Buhlinger, whose dream was to found a summer festival, asked us to become resident orchestra of that festival.” Since 1985, the group, now called Amici New York, has made the trip each summer for the weeklong festival, as has a complement of New York-based chamber music players. Benjamin is now responsible for programming the festival’s orchestra concerts. “We are driven by budget: I work with Shane Jewell, OK Mozart’s executive director, and the board, and see what is possible,” she says. For many years, the symphony
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festival was organized around Mozart repertoire, but when Wilson left in 2006, it began to change a bit, she says. Budget constraints have also reduced the orchestra’s participation, and jazz and blue-
grass groups, like the Carolina Chocolate Drops, have been worked into the festival’s schedule. At Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California, programmers have yet another element to consider. As a summer institute for young musicians, its programs are devised with education in mind.
“Our major goal is to give our Fellows the most performance opportunities possible so they can get onstage and communicate,” says Scott Reed, the Music Academy’s president. The Academy needs audiences for that communication, and works to build relationships between the Fellows and the public. For the five orchestra programs, the artistic department selects pieces that the Fellows are likely to encounter in their professional lives. One program, for example, includes John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Over eight weeks, 200 performances are given on campus and in downtown Santa Barbara, with half the concerts offered free of charge. The orchestra concerts were recently moved from a 680-seat hall to one that holds 1,500 people. “Filling 1,500 seats is a challenge for us,” Reed says. After sellouts for Don Giovanni and The Barber of Seville in the last two years, Music Academy’s The Rake’s Progress this summer could mean a bit of tension between the Academy’s educational and sales goals.
If Orchestras Have Enriched Your Life… The League of American Orchestras invites you to become a member of the Helen M. Thompson Heritage Society and join others in helping to ensure the future of America’s orchestras by making a legacy gift to the League.
“It’s more risky from a ticket-sales perspective, but it will provide a great training experience,” Reed says. Even without that training concern, summer festival programmers recognize that freshness matters. “We can’t repeat too much, or we become stagnant,” the LA Phil’s Manocha says. Regular fireworks displays and productions of musicals therefore exist in tandem with the occasional novelty, such as Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and Glass’s Koyaanisqatsi. “We need new pieces, and new performers,” Manocha says. In a sense, such elements can even translate into broad appeal. “I think people like discovering new things at the Bowl. There’s so much trust in the venue that we are able to introduce new pieces, concepts, and performers.” It may not be the core of the programming, but a judicious helping of the new can spice up that popular mandate. HEIDI WALESON writes about the performing arts and is the opera critic for The Wall Street Journal.
Helen M. Thompson (1908 –1974), a passionate advocate for symphonic music and American orchestras, was the League’s first executive director.
To learn more, call 646 822 4066 or visit americanorchestras.org.
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Wintergreen Summer Music Festival in Virginia
housing. Filling up fast, apply online today! Artistic Direction: Peter Bay Festival Conductor: Peter Bay Festival Artists: Rick Robinson, bass; Michael Gurt, piano Featured Groups: Cassatt String Quartet For Information: Todd Cranson, general director 468 Prospect Ave Hot Springs, AR 71901 501 623 4763 festival@hotmusic.org hotmusic.org
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Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Fairbanks, AK July 15 to 29 Workshops in music, dance, and visual, literary, theater, culinary, and healing arts with dozens of performances. Study-performance opportunities encourage both personal growth and arts appreciation regardless of level of accomplishment. Festival Conductors: Robert Franz Festival Artists: David Muller, bassoon; Jun Watabe, clarinet/saxophone; John Barcellona, Dorli McWayne, flute; Fritz Foss, horn; Mark Fink, oboe; John Damberg, percussion; Greg Harper, trombone; Patrick Tillery, trumpet; Stephen Dombrowski, tuba; Alvaro Gomez, Routa Kroumovitch Gomez, violin Featured Groups: Redshift, Sweet Plantain For Information: Terese Kaptur, director P.O. Box 82510 Fairbanks, AK 99708 907 474 8869 festival@alaska.net fsaf.org Sitka Summer Music Festival Sitka, AK
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June 8 to July 6 June 2012 will be cellist Zuill Bailey’s first year as artistic director and he has a great summer planned. Music-lovers from across the world will come to Sitka for five weeks of concerts and special events. Artistic Direction: Zuill Bailey Festival Artists: Zuill Bailey, Kevin Hekmatpanah, Jennifer Kloetzel, Armen Ksajikian, Andrew Yee, cello; Ethan Filner, Luke Fleming, Pamela Goldsmith, Roland Kato, viola; Agnes Gottschewski, Kurt Nikkanen, Paul Rosenthal, Amy Schroeder, Tom Stone, Keiko Tokunaga, Cecily Ward, violin For Information: Roberta B. Rinehart, executive director P.O. Box 3333 Sitka, AK 99835 907 747 6774 director@sitkamusicfestival.org sitkamusicfestival.org
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Hot Springs Music Festival Hot Springs, AR June 3 to 16 Orchestra under the baton of Peter Bay, and chamber music with the Cassatt String Quartet. All apprentices receive full scholarship plus
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Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Santa Cruz, CA July 28 to August 12 Marin Alsop leads the award-winning festival orchestra, joined each summer by renowned composers and artists in a spectacular coastal town. 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of this “new music mecca” (The New York Times). Artistic Direction: Marin Alsop Festival Conductors: Marin Alsop, Carolyn Kuan Festival Artists: Thomas Adès, Clarice Assad, Mason Bates, Carlos Chavez, Alexandra du Bois, Osvaldo Golijov, Lou Harrison, Laura Karpman, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, John Mackey, James MacMillan, Dylan Mattingly, Alexander Norman, Behzad Ranjbaran, Huang Ruo, John Wineglass, and Greg Smith, composers; Cristina Pato, Galician bagpipes; Michael Ward-Bergeman, hyperaccordion; Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh; David Krakauer, klezmer clarinet; Joseph Alessi, trombone Featured Groups: Del Sol String Quartet; Kitchen Sisters of National Public Radio For Information: Ellen M. Primack, executive director 147 South River Street Suite 232 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831 426 6966 831 426 6968 (fax) info@cabrillomusic.org cabrillomusic.org See our ad on page 52
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Festival Mozaic San Luis Obispo, CA July 11 to 22 Festival Mozaic is a celebration of five centuries of music held year-round in spectacular venues on California’s picturesque Central Coast. The festival presents dynamic international artists in intimate chamber performances and orchestral concerts. Festival Conductor: Scott Yoo Festival Artists: Brian Thornton, cello; Anne Marie Gabriele, oboe; Steven Copes, violin Featured Groups: Mike Marshall and Friends; and Moira Smiley and VOCO For Information: Bettina Swigger, executive director P.O. Box 311 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 805 781 3009 805 781 3011 (fax) operations@festivalmozaic.com festivalmozaic.com Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA June 22 to September 23 One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922. Artistic Direction: Gustavo Dudamel Festival Conductors: Lionel Bringuier, Stéphane Denève, Gustavo Dudamel, George Fenton, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, David Newman, Leonard Slatkin, Bramwell Tovey, Krzysztof Urbański, Thomas Wilkins, and John Williams Festival Artists: Zeljko Lucic, Hugh Russell, Craig Verm, baritone; Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Christian van Horn, bass; Ryan McKinny, bass-baritone; Yo Yo Ma, cello; apl.de.ap, DJ; Edgar Meyer, double bass; Marcus Miller, Carlos Santana, guitar; Garrison Keillor, Melissa Peterman, host; Sasha Cooke, mezzo soprano; Zev Yaroslavsky, narrator; Inon Barnatan, Yefim Bronfman, Herbie Hancock, Benjamin Hochman, Denis Matsuev, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Sergio Tiempo, Yuja Wang, piano; Wayne Shorter, saxophone; Laura Claycomb, Olga Peretyatko, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, soprano; Plácido Domingo, Gordon Gietz, David Lomeli, Nicholas Phan, tenor; Trombone Shorty, trombone; Alison Balsom, trumpet; Joshua Bell, Renaud Capuçon, Martin Chalifour, Sarah Chang, Daniel Hope, Henning Kraggerud, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, violin; Mindi Abair, Anita Baker, Cindy Blackman Santana, Rubén Blades, Peabo Bryson, Euge Groove, Juan Luis Guerra, Freddie Jackson, Juanes, Ziggy Marley, Brian McKnight, Liza Minnelli, Jeffrey Osborne, Smokey Robinson, Peter White, vocals; Esperanza Spalding, vocals/double bass; Ben Harper, B.B. King, vocals/guitar; Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Barry Manilow, vocals/piano Featured Groups: Animal Collective; The Brian Setzer Orchestra; Count Basie Orchestra; The Duke Ellington Orchestra; Hot Chip; Huun Huur Tu; Igudesman & Joo, violin & piano; Jimmy Cobb’s “So What” Band; Los Angeles americanorchestras.org
Master Chorale; Men of Soul; Miles Electric Band; The Neville Brothers; Passion Pit; Tedeschi Trucks Band Orchestra Affiliation: Los Angeles Philharmonic For Information: Arvind Manocha, chief operating officer 2301 Highland Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90068 323 850 2000 hollywoodbowl.com Music Academy of the West Summer School & Festival Santa Barbara, CA June 18 to August 11 The Music Academy of the West’s 65th anniversary season will include appearances by violinist Gil Shaham, pianist Ingrid Fliter, and conductor James Gaffigan, among numerous other classical-music luminaries. Festival Conductors: James Gaffigan, Andrew Grams, Alexander Lazarev, Nicholas McGegan, and Larry Rachleff Festival Artists: David Paul, opera director; Karen Dreyfus, viola; Glenn Dicterow, Gil Shaham, violin; Colin Currie, percussion; Ingrid Fliter, piano Featured Groups: Miró Quartet For Information: Tim Dougherty, communications manager 1070 Fairway Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108 805 969 4726 805 969 0686 (fax) musicacademy.org See our ad on page 53 Music@Menlo Atherton, CA July 20 to August 11 Founded by David Finckel and Wu Han, Music@ Menlo is the San Francisco Bay Area’s premier chamber music festival. Now celebrating its tenth anniversary season, Music@Menlo is renowned for engaging, thematic programming performed by a roster of world-class artists. Artistic Direction: David Finckel, Wu Han Festival Artists: Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Dmitri Atapine, David Finckel, Laurence Lesser, cello; Romie de Guise-Langlois, Jose Franch-Ballester, Anthony McGill, clarinet; Scott Pingel, double bass; Bridget Kibbey, harp; Carol Wincenc, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Inon Barnatan, Gloria Chien, Jeffrey Kahane, Gilbert Kalish, Hyeyeon Park, Juho Pohjonen, Stephen Prutsman, Wu Han, piano; Florian Conzetti, Christopher Froh, percussion; Timothy Higgins, trombone; David Washburn, trumpet; Paul Neubauer, Richard O’Neill, Geraldine Walther, viola; Benjamin Beilman, Jorja Fleezanis, Ani Kavafian, Erin Keefe, Kristin Lee, Sean Lee, Arnaud Sussmann, Ian Swensen, violin; Sasha Cooke, Susanne Mentzer, Kelly Markgraf, vocals Featured Groups: Escher String Quartet and Pacifica Quartet For Information: Edward P. Sweeney, executive director 50 Valparaiso Avenue Atherton, CA 94303
650 330 2030 info@musicatmenlo.org musicatmenlo.org 66th Ojai Music Festival Ojai, CA June 7 to 10 Renowned Ojai Music Festival is a community of artists in residence who join in a journey of adventurous music-making and discovery with an engaged audience. Ojai nurtures an exploration of music and its place in society through a dynamic immersion experience in an idyllic setting. Artistic Direction: Thomas W. Morris, artistic director; Leif Ove Andsnes, music director Festival Conductor: Reinbert de Leeuw Festival Artists: Barbara Sukowa, actress; Martin Fröst, clarinet; Christianne Stotijn, mezzosoprano; Marc-André Hamelin, piano; Leif Ove Andsnes, piano/music director; Steven Schick, percussion; Antoine Tamestit, viola; Terje Tønneson, violin Featured Groups: Norwegian Chamber Orchestra For Information: Jeffrey P. Haydon, executive director 201 South Signal Street Ojai, CA 93024 805 646 2094 805 646 6037 (fax) info@ojaifestival.org OjaiFestival.org Pacific Symphony Summer Festival 2012 Irvine, CA July 4 to September 1 A summer tradition under the stars: July 4 Spectacular - Music of the Eagles; The Three Phantoms - Broadway’s Biggest Hits; Tchaikovsky Spectacular; and Disney Live in Concert: Pirates of the Caribbean. Festival Conductors: Carl St.Clair, music director; Richard Kaufman, principal pops conductor Festival Artists: Chad Hoopes, violin; Craig Schulman, Gary Mauer and Mark Jacoby, vocals Orchestra Affiliation: Pacific Symphony For Information: Brian Smith, director of ticketing and customer service Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 8808 Irvine Center Drive Irvine, CA 92618 714 755 5799 info@pacificsymphony.org pacificsymphony.org
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Aspen Music Festival and School Aspen, CO June 28 to August 19 One of America’s premier classical music festivals, the AMFS celebrates the inaugural summer of music director Robert Spano. More than 300 events presented featuring solo, chamber, and orchestral music, opera, contemporary music, lectures, master classes, and family concerts. Artistic Direction: Robert Spano Festival Conductors: Christian Arming, Richard Bado, Mei-Ann Chen, Frederico Cortese, James Feddeck, Joshua Gersen, Jane Glover, Manfred
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S umme r Honeck, Jeffrey Kahane, George Manahan, Anne Manson, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, David Robertson, Thomas Søndergård, Robert Spano, Osmo Vänskä, Joshua Weilerstein and Hugh Wolff Festival Artists: Inon Barnatan, Cipa and Misha Dichter, Vladimir Feltsman, Marc-André Hamelin, Jeffrey Kahane, John O’Conor, Orli Shaham, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Wu Han, Joyce Yang, piano; Adele Anthony, Joshua Bell, Daniel Hope, Robert McDuffie, Gil Shaham, violin; Nathan Gunn, Michelle DeYoung, vocals Featured Groups: American String Quartet, American Brass Quintet, Emerson String Quartet, and Pro Arte Quartet For Information: Laura Smith, communications director 2 Music School Road Aspen, CO 81611 970 925 3254 970 925 3802 (fax) festival@aspenmusic.org aspenmusicfestival.com Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival Vail, CO June 25 to August 4 Celebrating 25 years in 2012, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado features the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, soloists, and “Big Music For Little Bands” with Artistic Director and Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. Artistic Direction: Anne-Marie McDermott, artistic director; Jacqueline Taylor, artistic administrator Festival Conductors: Andrey Boreyko, Stéphane Denève, Alan Gilbert, Cristian Macelaru, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Steven Reineke, Carl Topilow, Bramwell Tovey, Jeff Tyzik, Jaap van Zweden Festival Artists: Kevin Deas, Joshua Hopkins, Adam Reinwald, Matthew Tintes, baritone; Chris Foss, Timothy Takach, bass; Eric Byers, Alban Gerhardt, Rachel Henderson-Freivogel, Alisa Weilerstein, Peter Wiley, cello; Gabriel Kahane, composer-in-residence; Leandro Gonzalez, congas; Tebelio Fonte, double bass; Steve Mackey, electric guitar; Jorge Gomez, keyboard; Armando Arce, percussion; Alessio Bax, Inon Barnatan, Yefim Bronfman, Kirill Gerstein, Benjamin Grosvenor, Anne-Marie McDermott, Pedja Muzijevic, Stephen Prutsman, piano; Luis Beltran Castillo, saxophone/flute; Tracy Dahl, Janice-Chandler Eterne, Jennifer Zetlan, soprano; Paul Appleby, Aaron Humble, Paul Rudoi, Gary Ruschman, Shahzore Shah, David Walton, tenor; Raul Rodriguez, trumpet; Jonathan Moerschel, Paul Neubauer, Sam Quintal, Steve Tenenbom, viola; Joshua Bell, Andrew Bulbrook, Sae Chonabayashi, James Ehnes, J Freivogel, Benjamin Jacobsen, Ida Kavafian, Jennifer Koh, Robert McDuffie, Clara Neubauer, Oliver Neubauer, Sheryl Staples, violin; Stephanie Block, Joaquin Diaz, Julie Murney, Susanna Phillips, vocals Featured Groups: Calder Quartet, Cantus Vocal Ensemble, Colorado Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Evans Choir, Jasper String Quartet, Opus One, Tiempo Libre Orchestra Affiliation: Dallas Symphony Orchestra,
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The Philadelphia Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, New York Philharmonic For Information: Meredith Richards, director of marketing and public relations 2271 North Frontage Road Suite C Vail, CO 81657 970 827 5700 970 827 5707 (fax) bravo@vailmusicfestival.org vailmusic.org Colorado College Summer Music Festival Colorado Springs, CO June 4 to 24 International faculty and advanced student musicians participate in small chamber ensembles, orchestra, master classes, concerto readings, and private lessons. Concert series include four festival orchestra concerts and numerous small-ensemble performances. Artistic Direction: Susan Grace Festival Conductor: Scott Yoo Festival Artists: Michael Kroth, bassoon; Bion Tsang, David Ying, cello; Bil Jackson, Jon Manasse, clarinet; Susan Cahill, double bass; Elizabeth Mann, Susan Rotholz, flute; Michael Thornton, horn; Robert Walters, oboe/English horn; Anne Epperson, Jon Nakamatsu, John Novacek, William Wolfram, piano; John Kinzie, timpani/percussion; John Rojak, trombone/tuba; Kevin Cobb, trumpet; Toby Appel, Phillip Ying, viola; Virginia Barron, viola/associate director; Mark Fewer, Steven Moeckel, Daniel Phillips, Stephen Rose, violin For Information: Bonnie Clark, administrative assistant 14 E. Cache La Poudre St. Colorado Springs, CO 80903 719 389 6552 719 389 6955 (fax) festival@coloradocollege.edu artsfestival.coloradocollege.edu/musicfestival Colorado Music Festival Boulder, CO June 23 to August 3 Under the skilled baton of Music Director Michael Christie, the Colorado Music Festival thrills audiences of over 20,000 each season with programming that embraces the most beloved classical-music repertoire, while integrating world music and the works of exciting modern composers. Festival Conductors: Michael Christie, Carolyn Kuan Festival Artists: F. Murray Abraham, narrator; Simone Dinnerstein, piano Featured Groups: Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Time for Three For Information: Brandi Numedahl, marketing director 900 Baseline Road, Cottage 100 Boulder, CO 80302 303 449 1397 info@comusic.org comusic.org
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Music in the Mountains Durango, CO July 8 to 29 A summer music festival presenting orchestra, chamber, conservatory and world music concerts by musicians from around the country and the world, in the San Juan Mountains. Complemented by a year-round educational program and summer conservatory. Artistic Direction: Gregory Hustis Festival Conductor: Guillermo Figueroa Festival Artists: Jason Calloway, Jesus CastroBalbi, cello; Gregory Hustis, horn; David Korevaar, Aviram Reichert, piano; Michael Klotz, Barbara Westphall, viola; Dmitri Berlinski, Guillermo Figueroa, Arkady Fomin, Ida Kavafian, Marcia Littley, Mischa Vitenson, violin Featured Groups: Amernet Quartet, Clavier Trio For Information: Susan Lander, executive director 1063 Main Avenue P.O. Box 3751 Durango, CO 81301 970 385 6820 970 382 0982 (fax) susanl@musicinthemountains.com musicinthemountains.com National Repertory Orchestra Breckenridge, CO June 15 to August 3 National Repertory Orchestra performs two full orchestra concerts each week in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado. This summer’s festival presents 89 talented young musicians from top music schools around the country. Festival Conductors: Carl Topilow, music director; Douglas Boyd, Andrew Litton, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Peter Oundjian, guest conductors For Information: Douglas Adams, executive direcror P.O. Box 6336 111 S. Main Sreet, Unit C7 Breckenridge, CO 80424 970 453 5825 970 453 5833 (fax) julie@nromusic.com nromusic.com Strings Music Festival Steamboat Springs, CO June 23 to August 28 Strings Music Festival celebrates its 25thanniversary season with more innovation than ever – a Van Cliburn gold medalist, photochoreography, dance collaborations, and worldrenowned classical musicians under the direction of Andrés Cárdenes. Artistic Direction: Andrés Cárdenes, Monique Mead Festival Conductors: Andrés Cárdenes, Monique Mead Festival Artists: David Hardy, Gary Hoffman, Ani Kalayjian, Wendy Law, cello; Mark Nuccio, clarinet; Bill Vermeulen, horn; Wendy Chen, Inga Dzeckzer, Baya Kakhouberi, Jon Nakamatsu, Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Rebecca Albers, Toby Appel, Richard Young, viola; Chee-Yun, Andrés Cárdenes, Gary Levinson, Monique Mead, violin Featured Group: Tesla Quartet
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S ummer For Information: Elissa Greene, director of artistic administration 900 Strings Rd P.O. Box 774627 Steamboat Springs, CO 80487 970 879 5056 970 879 7460 (fax) strings@stringsmusicfestival.com stringsmusicfestival.com
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Summerfest Florida, Central, and South America July 6 to August 6 This annual festival hosts an acclaimed European chamber orchestra, joined by members of the Symphony of the Americas for performances throughout Florida, Central and South America. Summerfest 2012 hosts the Mission Chamber Orchestra of Rome. Artistic Direction: James Brooks-Bruzzese Festival Conductor: James Brooks-Bruzzese, founder and artistic director Festival Artists: Lorenzo Turchi-Floris, composer, piano, and artistic director of Mission Chamber Orchestra; Marilyn Maingart, flute; Claudia Cagnassone, Laszlo Pap, violin Featured Group: Mission Chamber Orchestra of Rome Orchestra Affiliation: Mission Orchestra, sponsored in part by the Vatican, Rome For Information: Renee LaBonte, vice president, executive director Symphony of the Americas 2425 E. Commercial Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 954 335 7002 info@sota.org symphonyoftheamericas.org
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Sun Valley Summer Symphony Sun Valley, ID July 22 to August 14 Now in its 28th season, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony presents free-admission orchestra and chamber-music concerts in the Sun Valley Pavilion. Artistic Direction: Alasdair Neale Festival Conductors: Jeff Tyzik, guest conductor; Alasdair Neale, music director Festival Artists: Eugene Brancoveanu, baritone; William VerMeulen, horn; Jon Kimura Parker, piano; Deborah Voigt, soprano; Chris Botti, trumpet; James Ehnes, violin For Information: Jennifer Teisinger, executive director P.O. Box 1914 Sun Valley, ID 83353 208 622 5607 208 622 9149 (fax) svsummersymphony.org
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Grant Park Music Festival in Millennium Park Chicago, IL June 13 to August 18
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The Grant Park Music Festival, now in its 78th season, presents ten weeks of free classical music at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park featuring the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. Artistic Direction: Carlos Kalmar Festival Conductors: Carlos Kalmar, artistic director and principal conductor; Christopher Bell, chorus director; George Fenton, James Gaffigan, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Koen Kessels, Jun Märkl, Kevin Stites, guest conductors Festival Artists: Ben Wager, bass; Alban Gerhardt, Tanja Tetzlaff, cello; Jennifer Holloway, mezzosoprano; Steven Osborne, Pascal Rogé, piano; Layla Claire, Jonita Lattimore, soprano; René Barbera, Benjamin Butterfield, tenor; Chee-Yun, Mikhail Simonyan, Christian Tetzlaff, violin Featured Groups: Grant Park Orchestra; Grant Park Chorus; Singers from the Ryan Opera Center Orchestra Affiliation: Grant Park Orchestra For Information: Lauren Matson, marketing and development coordinator 205 E. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60601 312 742 7638 312 742 7662 (fax) info@grantparkmusicfestival.com grantparkmusicfestival.com Maud Powell Music Festival Peru, IL July 1 to 31 The Maud Powell Music Festival brings top-quality performances and educational opportunities to the Midwest. Special events include a children’s musical and a three-state recital tour by festival staff. Artistic Direction: Kevin R. McMahon Festival Conductors: Michael Alexander, David Leibowitz, Kevin R. McMahon, Chris Sheppard, Shawn Weber McMahon Festival Artists: Richard Beyers, bells; Michael Allen, Bennett Randman, cello; Kevin McMahon, composer/violin; Li-Shan Hung, Mary Schallhorn, piano; Loren McMahon, Carol Shamory, soprano; William Farlow, stage director; Shawn Weber McMahon, stage director/soprano; Larry Glenn, stage director/tenor; Allison Fleck, Katie Roy, viola; Robert McNally, violin Featured Groups: Marquette County Chamber Chorale, Marquette Male Chorus, Maud Powell Children’s Chorus, Maud Powell Quartet, and Maud Powell Trio For Information: Kevin McMahon, artistic director P.O. Box 501 La Moille, Illinois 61330 608 692 9185 mpmf@hughes.net powellfest.com Ravinia Festival Highland Park, IL June 7 to September 9 Ravinia Festival presents over 130 events from
June to September, including performances of Mozart’s Idomeneo and The Magic Flute, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in residence. Artistic Direction: James Conlon, Welz Kauffman Festival Conductors: John Axelrod, James Conlon, Christoph Eschenbach, Rob Fisher, Marvin Hamlisch, Richard Kaufman, Gianandrea Noseda, Steven Reineke, Ted Sperling, Jaap van Zweden Festival Artists: Matthias Goerne, Nathan Gunn, baritone; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano; Jonathan Biss, Sean Botkin, Yefim Bronfman, Sara Davis Buechner, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Feltsman, Leon Fleisher, Philip Glass, Denis Matsuev, Gabriela Montero, Kevin Murphy, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Nicole Cabell, Patricia Racette, Kiri Te Kanawa, Dawn Upshaw, soprano; Richard Croft, tenor; Joshua Bell, Tim Fain, Miriam Fried, Midori, Rachel Barton Pine, violin; Barbara Cook, Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel, vocals Featured Groups: Artists from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute; Benedetti, Elschenbroich, Grynyuk Trio; Chicago Symphony Chorus; Chicago Symphony Orchestra Wind Players; Elgin Youth Symphony; Emerson String Quartet; Fifth House Ensemble; Juilliard String Quartet; The Knights; Lincoln Trio; Martinez-UriosteBrey Piano Trio; Tokyo String Quartet; Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus; Zukerman Chamber Players Orchestra Affiliation: Chicago Symphony Orchestra For Information: Ravinia Festival Box Office 418 Sherida Road Highland Park, IL 60035 847 266 5100 847 266 0641 (fax) tickets@ravinia.org ravinia.org Woodstock Mozart Festival Woodstock, IL July 28 to August 12 Mozart and more! Chamber-orchestra concerts in the restored 1880s Woodstock Opera House just 60 miles from Chicago. A rare European-like experience in a historic setting. Artistic Direction: Anita Whalen Festival Conductors: Arthur Arnold, Igor Gruppman, David Schrader Festival Artists: Alex Klein, oboe; David Schrader, piano; Igor and Vesna Gruppman, violin For Information: Anita Whalen, artistic and general director P.O. Box 734 Naperville, IL 60098 630 983 7072 630 717 7782 (fax) mozartfest@aol.com mozartfest.org
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Marsh “Symphony on the Prairie” Series Fishers, IN June 15 to September 2 The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performs eleven weekends of outdoor summer concerts at the Conner Prairie Amphitheater.
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S umme r Festival Conductors: David Glover, Brent Havens, Ryan McAdams, Alfred Savia Festival Artists: Daniel Narducci, baritone; Stephen Beus, piano; Don McLean, pop vocalist Featured Groups: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Classical Mystery Tour, the Glenn Miller Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra For Information: Tim Northcutt, associate director of communications 13400 N. Allisonville Road Fishers, IN 46038 317 639 4300 indianapolissymphony.org South Shore Summer Music Festival Northwest Indiana, IN July 20 to August 4 Join the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra for the sixth annual South Shore Summer Music Festival, offering free concerts in towns across Lake and Porter counties and performing a mix of patriotic, classical and contemporary music perfect for the whole family. Artistic Direction: Kirk Muspratt Festival Conductor: Kirk Muspratt Orchestra Affiliation: Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra For Information: Tammie Miller, marketing coordinator 1040 Ridge Road Munster, IN 46321
of contemporary music
MUSIC DIRECTOR MARIN ALSOP SANTA CRUZ, CA
“new music mecca” —New York Times
50th
anniversary season july 28 – august 12
2012
ADÈS ASSAD BATES CHÁVEZ DU BOIS GOLIJOV HARRISON KARPMAN KROLLROSENBAUM MACKEY MATTINGLY MACMILLAN NORMAN RANJBARAN RUO WINEGLASS SMITH
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M a ine
Bar Harbor Music Festival Bar Harbor, ME July 1 to 29 Hailed as “one of New England’s great music festivals,” now in its 46th season in a spectacular setting. Highlights will include Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and the 29th Annual New Composers Concert, “Whales and Other Voices,” featuring Ensemble Tremblay performing a world premiere by Edmund Cionek, and music by George Crumb, Natacha Diels, Walter Piston, Matthew Quayle, and Hector Villa-Lobos. Artistic Direction: Francis Fortier Festival Conductors: Francis Fortier, conductor, Bar Harbor Festival String Orchestra; Joseph Li, music director, Festival Opera Theatre Festival Artists: Jimmy Mazzy, banjo; Chad Sloan, baritone; Jason Hardy, bass; Jameson Platte, cello; John Clark, clarinet; Allison Kiger, flute; Frank Jacobson, harpsichord; Jamie Van Eyck, mezzosoprano; Gerard Reuter, oboe; Cara Chowning, Christopher Johnson, Joseph Li, Blair McMillen, Matthew Quayle, Inesa Sinkevych, piano; Carrie Kahl, Angela Mannino, soprano; Jeffrey Ellenberger, Francis Fortier, violin Featured Groups: Ardelia Trio, Bar Harbor Festival String Orchestra, Brass Venture, Ensemble Tremblay, Festival Opera Theatre, Kent State Choristers, Wolverine Jazz Band Orchestra Affiliation: Bar Harbor Festival String Orchestra For Information: Deborah Swanger Fortier, artistic administrator Before June 18: 741 West End Ave., Suite 4B New York, NY 10025 After June 18: The Rodick Building 59 Cottage Street Bar Harbor, ME 04609 212 222 1026 before June 18 or 207 288 5744 after June 18 212 222 3269 before June 18 or 207 288 5886 after June 18 (fax) info@barharborfestival.org barharbormusicfestival.org
M a ss ac h u setts
Landmarks Festival at the Shell Boston, MA July 11 to August 29 The Boston Landmarks Orchestra’s 2012 season will reflect the orchestra’s commitment to community engagement. Artistic Direction: Christopher Wilkins Festival Conductor: Christopher Wilkins Featured Groups: Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), Longwood Symphony Orchestra
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Orchestra Affiliation: Boston Landmarks Orchestra For Information: Samantha Wade, supervisor of operations DCR’s Memorial Hatch Shell 47 David G. Mugar Way Boston, MA 02114 617 987 2000 617 987 0195 (fax) sw@landmarksorchestra.org landmarksorchestra.org See our ad on page 54 Rockport Chamber Music Festival Rockport, MA June 7 to July 16 Renowned chamber music festival featuring a stellar roster for a total of 21 concerts ranging from string quartets and eminent pianists to vocal, brass, woodwind, and early-music ensembles. Artistic Direction: David Deveau Festival Artists: Richard Stoltzman, John Bruce Yeh, clarinet; Edwin Barker, Timothy Cobb, contrabass; Benjamin Bagby, lyre and vocals; Mika Yoshida, marimba; Vytas Baksis, Bruce Brubaker, David Deveau, Randall Hodgkinson, Leon Fleisher, Gabriella Martinez, piano; Andrés Cárdenes, Jennifer Koh, violin; Jordi Savall, viol Featured Groups: A Far Cry, Boston Musica Viva, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Calder Quartet, Cantus, Jupiter String Quartet, Parker String Quartet, Red Priest, Spanish Brass, Trio con Brio Copenhagen For Information: Gregg Sorensen, director of marketing Shalin Liu Performance Center 37 Main Street Rockport, MA 01966 978 546 7391 978 546 8351 (fax) info@rockportmusic.org rockportmusic.org/rcmf-home.html Tanglewood Music Festival Lenox, MA June 22 to September 2 Tanglewood, the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra located in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, celebrates its 75th anniversary season. Festival Conductors: Stefan Asbury, Stéphane Denève, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Asher Fisch, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Marcelo Lehninger, Keith Lockhart, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, AnneSophie Mutter, Andris Nelsons, Michael Stern, Bramwell Tovey, Christoph von Dohnányi, John Williams, Pinchas Zukerman Festival Artists: Gerald Finley, Alfredo García Huerga, Josep Miquel Ramón, Sir Willard White, baritone; Christopher Feigum, John Relyea, bass-baritone; Pedro Sanz, Flamenco cantaor; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Mark Morris, choreographer; Anthony McGill, clarinet; Michael Gandolfi, John Harbison, Matti Kovler, Edgar Meyer, André Previn, Adam Roberts, Gunther Schuller, Ju Ri Seo, composer; Edgar Meyer, double bass; Núria Pomares Rojas, Flamenco dancer; Elizabeth Rowe, flute; Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar; John
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Su m m er Gibbons, harpsichord; Meredith Arwady, Cristina Faus, Susan Graham, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Cátia Moreso, mezzo-soprano; John Ferrillo, oboe; Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Nelson Freire, Paul Lewis, Gabriela Montero, Gerhard Oppitz, André Previn, Peter Serkin, Jean-Ives Thibaudet, Ilya Yakushev, piano; Leah Crocetto, Jessye Norman, soprano; Paul Groves, Frank Lopardo, Vicente Ombuena, Gustavo Peña, tenor; Chris Botti, trumpet; Joshua Bell, Augustin Hadelich, Malcolm Lowe, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gil Shaham, Dan Zhu, Pinchas Zukerman, violin; Diana Krall, Maureen McGovern, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bernadette Peters, James Taylor, vocals Featured Groups: A Prairie Home Companion, Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Classical Tangent, Ébène String Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Mark Morris Dance Group, PALS Children’s Chorus, Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music, Silk Road Ensemble, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: Boston Symphony Orchestra For Information: Mark Volpe, managing director 297 West Street Boston, MA 01240 888 266 1200 customerservice@bso.org tanglewood.org See our ad on page 57
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St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s River Concert Series St. Mary’s City, MD June 22 to July 27 Classical music concerts by celebrated artists free to the public through community and corporate sponsorship. Mainstage events Friday evenings, June 22 - July 27. Grounds open at 5 pm; Concerts begin at 8 pm. Festival Conductor: Jeffrey Silberschlag Orchestra Affiliation: The Chesapeake Orchestra For Information: Jeffrey Silberschlag, Music Director St. Mary’s College of Maryland 18952 E. Fisher Road St. Mary’s City, MD 20686 240 895 4795 musicdepartment@smcm.edu See our ad on page 46
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Quartet, Minnesota Beethoven Festival Chorale, Minnesota Orchestra For Information: Caroline Kirk, marketing and PR director P.O. Box 1143 Winona, MN 55987 507 474 9055 info@mnbeethovenfestival.org mnbeethovenfestival.org Sommerfest Minneapolis, MN July 13 to 28 Artistic Director Andrew Litton celebrates his tenth summer with the Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest, which offers performances of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth, Beethoven’s Third and Verdi’s Rigoletto in concert. Artistic Direction: Andrew Litton Festival Conductors: Andrew Litton, Osmo Vänskä Festival Artists: Danny Driver, Benjamin Grosvenor, piano; Erin Keefe, violin; Brad Benoit, Matt Boehler, Anna DeGraff, Paul Hindemith, Gwyn Hughes Jones, Jeffrey Madison, Maureen O’Flynn, Stephen Powell, vocals Featured Groups: Minnesota Chorale Orchestra Affiliation: Minnesota Orchestra For Information: Robert Neu, general manager
Ted Mann Concert Hall 2128 Fourth Street South Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 371 5656 info@mnorch.org minnesotaorchestra.org
Mon tana
Festival Amadeus 2012 Kalispell, MT July 22 to 28 A week of chamber music and orchestra concerts featuring guest artists of international renown. Held in the quaint mountain town of Whitefish, Montana, featuring an open-air opening-night concert. Artistic Direction: John Bernard Zoltek Festival Conductor: John Bernard Zoltek Festival Artists: Amit Peled, cello; Alon Goldstein, piano; Paul Coletti, viola; Tim Fain, violin Orchestra Affiliation: Festival Amadeus Orchestra For Information: Alan Satterlee, executive director P.O. Box 2491 Kalispell, MT 59903 406 257 3241 406 257 5507 (fax) info@gscmusic.org gscmusic.org
N ew Ham psh ir e
New Hampshire Music Festival Center Harbor, NH July 10 to August 17
J u N e 18 – Au G u S T 11, 2 0 1 2 SANTA BARBARA , CALIFORNIA
M i n ne s ota
Minnesota Beethoven Festival Winona, MN July 1 to 22 The sixth annual Minnesota Beethoven Festival, held in the beautiful bluff country of Winona, includes nine different concerts showcasing orchestral, choral, and chamber music performed by some of the great artists of our time. Artistic Direction: Ned Kirk Festival Conductors: Osmo Vänskä, Dale Warland Festival Artists: Li-Wei Qin, cello; Sharon Isbin, guitar; Angela Hewitt, Kevin Kenner, piano; Branford Marsalis, saxophone; Erin Keefe, violin Featured Groups: Eroica Trio, Leipzig String americanorchestras.org
Eight WEEks of MarvElous Music Orchestra • Chamber Music • Masterclasses Opera—Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress guEst artists includE Colin Currie • Glenn Dicterow • Karen Dreyfus • Ingrid Fliter • James Gaffigan • Andrew Grams • Alexander Lazarev • Nicholas McGegan • Miró Quartet • Larry Rachleff • Gil Shaham • Kiri Te Kanawa • Yan Pascal Tortelier musicacademy.org
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S umme r Celebrating 60 years, the NHMF presents six weeks of classics and pops orchestra concerts, chamber-music performances and pre-concert lectures. Conductor Laureate Paul Polivnick leads half the season, followed by three candidates seeking to become the festival’s next music director. Festival Conductors: Paul Polivnick, conductor laureate; music director candidates TBA For Information: Frank Pesci, interim executive director 8 NH Route 25, Unit A Meredith, NH 03253 603 279 3300 info@nhmf.org nhmf.org
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Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Santa Fe, NM July 15 to August 20 Celebrating 40 years of exceptional music-making! Don’t miss 90-plus works performed by soughtafter artists, new commissions by Lindberg, Grime, Del Tredici and Kernis, and a special conference on music and the brain. Artistic Direction: Marc Neikrug Festival Conductors: Alan Gilbert, Oliver Knussen Festival Artists: John Rubinstein, actor; Luca Pisaroni, bass-baritone; Nancy Goeres, bassoon; Alan Gilbert, conductor, viola/violin; Timothy Eddy, Felix Fan, Lynn Harrell, Gary Hoffman, Joseph Johnson, Anssi Karttunen, Eric Kim, Peter Wiley, Kajsa William-Olsson, cello; Chen Halevi, Todd Levy, Ricardo Morales, Michael Rusinek, David Shifrin, clarinet; David Del Tredici, Helen Grime, Aaron Jay Kernis, Magnus Lindberg, composers; Marji Danilow, double bass; Bart Feller, Sir James Galway, Lady Jeanne Galway, Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Kathleen McIntosh, harpsichord; Julie Landsman, Philip Myers, horn; Liang Wang, oboe; Inon Barnatan, Jeremy Denk, Kirill Gerstein, Magnus Lindberg, Anne-Marie McDermott, Jon Kimura Parker, Andrew Russo, Joyce Yang, Haochen Zhang, piano; Gregg Koyle, David Tolen, percussion; Tony Arnold, soprano; John Dalley, Aloysia Friedmann, Hsin-Yun Huang, John Largess, Teng Li, Steven Tenenbom, Michael Tree, viola; Kathleen Brauer, John Dalley, Harvey de Souza, Jennifer Frautschi, Jennifer Gilbert, Leila Josefowicz, Benny Kim, Soovin Kim, Helen Nightengale, Daniel Phillips, Todd Phillips,
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William Preucil, Arnold Steinhardt, violin; Lily Francis, L. P. How, Ida Kavafian, viola/violin Featured Groups: Miró Quartet, Orion String Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, members of the former Guarneri Quartet For Information: Steven Ovitsky, executive director P.O. Box 2227 Santa Fe, NM 87504 505 983 2075 (office); 888 221 9836 or 505 982 1890 (tickets) sovitsky@sfcmf.org sfcmf.org See our ad on page 55
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Bard SummerScape Annandale-on-Hudson, NY July 6 to August 19 Presenting the Bard Music Festival featuring music by composer Camille Saint-Saëns, Emmanuel Chabrier’s opera The King in Spite of Himself, Molière’s classic drama The Imaginary Invalid, and dance by France’s Fêtes Galantes Dance Company. Artistic Direction: Leon Botstein Festival Conductor: Leon Botstein For Information: P.O. Box 5000 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504 845 758 7900 fishercenter@bard.edu fishercenter.bard.edu Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Bridgehampton, NY July 26 to August 19 Now in its 29th season, the festival presents distinctive programs that highlight chamber music masterworks, exciting new works, festival commissions and self-published recordings. Concerts take place in the intimate Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church. Artistic Direction: Marya Martin Festival Artists: Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Sarah Beaty, Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Edward Arron, Carter Brey, Nicholas Canellakis, Michael Nicolas, Fred Sherry, Peter Stumpf, cello; Jeffrey Beecher,
Great Music for Free
Wednesdays at 7 pm • July 11 – August 29
www.LandmarksOrchestra.org
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double bass; Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord; Stewart Rose, horn; John Snow, oboe; Alessio Bax, Pedja Muzijevic, Jeewon Park, Gilles Vonsattel, Orion Weiss, piano; Beth Chu, Hsin-Yun Huang, Richard O’Neill, Cynthia Phelps, viola; Benjamin Beilman, Jonathan Crow, Bella Hristova, Stefan Jackiw, Ani Kavafian, Erin Keefe, Joseph Lin, Arnaud Sussmann, Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin Featured Groups: Brooklyn Rider For Information: Derek Delaney, executive director Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church 2429 Montauk Highway New York, NY 11932 212 741 9073 212 741 9403 (fax) info@bcmf.org bcmf.org Bronx Arts Ensemble - SummerMusic 2012 Bronx, NY July 15 to August 12 Ten free Sunday concerts in Van Cortlandt Park and at Fordham University Artistic Direction: William Scribner Festival Artists: William Scribner, bassoon; Bruce Wang, cello; Mitchell Kriegler, clarinet; Theresa Norris, flute; Sharon Moe, horn; Marsha Heller, oboe; Veronica Salas, Sally Shumway, viola; Jorge Avila, Francisca Mendoza, violin For Information: Maggie Krupka, publicist 80 Van Cortlandt Park South, Suite 7D-1 Bronx, NY 10463 718 601 7399 718 549 4008 (fax) events@bronxartsensemble.org bronxartsensemble.org Chautauqua Institution Chautauqua, NY June 23 to August 26 Founded in 1874 as a lifelong learning center for arts, education, religion and recreation, this summer destination is located on beautiful Chautauqua Lake presenting over 2,000 events for all ages. Artistic Direction: Marty W. Merkley Festival Conductors: Stuart Chafetz, Joseph Colaneri, Grant Cooper, Timothy Muffitt, Roberto Minczuk, Steven Osgood, Michael Stern Festival Artists: Matt Haimovitz, cello; Alexander Gavrylyuk, Alexander Schmipf, Peter Serkin, piano; Clara-Jui Kang, Pamela Frank, violin Featured Groups: Chautauqua Chamber Winds, Chautauqua Quartet, Ethel, Igudesman & Joo, Jim Walker & Freeflight, New Arts Trio, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Pablo Ziegler Tango Quartet, Swingle Singers, Sybarite5 Orchestra Affiliation: Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra For Information: Marty W. Merkley, vice president & director of programming P.O. Box 28 One Ames Avenue Chautauqua, NY 14722 716 357 6217
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S ummer 716 357 9014 (fax) mmerkley@ciweb.org ciweb.org Luzerne Chamber Music Festival at Luzerne Music Center Lake Luzerne, NY July 1 to August 20 For 32 years on the campus of the Luzerne Music Center, Luzerne Chamber Music Festival has been offering concerts in an intimate venue featuring members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, resident faculty, guest artists, and featured groups. Artistic Direction: Elizabeth Pitcairn Festival Artists: Julietta Curenton, flute; Toby Blumenthal, André-Michel Schub, Louise Thomas, Cynthia Elise Tobey, piano; Brett Deubner, Sarah Sutton, viola; Kurt Nikkanen, Elizabeth Pitcairn, violin Featured Groups: Corigliano String Quartet, Luzerne Chamber Players, Matt Herskowitz Jazz Trio - MaD Fusion, Rodney Mack and the Philadelphia Big Brass, Members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Members of the New York City Ballet Orchestra For Information: William Schulman, camp director P.O. Box 39 Lake Luzerne, NY 12846 518 696 2771 info@luzernemusic.org luzernemusic.org
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Maverick Concerts Woodstock, NY June 30 to September 16 Maverick has been presenting world-class chamber music, jazz, world music, and family concerts since 1916. Adventurous programming, world premieres, and staples of the repertoire, performed in the rustic splendor of a woodland hall that’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Artistic Direction: Alexander Platt Festival Conductor: Alexander Platt Festival Artists: Steve Gorn, bansuri flute; Andrew Garland, baritone; Zuill Bailey, Robert DeMaine, cello; Simon Powis, classical guitar; Elizabeth Mitchell, folksinger; Andrew Appel, harpsichord; Perry Beekman, jazz guitar; Bill Charlap, Fred Hersch, Renee Rosnes, jazz piano; Roswell Rudd, jazz trombone; Mary Nessinger, mezzo-soprano; Frederic Chiu, Jon Klibonoff, Alan Murchie, Pedja Muzijevic, Navah Perlman, Andrew Russo, Ilya Yakushev, piano; Gaele Le Roi, Nancy Allen Lundy, soprano; Yizhak Schotten, viola; Timothy Fain, violin Featured Groups: Ebène Quartet, Four Nations Ensemble, Imani Winds, Jupiter String Quartet, Leipzig String Quartet, Piano Trio Latitude 41, Shanghai Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Trio Solisti
For Information: David Segal, vice chairman P.O. Box 9 Woodstock, NY 12498 845 679 8217 maverickmuse@aol.com maverickconcerts.org Mostly Mozart Festival New York, NY July 28 to August 25 Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, now in its 46th year, is a New York institution featuring concerts by the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, acclaimed soloists, opera productions, dance, film, and visual art. Artistic Direction: Jane S. Moss, Ehrenkranz artistic director Festival Conductors: Louis Langree, Susanna Mälkki, Andrew Manze, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Osmo Vänskä Festival Artists: Martin Frost, clarinet; Francois Leleus, oboe; Rudolf Buchbinder, Jean EfflamBavouzet, Nelson Freire, David Greilsammer, Stephen Hough, Garrick Ohlsson, Shai Wosner, piano; Lisa Batiashvili, Joshua Bell, violin Featured Groups: Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Ebene Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Mark Morris Dance Group, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra For Information:
C
ome celebrate four phenomenal decades of the world’s greatest
chamber music in Santa Fe!
Join us for this
MileStone SeaSon For Tickets and Information
888.221.9836 — or 505.982.1890 — SantaFeChamberMusic.com toll free
of ex cepti onal music-making JUL 15 - AUG 20
2012 americanorchestras.org
Intimate. Compelling. Unforgettable. Marc Neikrug, Artistic Director
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70 Lincoln Center Plaza New York, NY 10023 212 875 5000 mostlymozart.org New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schaefer, Major Corporate Sponsor Time Warner New York, NY July 11 to 17 The New York Philharmonic’s 47th year of free concerts under the stars, throughout the New York area. Orchestra Affiliation: New York Philharmonic For Information: Communications Department Avery Fisher Hall 10 Lincoln Center Plaza New York, NY 10023 212 875 5709 nyphil.org Summertime Classics New York, NY July 3 to 10 The New York Philharmonic’s festival of popular masterpieces hosted and conducted by Bramwell Tovey, whose sparkling wit and fascinating musical insights make him a perennial audience favorite. Artistic Direction: Ed Yim Festival Conductor: Bramwell Tovey Orchestra Affiliation: New York Philharmonic For Information: Avery Fisher Hall 10 Lincoln Center Plaza New York, NY 10023 212 875 5656 nyphil.org The Philadelphia Orchestra Concert Series at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Saratoga Springs, NY August 1 to 18 The Philadelphia Orchestra performs three weeks of concerts in upstate New York featuring renowned conductors and guest artists. Festival Conductors: Stéphane Denève, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Constantine Kitsopoulos, Cristian Macelaru, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Steven Reineke, David
Robertson Festival Artists: Yo-Yo Ma, Johannes Moser, cello; Lang Lang, Garrick Ohlsson, JeanYves Thibaudet, piano; Joshua Bell, Arabella Steinbacher, violin Featured Groups: Cirque de la Symphonie Orchestra Affiliation: The Philadelphia Orchestra For Information: SPAC Box Office Saratoga Performing Arts Center Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 518 587 3330 518 584 0809 (fax) spac.org
N o rt h C a r olin a
Brevard Music Center Brevard, NC June 22 to August 5 Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Brevard Music Center summer institute and festival offers programs in orchestra, piano, composition, opera and voice. Artistic Direction: Keith Lockhart Festival Conductors: Matthias Bamert, JoAnn Falletta, Julian Kuerti, Ken Lam, Carol Nies, David Stewart Wiley, Jeff Tyzik, Kraig Alan Williams Festival Artists: Jeff Nelsen, French horn; Robert Blocker, Norman Krieger, Bruce Murray, André Watts, Ilya Yakushev, piano; Joseph Lulloff, saxophone; J. Patrick Rafferty, violin Featured Groups: Vega Quartet For Information: Bruce Murray, artistic administrator and dean 349 Andante Lane P.O. Box 312 Brevard, NC 28712 828 862 2100 828 884 2036 (fax) bmurray@brevardmusic.org brevardmusic.org
O hio
Lancaster Festival Lancaster, OH July 18 to 28
This season marks the 25th anniversary celebration of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra and Maestro Sheldon, featuring André Watts on a spectacular opening night. Both indoor and outdoor venues are used in this beautiful central Ohio community. Artistic Direction: Gary Sheldon Festival Conductor: Gary Sheldon Festival Artists: John Sant’Ambrogio, cello; Judith Lynn Stillman, André Watts, piano; Dmitri Pogorelov, Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, violin Featured Groups: Generations Trio; Lancaster Chorale; Lancaster Festival Orchestra; Veronika String Quartet Orchestra Affiliation: Lancaster Festival Orchestra For Information: Lou Ross, executive director P.O. Box 1452 Lancaster, OH 43130 740 687 4808 740 687 1980 (fax) lanfest@lanfest.org lancasterfestival.org May Festival: America’s Premier Choral Festival Cincinnati, OH May 11 to 19 The 2012 season showcases the May Festival Chorus, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and world-renowned guest artists in a variety of performances of the great choral repertoire. Choral works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Carissimi, Duruflé, Orff, Pärt, Poulenc, Schutz, Tallis, Tchaikovsky, and Verdi. Artistic Direction: James Conlon Festival Conductors: James Bagwell, director, May Festival Youth Chorus; James Conlon, music director; Christopher Eanes, director, Cincinnati Boychoir; Robert Porco, director of choruses, Cincinnati May Festival Festival Artists: William McGraw, Stephen Powell, John Relyea, Yohan Yi, bass-baritone; Ronnita Nicole Miller, Hana Park, mezzosoprano; Nicole Cabell, Heidi Grant Murphy, Tatiana Pavlovskaya, soprano; John Aler, Rodrick Dixon, tenor Featured Groups: Cincinnati Boychoir, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, May Festival Chorus, May Festival Youth Chorus Orchestra Affiliation: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra For Information: Lauren Hess, marketing & communications manager Music Hall 1241 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 513 744 3250 513 744 3535 (fax) lhess@mayfestival.com mayfestival.com
O r egon
Britt Classical Festival Jacksonville, OR July 31 to August 19 Our fiftieth season of extraordinary music under the stars! Moonlit evenings, intimate
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S ummer amphitheater, historical setting, hillside seating beneath ponderosa pines, professional 90-member symphony, world-class artists—the incomparable Britt experience. Artistic Direction: Peter Bay Festival Conductors: Peter Bay, Wesley Schulz Festival Artists: Alisa Weilerstein, cello; James Westwater, photochoreography; Sara Daneshpour, Anton Nel, André Watts, piano; Nurit Bar-Josef, Sarah Chang, violin Featured Groups: Calder Quartet Orchestra Affiliation: Britt Festival Orchestra For Information: Angela Warren, director of performing arts 216 West Main St., P.O. Box 1124 Medford, OR 97501 541 779 0847 541 776 3712 (fax) info@brittfest.org brittfest.org Chamber Music Northwest Portland, OR June 25 to July 29 The 42nd festival offers 26 concerts performed by internationally renowned artists and ensembles, in music ranging from Vivaldi to a world premiere by Aaron Jay Kernis, with a complete production of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. Artistic Direction: David Shifrin, artistic director Festival Artists: Fred Sherry, Ronald Thomas, cello; David Shifrin, clarinet; Edgar Meyer, double bass; Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano; Stephen Taylor, Allan Vogel, oboe; Ayano Kataoka, percussion; Gilbert Kalish, Anne-Marie McDermott, André Watts, Shai Wosner, piano; Michala Petri, recorder; Paul Neubauer, Cynthia Phelps, viola; Steven Copes, Jennifer Frautschi, Ani Kavafian, Yura Lee, violin Featured Groups: BodyVox Dance, Emerson String Quartet, Igudesman & Joo, Tokyo String Quartet For Information: Rebekah Phillips, communications and marketing director 522 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 920 Portland, OR 97204 503 223 3202 503 294 1690 (fax) info@cmnw.org cmnw.org Oregon Bach Festival Eugene, OR June 29 to July 17 Bach master Helmuth Rilling leads the Grammywinning festival through 17 days of choral masterworks, chamber music, and social events, in Eugene, Portland, and five other cities. “Virtually without equal” —LA Times. Artistic Direction: Matthew Halls Festival Conductors: Anton Armstrong, Matthew Halls, Helmuth Rilling Festival Artists: Joe Powers, harmonica; John Scott, organ; Ya-Fei Chuang, Angela Hewitt, piano; Tamara Wilson, soprano; Joshua Bell, violin Featured Groups: The 5 Browns, Pink Martini with Storm Large, Portland Baroque Orchestra with Monica Huggett For Information: americanorchestras.org
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boston symphony orchestra
George Evano, director of communications 1257 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 800 457 1486 bachfest@uoregon.edu oregonbachfestival.com
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Siletz Bay Music Festival Gleneden Beach, OR June 12 to 24 Classical, jazz, musical theater are all showcased in this festival on the central coast of Oregon. Musicians from all over the U.S. come together for concerts by the sea. Artistic Direction: Jaacov Bergman Festival Conductor: Jaacov Bergman Festival Artists: Max Bobby, Katherine Schultz, Erika Teraoka, cello; Lorna Griffitt, Dick Hyman, Gerald Robbins, Mei Tink Sun, piano; Lindsay Deutsch, Haroutune Bedelian, violin For Information: Sue Parks-Hilden, executive director P.O. Box 753 Gleneden Beach, OR 97388 541 764 5408 sparkshi@siletzbaymusic.org siletzbaymusic.org Sunriver Music Festival Sunriver, OR August 10 to 22 First-class musicians gather to perform a pops concert, family concert, four classical concerts, and a piano recital in the Historic Great Hall at the Sunriver Resort in Bend, Oregon. Artistic Direction: George Hanson Festival Conductor: George Hanson Festival Artists: Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano; Steven Moeckel, violin Featured Groups: Magical Mystery Tour: Music of the Beatles For Information: Pamela Beezley, executive director P.O. Box 4308 One Center Drive Sunriver, OR 97707 541 593 9310 541 593 6959 (fax) tickets@sunrivermusic.org sunrivermusic.org
P e nnsYLvan ia
The Mann Philadelphia, PA May 11 to September 30 The Mann, nominated again as “Best Outdoor Concert Venue” (Pollstar Magazine) in North America brings back a series of concerts with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Festival Conductors: Manfred Honeck, Cristian Macelaru, Rossen Milanov, Xian Zhang Festival Artists: Luis Ledesma, baritone; Johannes Moser, cello; Idina Menzel; Margaret Mezzacappa, mezzo-soprano; Jackie Evancho,
Celebrating the 75th anniversary season! Tickets On Sale Now Season Starting June 22
888-266-1200 tanglewood.org
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is proud to support Tanglewood and its education initiatives for Massachusetts students.
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S umme r Othalie Graham, soprano; Zachary Borichevsky, tenor Featured Groups: Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Il Divo, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Singers, The Philadelphia Orchestra For Information: Jamey Hines, artistic administrator 5201 Parkside Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19131 jhines@manncenter.org manncenter.org
P e nns y lva nia a nd N e w Yor k
Endless Mountain Music Festival Wellsboro, Mansfield, Troy, Canton, Corning, Elmira, PA & NY July 28 to August 12 Magnificent scenery and small-town charm are the backdrop for sixteen international world-class performances in Northern Pennsylvania and the Finger Lakes Region of New York. Orchestra and chamber music in beautiful, unique venues. Artistic Direction: Stephen Gunzenhauser Festival Conductor: Stephen Gunzenhauser Festival Artists: Shelly Berg, Santiago Rodriguez, Bram Wijnands, piano; Robert Bokor, Charles Rex, violin Featured Groups: Festival orchestra musicians are members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, New York City Ballet, New York
No LoNe StarS iN texaS
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2012 Festival: 6/3 to 7/15
ORChESTRA, ChAMbER & SOLO MUSIC STUDy • Full Scholarships • Distinguished Faculty • Exceptional Repertoire • World-class Concert Hall • Private Lessons, Master Classes
(979) 250-3815 festivalhill.org/summerinstitute
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Philharmonic, Philadelphia Ballet For Information: Cynthia Long, executive director 130 Main Street Wellsboro, PA 16901 570 787 7800 570 723 7329 (fax) info@endlessmountain.net endlessmountain.net
T e x as
American Festival II Fort Worth, TX August 24 to 26 Second annual all-American festival celebrating the best American composers. This year: Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Philip Glass, Roy Harris and more. Artistic Direction: Miguel Harth-Bedoya Festival Conductor: Miguel Harth-Bedoya Festival Artists: Jose Feghali, Leon McCawley, piano; Augustin Hadelich, violin Featured Groups: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra For Information: Marilyn Bailey, press manager Bass Performance Hall Fort Worth, TX 76102 817 665 6000 fwsymphony.org Concerts in the Garden Fort Worth, TX June 1 to July 4 Outdoor concerts on the lawn, some with orchestra, all ending with fireworks. Programming includes classical, jazz, rock, country and mambo. Festival Conductors: Andres Franco, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Brent Havens, Martin Herman Featured Groups: Byron Stripling Quartet; Classical Mystery Tour; Jeans ‘n’ Classics: Music of Fleetwood Mac; Kraig Parker as Elvis; Music of The Eagles; Music of The Who; Old 97’s; Reckless Kelly; Tito Puente, Jr.; Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue Orchestra Affiliation: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra For Information: Marilyn Bailey, press manager Fort Worth Botanic Garden Fort Worth, TX 76102 fwsymphony.org Immanuel & Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival Houston, TX June 1 to 30 This four-week intensive orchestral training program for college and young professional musicians offers numerous performing opportunities, private instruction, and chambermusic coaching. All participants receive a
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fellowship that covers tuition/housing/meals. Festival Conductors: Franz Anton Krager, Josep Caballe-Domenech, Daniel Hege, Lavard SkouLarsen Festival Artists: Richard Beene, Elise Wagner, bassoon; Eric Kim, Brinton Smith, Alan Stepansky, cello; Randall Griffin, Michael Webster, clarinet; Paul Ellison, Eric Larson, Dennis Whittaker, double bass; Leone Buyse, Aralee Dorough, Christina Jennings, flute; Paula Page, harp; Roger Kaza, Philip Stanton, William VerMeulen, horn; Robert Atherholt, Anne Leek, oboe; Ted Atkatz, Matthew Strauss, Blake Wilkins, percussion; Allen Barnhill, Phillip Freeman, trombone; Mark Hughes, Susan Slaughter, Jim Vassallo, trumpet; David Kirk, tuba; Wayne Brooks, James Dunham, Rita Porfiris, viola; Andrzej Grabiec, Kyung Sun Lee, Lucie Robert, Kirsten Yon, Jun Zuo, violin Featured Groups: Festival Orchestra For Information: Melissa McCrimmon, assistant director The University of Houston Moores School of Music 120 School of Music Building Houston, TX 77204 541 779 0847 tmf.uh.edu Round Top Festival Institute Round Top, TX June 3 to July 15 A professional summer institute for orchestra, chamber music, and solo performance. Artistic Direction: James Dick Festival Conductors: Pedro Carneiro, Christoph Campestrini, Emilio Colon, Michael Stern, Perry So, Charles Olivieri-Munroe, Stefan Sanders, Pascal Verrot Festival Artists: Benjamin Kamins, Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon; Stephen Balderston, Emilio Colon, cello; Kenneth Grant, Hakan Rosengren, clarinet; Brett Shurtliffe, James VanDemark, double bass; Gretchen Pusch, Ransom Wilson, Carol Wincenc, flute; Paula Page, harp; Michelle Baker, Kark Kramer-Johansen, Peter Kurau, horn; Eteri Andjaparidze, James Dick, piano; Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano; Rebecca Henderson, Nathan Hughes, Alecia Lawyer, oboe; Thomas Burritt, Tony Edwards, Todd Meehan, Doug Perkins, percussion; Eteri Andjaparidze, James Dick, piano; Tom Booth, Marie Speziale, Will Strieder, trumpet; John Kitzman, Ben Osborne, Brent Phillips, Lee Rogers, trombone; Nancy Buck, Brett Deubner, viola; Gregory Fulkerson, Nicholas Kitchen, Erica Kiesewetter, Espen Lilleslatten, Stefan Milenkovich, Curtis Macomber, Jonathan Swartz, Nazig Tchakarian, violin Featured Groups: Meehan/Perkins percussion duo For Information: Alain G. Declert, program director 248 Jaster Road Round Top, TX 78954 979 249 3129 979 249 5078 (fax) info@festivalhill.org festivalhill.org See our ad this page
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Marlboro Music Festival Marlboro, VT July 14 to August 12 Marlboro Music brings together the world’s most distinguished concert artists and promising young professionals to spend seven weeks playing together, exploring chamber music in a way not possible elsewhere. Artistic Direction: Richard Goode, Mitsuko Uchida Festival Artists: Rose Vrbsky, William Winstead, bassoon; Gabriel Cabezas, Andrew Janss, Karen Ouzounian, Deborah Pae, Angela Park, Marcy Rosen, Judith Serkin, Brook Speltz, Peter Stumpf, Peter Wiley, Zhou Yi, Matthew Zalkind, cello; Tibi Cziger, Alicia Lee, Anthony McGill, Charles Neidich, clarinet; Tony Flynt, double bass; Emi Ferguson, Joshua Smith, flute; Wei-Ping Chou, David Cooper, Rebekah Daley, horn; Hassan Anderson, Mary Lynch, Frank Rosenwein, oboe; Nareh Arghamanyan, Jonathan Biss, Michael Brown, Gabriele Carcano, Richard Goode, Pallavi Mahidhara, Cynthia Raim, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Mitsuko Uchida, Denes Varjon, piano; Sally Chisholm, Hélène Clément, Emily Deans, Kim Kashkashian, Ayane Kozasa, Hanna Lee, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Vicki Powell, Samuel Rhodes, Michael Tree, Mary Sang-Hyun Yong, viola; Lucy Chapman, Nikki Chooi, Emilie-Anne Gendron, Caroline Goulding, Liana Gourdjia, Viviane Hagner, Soovin Kim, Joseph Lin, Joel Link, David McCarroll, Dina Nesterenko, Michelle Ross, Robin Scott, Arnold Steinhardt, Danbi Um, Elena Urioste, Hiroko Yajima, Itamar Zorman, violin For Information: Jennifer Loux, director of admissions South Road P.O. Box K Marlboro, VT 05344 802 254 2394; 215 569 4690 before June 18 802 254 4307 (fax) info@marlboromusic.org marlboromusic.org See our ad on page 60
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Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Harrisonburg, VA June 10 to 17 Orchestral, choral, and chamber music. Three ticketed and six free concerts. Leipzig Service, Baroque performance workshop, Road Scholar, and youth programs. Works by Bach, Friesen, Respighi, Dvořák, Manfredini, and more. Vocal and instrumental soloists.
Artistic Direction: Kenneth Nafziger Festival Conductors: Marvin Mills, Kenneth Nafziger Festival Artists: Eugene Friesen, cello; Susan Messersmith, Judith Saxton, trumpet Featured Groups: Baroque Workshop Faculty, Cello Man, Festival Chamber Musicians, Festival Chorus, Festival Orchestra For Information: Mary Kay Adams, executive director 1200 Park Road Harrisonburg, VA 22802 540 432 4367 540 432 4622 (fax) bach@emu.edu emu.edu/bach
Vermont Symphony Orchestra Summer Festival Tour Burlington, VT June 29 to July 8 The Vermont Symphony Orchestra presents a program designed to tickle the funny bone, from Kabalevsky’s Comedians to Gilbert & Sullivan, and from the Merry Wives of Windsor to the Syncopated Clock. Fireworks and the 1812 Overture conclude the show. Artistic Direction: Jaime Laredo Festival Conductor: Andrew Massey Featured Groups: Vermont Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: Vermont Symphony Orchestra For Information: Alan Jordan, executive director, VSO 2 Church Street, Suite 3B Burlington, VT 05401 800 VSO 9293 amy@vso.org vso.org americanorchestras.org
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e: sign by: work contact:
Virginia Arts Festival Norfolk, VA April 16 to June 6 The Virginia Arts Festival showcases more than 50 performing artists in southeastern Virginia. Highlights include Renée Fleming, American Ballet Theatre, Chris Botti, Itzhak Perlman, and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony. Artistic Direction: Rob Cross Festival Conductors: JoAnn Falletta, Rob Fisher, Brent Havens, Benjamin Rous, Ormsby Wilkins Festival Artists: Peter Wiley, cello; Bruce Brubaker, André-Michel Schub, piano; Renée Fleming, soprano; Chris Botti, trumpet; Ani Kavafian, Itzhak Perlman, Tianwa Yang, violin Featured Groups: Daedalus Quartet; Igudesman and Joo; Imani Winds; Perlman Music Program Orchestra Affiliation: Virginia Symphony Orchestra For Information: Dominga Gardner, public relations manager 440Marlboro Bank Street Music Norfolk, VA 23510 Symphony Magazine 2012 7572.25”w 282 2822 x 4.875”h dgardner@vafest.org the-m.com vafest.org
mingfang@the-m.com 347.853.8669
Wintergreen Summer Music Festival Wintergreen, VA July 6 to August 5 A 31-day festival in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains featuring the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, chamber music, and solo recitals. In
MARLBORO MUSIC RICHARD GOODE & MITSUKO UCHIDA Artistic Directors
“… a heady mix of adrenaline, youthful enthusiasm and world-class technique” — Washington Post MARLBORO, VT – 62nd Season
CHAMBER MUSIC July 14 – August 12, 2012 Master musicians & exceptional young artists collaborate in five exciting weekends of concerts in beautiful southern Vermont Tickets starting at $5
215-569-4690 www.marlboromusic.org
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Steinway Piano | Sony Classical | Bridge Records Marlboro Recording Society | ArkivMusic
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addition to performances, there is an academy program for 40 students. Artistic Direction: Larry Alan Smith Festival Conductors: Mei-Ann Chen and others Festival Artists: Eric Ewazen, David Macbride, composers; Pervin Chakar, soprano; and others Orchestra Affiliation: Wintergreen Festival Orchestra For Information: Larry Alan Smith, Artistic and Executive Director Wintergreen Performing Arts P.O. Box 816 Wintergreen, VA 22958 434 325 8292 888 675 8238 (fax) info@wintergreenperformingarts.org wintergreenperformingarts.org
Wa sh in gton
Bellingham Festival of Music Bellingham, WA July 6 to 21 The Bellingham Festival of Music is one of America’s premier virtuoso orchestra festivals. Members all hold artistically prestigious positions elsewhere; many are principal players in major North American symphony orchestras. The festival also features renowned guest artists. Artistic Direction: Michael Palmer Festival Conductor: Michael Palmer Festival Artists: Lynn Harrell, cello; Jeremy Denk, piano; Joshua Bell, violin For Information: John H. Binns, Jr., board chair P.O. Box 818 Bellingham, WA 98225 360 201 6621 bellinghamfestival@comcast.net bellinghamfestival.org See our ad on page 59 Marrowstone Music Festival Bellingham, WA July 22 to August 5 Marrowstone is the leading summer music program in the Pacific Northwest. Musicians aged 13-25 study with internationally acclaimed faculty and are immersed in orchestral and chamber music rehearsals, masterclasses, and performances. Artistic Direction: Stephen Rogers Radcliffe Festival Conductors: Dale Clevenger, Stephen Rogers Radcliffe Festival Artists: Francine Peterson, bassoon; Stephen Balderston, cello; Diana Gannett, double bass; Jill Felber, flute; Heidi Lehwalder, harp; Dale Clevenger, horn; Rebecca Henderson, oboe; Jeffrey Gilliam, piano; Marc Reese, trumpet; Roger Myers, viola; Fritz Gearhart, Ron Patterson, violin Orchestra Affiliation: Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra For Information: Bryan Kolk, Marrowstone coordinator Seattle, WA 98125 206 362 2300 206 361 9254 (fax)
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marrowstone@syso.org marrowstone.org Seattle Chamber Music Festival Seattle, WA July 2 to 29 Now in its 31st season, this four-week festival features thirteen concerts, twelve pre-concert recitals, and 30-plus internationally acclaimed musicians in chamber-music masterpieces and works from the solo repertoire. Artistic Direction: James Ehnes Festival Artists: Edward Arron, Robert deMaine, Bion Tsang, cello; Jon Kimura Parker, Anna Polonsky, Orion Weiss, piano; Richard O’Neill, Cynthia Phelps, viola; James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Stefan Jackiw, Andrew Wan, violin For Information: Nicola Reilly, director of marketing 10 Harrison Street, Suite 306 Seattle, WA 98109 206 283 8710 206 283 8826 (fax) info@seattlechambermusic.org seattlechambermusic.org The Seasons Fall Festival Yakima, WA October 13 to 21 The Seasons Fall Festival operates academies in conducting, composition, and jazz performance. Performances by faculty and fellows. Conductors and composers work closely together with culminating orchestra concert featuring new works led by conducting fellows. Artistic Direction: Daron Aric Hagen Festival Conductors: Brooke Creswell, Lawrence Golan, Donald Thulean Orchestra Affiliation: Yakima Symphony Chamber Orchestra For Information: Brooke Creswell, executive director 101 North Naches Avenue Yakima, WA 98901 509 453 1888 brooke@theseasonsyakima.com www.seasonsmusicfestival.org See our ad on page 56
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Birch Creek Music Performance Center Egg Harbor, WI June 25 to July 7 Advanced students are mentored by resident faculty during the day and perform six public concerts at night with faculty in the 80-member Birch Creek Symphony Orchestra. Auditions and residency required. Artistic Direction: Ricardo Castaneda Festival Conductors: Brian Groner, conductor of Fox Valley Symphony in Appleton, WI Festival Artists: Ricardo Castaneda, oboe; Jodie DeSalvo; Robert Hanford, violin Featured Groups: Birch Creek Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: Birch Creek Symphony Orchestra For Information: Kaye Wagner, executive director 3821 County Road East P.O. Box 230
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S ummer Egg Harbor, WI 54209-0230 920 868 3763 920 868 1643 (fax) kaye@birchcreek.org birchcreek.org Peninsula Music Festival Ephraim, WI August 7 to 25 Nine different symphonic concerts in three weeks each August featuring the Festival Orchestra and world-class guest artists. Concerts: Door Community Auditorium, indoors, airconditioned, reserved seating. Festival Conductors: Stephen Alltop, Dan Black, Yuchi Chow, Chris Ramaekers, assistant conductor; and Victor Yampolsky, music director and conductor Festival Artists: Jacob Lassetter, baritone; Anna Burden, cello; Tracy Watson, mezzo-soprano; Anton Nel, Orli Shaham, piano; Kimberly McCord, soprano; Joan DerHovsepian, viola; Henning Kraggerud, Hilary Hahn, violin Featured Groups: Apollo Chorus of Chicago, PMF Chorus For Information: Sharon Grutzmacher, executive director P.O. Box 340 3045 Cedar Street Ephraim, WI 54211 920 854 4060 920 854 1950 (fax) musicfestival@musicfestival.com musicfestival.com
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Grand Teton Music Festival Teton Village, WY July 4 to August 18 For over 50 years, Grand Teton Music Festival has assembled the country’s finest orchestral players to make music in the shadow of the Tetons. Internationally acclaimed conductor and Music Director Donald Runnicles leads this orchestra, accompanied by today’s top guest soloists. Artistic Direction: Donald Runnicles Festival Conductors: James Gaffigan, Bernard Labadie, Donald Runnicles, Mark Wigglesworth Festival Artists: Donnie Ray Albert, baritone; Charles Ullery, bassoon; Krisztina Szabó, mezzosoprano; Colin Currie, percussion; Stephen Hough, piano; Heidi Melton, soprano; Stuart Skleton, tenor; James Ehnes, violin Featured Groups: Brasil Guitar Duo, Ferenc Illenyi & His Gypsy Band, The 5 Browns, Ruth Moody (of the Wailin’ Jennys) and the Ruth Moody Band, Turtle Island Quartet For Information: Mike Swanson, co-director of marketing Walk Festival Hall 3385 Cody Lane Teton Village, WY 83025 307 733 1128 307 739 9043 (fax) gtmf@gtmf.org gtmf.org
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National Arts Centre Summer Music Ottawa, Ontario June 28 to August 1 NAC Summer Music encompasses trumpeter Chris Botti, Summer Music Institute concerts, Canada Day, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and The Lord of the Rings film with score performed live. Artistic Direction: Pinchas Zukerman Festival Conductors: Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Alain Trudel, Ludwig Wicki, Pinchas Zukerman Festival Artists: Chris Botti, trumpet; Kaitlyn Lusk, vocals Featured Groups: Combined Ottawa Choruses, National Arts Centre Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Members of l’Orchestre de la Francophonie, Unisong (choral group) Orchestra Affiliation: National Arts Centre Orchestra For Information: Gerald Morris, communications officer National Arts Centre 53 Elgin Street Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5W1 Canada 613 947 7000 613 996 2828 (fax) gerald.morris@nac-cna.ca nac-cna.ca
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Rome Chamber Music Festival Rome, Italy June 10 to 14 The Rome Chamber Music Festival at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, Italy, features performances by Artistic Director Robert McDuffie and renowned up-and-coming artists. Artistic Direction: Robert McDuffie Festival Artists: Steve Moretti, cajon; Julie Albers, cello; Massimo Ceccarelli, double bass; AnneMarie McDermott, Elena Matteucci, Elizabeth Pridgen, piano; Lawrence Dutton, viola; Robert McDuffie, Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin For Information: Therese Heyn, administrative director 24 Via Lucilio Rome, Italy 00136 +39 (348) 097 2150 info@romechamberfestival.org romechamberfestival.org
Index
Advertiser
Bellingham Festival of Music................ 59 Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Tanglewood Music Festival............... 57 Boston University.................................. 14 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music........................ 52 Carnegie Hall........................................ 15 CHL Artists, Inc....................................c4 Dan Kamin Comedy Concertos............ 11 Ronnie Kole Productions...................... 29 Landmarks Festival at the Shell............ 54 La Playa................................................... 1 League of American Orchestras......19, 21, 23, 32-33, 47, c3 Marlboro Music Festival....................... 60 Denis Azabagic/ Dan McDaniel LLC......................... 41 Cavatina Duo/Dan McDaniel LLC..... 28 Music Academy of the West................. 53 OnStage Productions.............................. 2 Oxford University Press.......................... 4 Round Top Festival Institute................. 58 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival......... 55 St. Mary’s College of Maryland............ 46 John Tesh................................................c2 The Seasons Fall Festival...................... 56 Weiler Associates.................................. 35 Word Pros, Inc...................................... 40 Yamaha Corporation of America............ 3 Correction: The business partner listing in the Winter issue of Symphony incorrectly listed the contact phone number for the Corporation for International Business. The correct telephone is 800-282-2900.
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league of american orchestras Annual support from individuals, corporations, and foundations helps to sustain the League of American Orchestras and its programs and services. The League of American Orchestras gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the following donors who contributed gifts of $600 and above as of February 22, 2012. To learn more about supporting the League, please visit us at americanorchestras.org, call 212 262 5161, or write us at Annual Fund, League of American Orchestras, 33 West 60th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10023.
National leadership $150,000 and above
Julie F. & Peter D. Cummings, Palm Beach Gardens, FL The Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation, Grand Rapids, MI Mr. & Mrs. John D. Goldman, Atherton, CA The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York, NY MetLife Foundation, New York, NY National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC
$50,000 – $149,999
Dr. & Mrs. Malcolm Brown, Winston-Salem, NC Bruce & Martha Clinton, on behalf of The Clinton Family Fund, Chicago, IL Mr. Richard W. Colburn, Northbrook, IL The Hearst Foundation, Inc., New York, NY Shirley Bush Helzberg, Kansas City, MO Mrs. Martha R. Ingram, Nashville, TN Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis, MN ‡ The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Saint Paul, MN ‡ Cynthia M. Sargent, Northbrook, IL
National Council $25,000 – $49,999
John & Janet Canning, Westport, CT The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, New York, NY Henry & Frances Fogel, Chicago, IL *† Jan & Daniel R. Lewis, Coral Gables, FL
$10,000 – $24,999
Arup, New York, NY Trish Bryan, Cincinnati, OH † CCS, New York, NY Richard & Kay Fredericks Cisek, North Oaks, MN Melanie C. Clarke, Princeton, NJ Sakurako Fisher, San Francisco, CA Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation, San Francisco, CA John Gidwitz, New York, NY *† The CHG Charitable Trust as recommended by Carole Haas Gravagno, Philadelphia, PA The Hyde and Watson Foundation, Warren, NJ Mark Jung, Menlo Park, CA Jim & Kay Mabie, Northfield, IL James S. Marcus, New York, NY Catherine & Peter Moye, Spokane, WA New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, NY Lowell & Sonja Noteboom, Minnetonka, MN Cathy & Bill Osborn, Chicago, IL
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Patricia A. Richards, Salt Lake City, UT Mr. David Rockefeller, New York, NY Drs. John & Helen Schaefer, Tucson, AZ † Connie Steensma & Rick Prins, New York, NY † The Simon Yates & Kevin Roon Foundation, New York, NY †
$5,000 – $9,999
Artsmarketing Services Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.), New York, NY Mr. David Bohnett, Beverly Hills, CA Mr. & Mrs. William G. Brown, Hobe Sound, FL Cantus, Minneapolis, MN Nicky B. Carpenter, Wayzata, MN † Corporation for International Business, Barrington, IL DCM, Inc. – Consulting and Teleservices for the Arts, Brooklyn, NY Beverlynn Elliott, Pittsburgh, PA The Fatta Foundation, Lake View, NY Cannon Y. Harvey, Denver, CO John E. Hayes, Highlands Ranch, CO James C. Hormel, San Francisco, CA Loretta Julian, Oak Brook, IL Wendy & Asher Kelman, Beverly Hills, CA Camille & Dennis LaBarre, Cleveland, OH The Lerner Foundation, Highland Heights, OH Peter B. Lewis, Coconut Grove, FL Lee R. Marks & Lisl Zach, Philadelphia, PA Shirley D. McCrary, Mooresville, AL Minnesota State Arts Board, St. Paul, MN The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, Chicago, IL New York State Council on the Arts, New York, NY James B. Nicholson, Detroit, MI Charles & Barbara Olton, New York, NY † John & Farah Palmer, Cincinnati, OH Peter Pastreich, San Francisco, CA *† Patron Technology, New York, NY Mary Carr Patton, New York, NY Robert A. Peiser, Houston, TX Pryor Cashman LLP, New York, NY Mr. Seymour Rosen, Valhalla, NY † Sciolino Artist Management, LLC, New York, NY SD&A Teleservices, Inc., Los Angeles, CA TALASKE | sound thinking, Oak Park, IL Travelzoo Inc., New York, NY The J. Stephen Turner Foundation, Nashville, TN Penelope Van Horn, Chicago, IL † Mr. & Mrs. Albert K. Webster, New York, NY * Wenger Corporation, Owatonna, MN Adair & Dick White, Atlanta, GA Ann Marie & John B. White Jr., Decatur, GA Neil Williams, Atlanta, GA † Richard B. Worley, Conshohocken, PA
National Friends of the League Benefactor ($2,500 – $4,999)
ASCAP, New York, NY Bennett Direct, Milwaukee, WI The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Durham, NC Richard J. Bogomolny, Gates Mills, OH Classical Movements, Inc., Alexandria, VA Concert Artists Guild, New York, NY The Cooking Group, Dallas, TX Bruce Coppock, Mendota Heights, MN Fisher Dachs Associates - Theater Planning and Design, New York, NY Kevin V. Duncan, Denver, CO Aaron A. Flagg & Cristina Stanescu Flagg, Easton, CT Mr. James M. Franklin, Inverness, IL Jeanne & Gary Herberger, Paradise Valley, AZ A.J. Huss, Jr., Saint Paul, MN James D. Ireland III, Cleveland, OH Larry & Rogene Kirkegaard, Chicago, IL Joseph H. Kluger, Gladwyne, PA Hugh W. Long, New Orleans, LA Mr. & Mrs. Phillip N. Lyons, Newport Beach, CA Judy & Scott McCue, Evanston, IL + Mr. Richard P. Simmons, Sewickley, PA Robert Swaney Consulting, Inc., Greenwood, IN Rae Wade Trimmier, Birmingham, AL Alan D. & Connie Linsler Valentine, Nashville, TN Anonymous (2)
Sustainer ($1,000 – $2,499)
Douglas W. Adams, Dallas, TX Alberta Arthurs, New York, NY Brent & Jan Assink, San Francisco, CA Nancy & Joachim Bechtle Foundation, San Francisco, CA William P. Blair, III, Canton, OH *† Deborah Borda, Los Angeles, CA Elaine Amacker Bridges, San Angelo, TX Fred & Liz Bronstein, St. Louis, MO • Wayne S. Brown & Brenda E. Kee, Washington, DC *† The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston, TX Michelle Miller Burns & Gary W. Burns, Chicago, IL • Catherine M. Cahill, Philadelphia, PA • Morton D. Cahn, Jr., Dallas, TX Dr. Roland M. Carter, Chattanooga, TN The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Chicago, IL NancyBell Coe, Santa Barbara, CA Colbert Artists Management Inc., New York, NY Robert Conrad, Cleveland, OH Martha & Herman Copen Fund, New Haven, CT Trayton M. Davis, Montclair, NJ
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helen m. thompson heritage society Gloria dePasquale, Narberth, PA Emma E. Dunch & Elizabeth W. Scott, New York, NY • Aaron Dworkin, Detroit, MI John Farrer, Bakersfield, CA Scott Faulkner & Andrea Lenz, Reno, NV Firestone Family Foundation, Miami, FL Mrs. Charles Fleischmann, Cincinnati, OH Michele & John Forsyte, Santa Ana, CA • Catherine French, Washington, DC *† Edward B. Gill, San Diego, CA Clive Gillinson, New York, NY † Joseph B. Glossberg & Madeleine Condit Glossberg, Chicago, IL Marian A. Godfrey, Philadelphia, PA Michael S. Gordon, Newport Beach, CA Dietrich M. Gross, Wilmette, IL Gary Hanson & Barbara Klante, Cleveland, OH Mark & Christina Hanson, Milwaukee, WI • Daniel & Barbara Hart, Buffalo, NY • Jennifer Higdon & Cheryl Lawson, Philadelphia, PA Dr. & Mrs. Claire Fox Hillard, Albany, GA Mr. Michael J. Horvitz, Cleveland, OH Mr. Russell Jones, New York, NY Paul R. Judy, Northfield, IL The Jurenko Foundation, Huntsville, AL Ms. Polly Kahn, New York, NY The Joseph & Nancy F. Keithley Foundation, Shaker Heights, OH Mrs. Norman V. Kinsey, Shreveport, LA Judith Kurnick, Penn Valley, PA Mr. & Mrs. Wilfred J. Larson, Naples, FL † Fred Levin & Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation, Mill Valley, CA Christopher & Margo Light, Kalamazoo, MI *† Robert & Emily Levine, Glendale, WI Alex Machaskee, Cleveland, OH Steve & Lou Mason, Dayton, OH † Paul Meecham, Baltimore, MD Zarin Mehta, New York, NY LaDonna Meinders, Oklahoma City, OK David Alan Miller, Albany, NY Steven Monder, Cincinnati, OH † Heather Moore, Dallas, TX Michael Morgan, Oakland, CA Thomas W. Morris, Cleveland Heights, OH Diane & Robert Moss, Key Biscayne, FL Robert & Judi Newman, Englewood, CO Opus 3 Artists, New York, NY James W. Palermo, Chicago, IL • Anne H. Parsons, Detroit, MI • Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin, Gates Mills, OH Mr. & Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin, Jr., Waite Hill, OH Peggy & Al Richardson, Erie, PA † Ms. Barbara S. Robinson, Cleveland, OH Jesse Rosen, New York, NY Robert & Barbara Rosoff, Glens Falls, NY Don Roth, Davis, CA *† Robin J. Roy, New York, NY Deborah F. Rutter, Chicago, IL † americanorchestras.org
Roger Saydack & Elaine Bernat, Eugene, OR † Fred & Gloria Sewell, Minneapolis, MN Helen P. Shaffer, Houston, TX Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Stegman, Cincinnati, OH Matthew VanBesien & Rosie Jowitt, New York, NY • Dr. Jane Van Dyk, Billings, MT Allison Vulgamore, Atlanta, GA • Tina Ward, Saint Louis, MO • Elizabeth B. Warshawer, Philadelphia, PA Dr. Charles H. Webb, Bloomington, IN Franz Welser-Möst, Cleveland, OH Dobson West, Minneapolis, MN Anonymous (2) Patron ($600 – $999) Akustiks, LLC, Norwalk, CT Lois H. Allen, Columbus, OH Frances & Stephen Belcher, Severn, MD • Mr. Robert A. Birman, Prospect, KY James William Boyd, Tucson, AZ Mr. Frank Byrne, Kansas City, MO Charles W. Cagle, Franklin, TN Katherine Carleton, Toronto, ON, Canada Ms. Katy Clark, New York, NY • Margarita & John Contreni, Brookston, IN Dawn Fazli, Indianapolis, IN Susan Feder & Todd Gordon, Irvington, NY Ryan Fleur & Laura Banchero, Memphis, TN †• Mrs. William A. Friedlander, Cincinnati, OH Karen Gahl-Mills & Laurence Mills-Gahl, Syracuse, NY Michael Gehret, Lawrenceville, NJ Mr. Kareem A. George, Detroit, MI • Maryellen Gleason & Kim Ohlemeyer, Milwaukee, WI Richard Gray, Chicago, IL Mr. André Gremillet, Jersey City, NJ Marilyn P. and Joseph W. Hirschhorn Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Cincinnati, OH Lauri & Paul Hogle, Atlanta, GA Holly H. Hudak, Chicago, IL Mrs. H.T. Hyde, Tyler, TX Ms. Helena Jackson, Duluth, MN James M. Johnson, New York, NY Peter Kjome, Grand Rapids, MI Andrea Laguni, Los Angeles, CA Carolyn & Wayne Landsverk, Portland, OR Helen Lodge, Charleston, WV David Loebel, Lebanon, NH Debbie McKinney, Oklahoma City, OK Anne W. Miller, Edina, MN Nancy A. Mims, Colorado Springs, CO Evans J. Mirageas, Minnetrista, MN Parker E. Monroe, Oakland, CA John Hewitt Murphy, Santa Fe, NM J.L. Nave, III & Paul Cook, Fort Wayne, IN • Darren M. Rich, Point Richmond, CA Brian A. Ritter, Albany, NY Susan Robinson, Sarasota, FL Jo Ellen Saylor, Edina, MN
The League of American Orchestras graciously recognizes those who have remembered the League in their estate plans as members of the Helen M. Thompson Heritage Society. W. Curtis Livingston, co-chair, Nantucket, MA Nina C. Masek, co-chair, Sonoita, AZ Janet F. & Dr. Richard E. Barb Family Foundation, Indianapolis, IN Wayne S. Brown & Brenda E. Kee, Washington, DC John & Janet Canning, Westport, CT Richard & Kay Fredericks Cisek, North Oaks, MN Martha and Herman Copen Fund, Mt. Carmel, CT Myra Janco Daniels, Naples, FL Samuel C. Dixon, Morrow, GA Henry & Frances Fogel, Chicago, IL Susan Harris, Ph.D., Ann Arbor, MI Steve & Lou Mason, Dayton, OH Shirley D. McCrary, Mooresville, AL Lowell & Sonja Noteboom, Minnetonka, MN Charles & Barbara Olton, New York, NY Peter Pastreich, San Francisco, CA Rodger E. Pitcairn, Rockville, MD Robert & Barbara Rosoff, Glens Falls, NY Robert J. Wagner, Maplewood, NJ Tina Ward, Saint Louis, MO Mr. & Mrs. Albert K. Webster, New York, NY Anonymous (1) Mr. Louis Scaglione, Philadelphia, PA Ms. Rita Shapiro, Washington, DC David Snead, New York, NY Mr. Ari Solotoff, Portland, ME • Barbara J. Soroca, Stamford, CT Melia & Michael Tourangeau, Salt Lake City, UT Jeff & Melissa Tsai, Pittsburgh, PA • Marylou L. Turner, Kansas City, MO Gus Vratsinas, Little Rock, AR Robert J. Wagner, Maplewood, NJ Edward Walker, Oklahoma City, OK Linda Weisbruch, Charlotte, NC Melody L. Welsh-Buchholz, Crestwood, KY Melinda Whiting & John Burrows, Riverton, NJ Peter Stafford Wilson, Westerville, OH Paul Winberg & Bruce Czuchna, Eugene, OR Lisa M. Wong, M.D., Newton, MA Joshua Worby, White Plains, NY Rebecca & David Worters, Fort Worth, TX Edward C. Yim, New York, NY • * Charter Member † Directors Council (former League Board) • Orchestra Management Fellowship Program Alumni + Includes Corporate Matching Gift ‡ In-Kind Donation
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CODA
Classic Rock Nashville-based singer/songwriter Ben Folds has built a stellar career as a bandleader and hitmaker on the pop charts. So why is he now returning to his symphonic roots and performing with orchestras?
I realized that the songs I’ve had in my head since I was a kid had always been rooted in orchestration and then brought to life and adapted to the rock band. could abandon the amplified rock band and score the orchestra to be the band. The symphony orchestra has rocked for centuries, so why relegate them to whole notes when they can do the heavy lifting? I realized that the songs I’ve had in my head since I was a kid had always been rooted in orchestration and then brought to life and adapted to the rock band. The formative musical experience of my youth was in school orchestra, regional and state orchestras, and the North Carolina School of the Arts Young Salem Symphony. I quite possibly grew a total of three inches during the cumulative time spent counting measures of rests holding
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Kim Tonelli
a triangle! Fast forward, and my symphony orchestra shows are becoming an important part of my career. Working with a half-dozen fantastic arranger/ composers, I now have scores for 40 of my songs, all of which went through quite a bit of revision as we look for ways to bring something new to my music for my fans, and to treat symphony-goers to a unique concert where the language of pop music and power of the orchestra complement one another. I aspire to dignify and hopefully even challenge the orchestras I work with. I now find myself coming back to my symphonic roots in a way I never could have predicted. I want to give back to what helped make me who I am musically and personally. I am on the Nashville Symphony’s board of directors and proudly serve on their education and art committees. My time listening to music is equal parts Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy—and Nirvana, Beatles, Miles Davis. My records always feature large string and horn arrangements, and I’m secretly working on a piano concerto between beating up pianos at rock venues. Our society and culture are dependent upon people working together in concert, in harmony, with focus and purpose. In 30 seconds of watching the news, we get the message loud and clear: people can’t work together, whether it’s Congress or the airport. What a ridiculous notion. Go Mark Schueler
Q
uite honestly, I dismissed the notion of performing my pop music with symphony orchestras over ten years ago. I grew up playing percussion in youth orchestras, and my reverence for symphonic music initially ruled out such a collaboration. I’d seen amplified rock bands with orchestras fail a few times, blasting the orchestras off the stage, and the arrangements weren’t dignified. It just didn’t sound all that good the times I’d seen it attempted, and I never wanted to be part of it. However, I had a revelation the second time I was approached by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in 2004—I
Ben Folds
Ben Folds performs with the North Carolina Symphony and conductor Sarah Hicks, 2010. Folds is performing with North Carolina and other orchestras this spring and summer.
to the symphony this weekend and wash that idea out of your head! The symphony orchestra is a major column at the core of our civilization, not a luxury or a special-interest art form. When it goes, so shall we! And what could be more inspiring than 80-some dedicated musicians, focusing their lives of discipline generously and passionately to create something beautiful. There never was a time when we were in greater need of such an example of people working together. In concert. My hope is that new audiences are brought into the symphony hall to hear my music and walk through a door to a lifetime of the greatest music of our culture. symphony
spring 2012