President’s Message

Deborah Stapley-Graham

Welcome to Missoula Symphony’s fall concert - Superheroes. We’re so glad you joined us today in celebrating the superheroes of our community.

Is a hero always strong, brave, and fearless? That’s often the case. In his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell writes of the twelve stages of the Hero’s Journey, which serves as a template for our heroic adventure stories. The Hero’s Journey starts with a hero leaving his or her ordinary world as he or she is called to adventure. From there I’ll keep things simple and say that, well, hijinks ensue. All sorts of struggles are lost, then won and the hero returns home to a place that has changed for the better because of his or her actions.

This weekend’s concert highlights heroes in music. We’ll hear the journeys of The Uncommon Woman by Joan Tower, Finnish hero Lemminkainen by Sibelius, and Superman by John Williams. We’ll have the privilege of hearing retired UM Professor Donald O. Johnston’s Symphony No. 4, written to celebrate the heroes of the American West, Lewis and Clark.

In my mind a hero is someone who acts upon their values, where the result of those actions is a world that is changed for the better. Our patrons, sponsors, and donors of all levels are heroes to the Missoula Symphony. Because of your donations and support, we can bring music to our community. I’d say that makes our world a better place.

Deborah Stapley-Graham President

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