Scott Speck Music Director

Music Director

Scott Speck

With the 2019-2020 season, Scott Speck enters his 18th full season as Music Director of the West Michigan Symphony. Over this period he is proud to have helped the WMS enter the ranks of the nation's finest regional orchestras.

Scott Speck also holds leadership positions with the Mobile Symphony (AL), Joffrey Ballet (IL), and Chicago Philharmonic. His recent concerts with the Moscow RTV Symphony Orchestra in Tchaikovsky Hall garnered unanimous praise. His gala performances with Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Midori, Evelyn Glennie and Olga Kern have highlighted his recent and current seasons; and he was invited to the White House as Music Director of the Washington Ballet.

In recent seasons Scott Speck has conducted numerous performances in London’s Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Paris Opera, Washington’s Kennedy Center, San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House, and the Los Angeles Music Center. He has led numerous performances with the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Houston, Chicago (Sinfonietta), Paris, Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, Vancouver, Romania, Slovakia, Buffalo, Columbus (OH), Honolulu, Louisville, New Orleans, Oregon, Rochester, Florida, and Virginia, among many others.

Previously he held positions as Conductor of the San Francisco Ballet; Music Advisor and Conductor of the Honolulu Symphony; and Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Opera. During a recent tour of Asia he was named Principal Guest Conductor of the China Film Philharmonic in Beijing.

Scott Speck is the co-author of two of the world’s best-selling books on classical music for a popular audience, Classical Music for Dummies and Opera for Dummies. These books have received stellar reviews in both the national and international press and have garnered enthusiastic endorsements from major American orchestras. They have been translated into over fifteen languages and are available around the world. His third book in the series, Ballet for Dummies, was released in September 2003.

Scott Speck has been a regular commentator on National Public Radio, the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Voice of Russia, broadcast throughout the world. His writing has been featured in numerous magazines and journals.

Born in Boston, Scott Speck is a Fulbright Scholar, a summa cum laude graduate of Yale University, and an Aspen Conducting Fellow. He is fluent in English, German and French, has a diploma in Italian, speaks Spanish and has a reading knowledge of Russian.

Scott Speck can be reached at scottspeck.org, on Facebook at facebook.com/ConductorScottSpeck, or @ScottSpeck1 on Twitter. ••

WMS’s subsidiary, The Block, is an innovative performance venue featuring a mixture of jazz, crossover-folk, and classical chamber concerts. Performers at this 125-seat listening room for the musically curious include regional, national and international artists as well as WMS musicians.

A model partnership between culture and urban renewal, The Block is a vibrant musical “third place” in the heart of downtown Muskegon. Neither club nor concert hall, The Block throws the art in relief with elegant but unpretentious surroundings. Patrons find it both enjoyable and stimulating to attend concerts at a venue that features an informal atmosphere, close proximity to the performers, and a plurality of musical genres.

Now in its 7th season, The Block continues to grow and innovate artistically and as a community center. During the summer, The Block is the site of the sold-out jazz series Tim Froncek and Friends. A new Movies & Music series was launched during the winter of 2019 to explore the creative marriage between the two art forms through screenings of acclaimed independent films. These offerings are curated by the WMS administration under the guidance of a sevenmember independent Board of Directors. (Please see roster on p. 4)

The Block is also used for music education activities and made available to outside organizations. Civic and community groups—Muskegon Rotary, Downtown Muskegon Now, Young Black Professionals and Kountry Kitchen—rent the venue for meetings and other activities.

Through The Block, West Michigan Symphony has become a key player in downtown revitalization and continues to expand its artistic and community footprint. ••

The 2019-20 Block season is on p. 54.

FOR TH E M USICALLY CURIOUS

Located inside the Delta Hotel, Timbers 939 has a casual atmosphere with a diverse menu, featuring dry-aged steaks, appetizers and cocktails.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. _____ Reservations: 231-720-7123 _____ 939 Third Street, Muskegon, MI 49440 _____ Timbers939.com

Seasonal Outdoor Patio Seating

New and Exciting Menu

Visit Our New Website

Present this coupon to receive FREE APPETIZER with a $10 purchase.

Valid Sundays - Thursdays. One coupon per table per visit. Not valid with any other coupon or offer. Coupon must be present. Expires June 1, 2020.

ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH FEEDING THE SOUL OF THE CITY 2019 – 2020 SEASON

Tuesdays, 12:15 - 12:45 pm

1006 Third Street, Muskegon, MI 49440 For more information contact St. Paul's Episcopal Church 231.722.2112 :: stpaulsmuskegon.org/fsoc

Sept. 24: AnDro, Celtic/world music Oct. 22: Matthew Ball, boogie-woogie piano Nov. 26: Lee Murdock, folk "The Christmas Ship" concert Dec. 8: The Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys – Note this is at 5 pm Dec. 17: Peter Kurdziel, organist "Christmas at the Organ"

Feb. 25: Grand Valley Faculty Brass Quintet Mar. 24: Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet

Apr. 14: Gregory Maytan, solo violin May 26: Quintessence, woodwind quintet Jun. 9: Denise Newell, mezzo soprano, and Caron Farmer, piano

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3003 Lakeshore Drive, Muskegon, MI 49441 231.759.8596 | www.torresen.com