Symphony Fall 2017

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THE MAGAZINE OF

THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS

Headliners Pop Stars and Orchestras

Diversity Fellowships for Musicians

The Bernstein Century

Cleveland Orchestra: 100 Years Young

THERE’S A STORY BEHIND EVERY SUCCESS. RESULTS MATTER and each RSC client has their own story, representing a journey to fundraising success.

Read more at RSCfundraising.com to learn how an RSC partnership makes the story better.

W

ith RSC coaching, the Amarillo Symphony

donor base by more than 50% and overall annual

surpassed its Annual Fund goal and had

contributed revenue by 20% over the prior fiscal year.

a record-setting fundraising year – increasing contributed revenue by 174%.

After a suspended 2014/15 season and near closure, Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera partnered with RSC to rebuild its fundraising program. Now completing its third year of partnership, they’ve achieved a 56% year-over-year increase on a nearly $1M Annual Fund.

Over a 12-month campaign, RSC counsel helped

In its partnership with RSC, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra added 800 donors, and improved the Annual Fund over $350,000 from the previous year.

RSC created a Fundraising Action Plan that could be swiftly implemented by Orchestra Kentucky

Fundraising Growth NOW!

to accelerate results. In three months, they raised $170,000 and achieved 92% of their contributed revenue goal with four months remaining in the fiscal year.

broaden Huntsville Symphony Orchestra’s

317-300-4443 | RSCfundraising.com

Photo by Tracey Salazar

Welcome Gianandrea Noseda

Meet the National Symphony Orchestra’s dynamic new music director.

Discover his energetic vision at nationalsymphony.org/noseda.

David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO.

The NSO Music Director Chair is generously endowed by Victoria and Roger Sant.

PRELUDE

VO LU M E 6 8 , N U M B E R 4

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onnoisseurs of the sesquipedalian, take note: it’s the League of American Orchestras’ hemisesquicentennial. That’s not a word one gets to use very often, but then again, a 75th anniversary doesn’t roll around every day.

Looking at orchestras in the context of nearly a century, you can’t help but think about continuity and change, progress and stasis, tradition and

adaptation.

Where are we now? Orchestras are taking action onstage and off in ways that were virtually unheard of 75 years ago. Orchestras are performing in correctional facilities, offering sensory-friendly concerts tailored for children with autism, and making music for people in homeless shelters. While music education has dropped in public schools, orchestras are increasing education and community engagement activities. When new immigration guidelines were announced, the Pacific Symphony mounted a concert with musical tributes to immigrants as far back as Ellis Island in conjunction with social-justice organizations. Following periods of civil unrest, orchestras in cities as varied as Baltimore and Charlotte, North Carolina invited residents to events that combined music and open discussion of relevant topics. To encourage the inclusion of underrepresented musicians, orchestras run fellowship programs for emerging African American and Latin musicians. In the wake of the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida, orchestra musicians in the affected areas gave free concerts in parks, shelters, even a parking lot.

This isn’t to be a cheerleader for orchestras, or to neglect the central focus: music. But there has been a lot of movement in the last few years, and these are moments that stand out during a hemisesquicentennial.

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symphony With vibrant photographs and timely articles, Symphony is transforming the way America thinks about its orchestras.

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THE MAGAZINE OF THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS

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

MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Melick

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symphony symphony S U MFMA EL R L

2016 7

AT TR AC T ING AND RE TA INING V ISITORS IS HARD WORK .

T W O S T U D I E S C A N H E L P.

Taking Out the Guesswork: Using Research to Build Arts Audiences Learn about three tasks key to successful audience building: understanding potential audiences, creating effective promotional materials, and tracking and assessing progress.

The Road to Results: Effective Practices for Building Arts Audiences Based on case studies of 10 arts organizations that undertook audience-building projects as part of the Wallace Excellence Awards initiative, this guide and infographic pinpoint nine practices that successful efforts had in common.

Download these free reports and many more at Wallacefoundation.org.

symphony FA L L 2 0 1 7

2 Prelude by Robert Sandla 6 The Score Orchestra news, moves, and events

6 Gary Gold Photography

16 Board Room A key part of nonprofit governance is advocacy: securing a place at the table with elected officials. by Anne Wallestad 20 Seen and Heard: Conference 2017 Voices, ideas, images from the League’s 2017 Conference in Detroit.

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24 At the League A new report from the League charts the rise in education and community engagement work by orchestras.

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Pipeline to Inclusion The inaugural musicians in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Diversity Fellowship program tell their stories.

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Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

THE MAGAZINE OF THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS

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The Legacy of Leonard Bernstein A personal view of American’s best-known classical musician

by Leon Botstein

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East Meets West Meets East The New York Philharmonic’s Shanghai Orchestra Academy is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to U.S.-China orchestra partnerships.

by Jennifer Melick

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100 Years Young As the Cleveland Orchestra rounds the century mark, it looks not just to the past but to the future. by Mike Telin

Allan Warren

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Star Search What’s it like headlining an orchestra pops concert? Steven Brown goes behind the scenes with six top-billed musicians and one conductor.

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56 2017 Guide to Symphony Pops Advertisers 69 Advertiser Index 70 League of American Orchestras Annual Fund 72 Coda The League at 75: Letters to the League from the archive from Aaron Copland, Lou Harrison, Charles Schulz, and Leopold Stokowski.

Text marked like this indicates a link to websites and online resources.

about the cover

Vocalist Melissa Etheridge performs with the Cleveland-based Contemporary Youth Orchestra in June 2017 at Severance Hall.

CYO Music Director and Conductor Liza Grossman led the concert, which included the Contemporary Youth Orchestra Chorus. Photo by Robert Mueller. Read Steven Brown’s article about pop stars and orchestras on page 48.

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SCORE News, moves, and events in the orchestra industry THE

Conference 2017

Doug Coombe

Doug Coombe

The League of American Orchestras’ 2017 National Conference, “Detroit Rising/Transformation in American Orchestras,” focused on topics of urgent concern to the field, among them the role of orchestras in today’s changing policy landscape, diversity and inclusion, and innovative practices. Hosted by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Conference, June 6-8, also explored how Detroit’s creative community helped spur the city’s rejuvenation, with insights from civic, business, and cultural voices. Nearly 1,000 orchestra stakeholders from across the country—managers, musicians, staff, trustees, and volunteers—attended the Conference, which marked the launch of the League’s 75th anniversary. Detroit Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leonard Slatkin wished the League a happy 75th birthday during a special League President and CEO Jesse Rosen, at right, with Oakland concert by the DSO, and a League Giving Day on June 7 to support the Symphony Music Director Michael Morgan at the 2017 League’s advocacy work brought in $102,718, surpassing the $75,000 goal.

Conference session “What Is the Relevance of the Western The Conference opened on June 6 with Detroit Rising: Stories of Renewal, Orchestral Canon in America Today?” Also speaking at the a panel discussion of how economics, race, immigration, arts and culture, event was Seattle Symphony President and CEO Simon Woods. and transportation converged to bring about the city’s recent renewal. At the session, Ann Hobson Pilot, former principal harp of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, received the League’s highest honor, the Gold Baton. Pilot shared her musical artistry in a performance with musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Gateways Music Festival, and Sphinx Virtuosi.

Sessions throughout the Conference explored how orchestras and the League are working to advance diversity, equality, and inclusion in our field. At Classical Musicians of African Descent: Perspectives, Aspirations, and Outlook, speakers included Ann Hobson Pilot and musicians from the Gateways Music Festival, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Oakland Symphony, and Phoenix Symphony. At the Diversity and Inclusion in Action session, representatives from orchestras nationwide presented their most promising initiatives to connect with their communities. Working toward greater cultural equity in our organizations has become an imperative for orchestras, and the Cultural Equity session provided insight into how orchestras are navigating demographic, philanthropic, and political trends. No Sound Barriers: Sphinx at 20 provided an overview of the Sphinx Organization’s efforts to transform lives through diversity in the arts.

The new roles of musicians were explored in several sessions. At Changing Orchestra Culture: A Conversation with DSO Musicians, Detroit Symphony Orchestra players discussed how their relationships with management have evolved and shared their aspirations for the future. Orchestras are increasingly building and sustaining partnerships with other organizations, and Activating and Nurturing Community Alliances featured insights about community partnerships from musicians, composers, and administrators, with speakers including teams from Music Alive residency partners, New Music USA, and recipients of the League’s 2017 Ford Musician Awards for Excellence in Community Service. The musicians and orchestras receiving the Ford Musician Awards at the Conference were Mark Dix, viola, Phoenix Symphony; Michael Gordon, principal flute, Kansas City Symphony, Diane McElfish Helle, violin, Grand Rapids Symphony; Eunsoon Lee-Corliss, assistant principal viola, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra; and Peter Zlotnick, education manager/ Harpist Ann Hobson Pilot acknowledges principal timpani, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. the ovation at the Opening Plenary of the League’s 2017 Conference. She had just Additional sessions focused on advocacy, digital marketing, fundraising, pops programreceived the League’s Gold Baton award and ming, and financial sustainability, with dedicated tracks for volunteers and board memperformed with musicians from the Detroit bers. Conference delegates enjoyed a variety of events, including a concert by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Gateways Music Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin featuring works by Mohammed Fairouz, Kurt Festival, and the Sphinx Virtuosi.

Weill, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Mason Bates. The concert also featured a performance by the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra.

For complete information on the 2017 Conference, plus videos and presentations, visit https://americanorchestras.org/ conference-2017.

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symphony

FALL 2017

Sweet Home, Cincinnati

americanorchestras.org

Shannon Lenoir

The Lexington Symphony in Massachusetts has named Principal Bass Abell ROBB AISTRUP as general manager. He will continue to perform with the orchestra.

The Maryland Symphony Orchestra, based in Hagerstown, has named STEPHEN MARC BEAUDOIN executive director. has been appointed music director of the Prince George’s Philharmonic in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

JESUS MANUEL BERARD

Symphonicity, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, has named DANIEL W. BOOTHE music director.

The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra in Indiana has named EMILY BRENDENBURG as principal viola; LEANNE HAMPTON as principal flute; and ALEX (NICA) MALAIMARE as associate concertmaster.

Ohio’s Akron Symphony Orchestra has appointed TALLIE BRUNFELT concertmaster. has been named principal flute of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

DAVID BUCK

The California Symphony, based in Walnut Creek, has appointed JENNIFER CHO concertmaster.

The Lake Forest Symphony in Illinois has appointed TIMOTHY CORPUS executive director.

Cho

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has promoted ADAM CRANE to senior vice president of external affairs and strategic initiatives. AMY DRUMMOND has been promoted to vice president of philanthropy, and ERIK FINLEY has been named vice president, artistic and operations.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has named STÉPHANE DENÈVE music director, effective with the 2019-20 season. He will serve as music director designate during the 2018-19 season, succeeding David Robertson, who steps down in 2018.

Drew Farrell

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has named ANDREW DAVIS interim artistic director, effective with the end of the 2017-18 season. Peter Oundjian will become conductor emeritus after he steps down as music director in 2018.

Denève

will become executive director of Australia’s Sydney Symphony Orchestra in January 2018.

EMMA DUNCH

South Carolina’s Greenville Symphony Orchestra has appointed JULIANNE M. FISH executive director.

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra has appointed THOMAS FORTNER music director of the South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestra and assistant conductor of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra.

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio has named JOANNA FRANKEL concertmaster.

The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis has appointed ZACK FRENCH director of communications and artist advancement.

Scott Cunningham

The city of Chicago has seen a spike in crime in the past few years, and in response musicians joined together for a June 11 “Concert for Peace” to raise funds for programs benefiting at-risk young people most likely to be involved in acts of violence. Yo-Yo Ma and musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Chicago Children’s Choir performed music meant to inspire a more peaceful Chicago. The 75-minute concert, produced by the Chicago Symphony’s Negaunee Music Institute, ranged from Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man to Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” and the inspirational song “You Raise Me Up.” The event took place at St. Sabina, a church located in a South Side neighborhood particularly Yo-Yo Ma performs a movement from Dvorák’s “American” affected by the violence. The String Quartet with members of the Civic Orchestra of concert raised more than Chicago at the “Concert for Peace” at St. Sabina Church in $70,000, for St. Sabina’s antiJune. violence and “Strong Futures” employment programs. At the concert, Yo-Yo Ma said, “I’ve been in tears all afternoon….

Words and sounds mean a lot when we take action.” The same month in New York, departing New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert capped his tenure with a different sort of community-building event, the “Concert for Unity,” for which musicians from orchestras in nineteen countries were invited to participate, among them Australia, China, Cuba, France, Iran, Iraq, Israel, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

has been named executive director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

PETER ABELL

Musical Chairs

Todd Rosenberg

Concerts for Peace and Unity

MUSICAL CHAIRS Courtesy Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

All eyes were on Cincinnati this October, when historic Music Hall, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, reopened after a sixteenmonth restoration. To celebrate, there was a free open house and building tour on October 7, and the CSO and the hall’s other resident companies scheduled a packed five weeks of performances. The October 6-7 opening weekend featured CSO Music Director Louis Langrée leading a commissioned world preFinishing touches: A shot of the exterior miere, Stories from Home, by Jonathan Bailey of Music Hall just before its reopening in October. The hall is home to the Cincinnati Holland, plus works by John Adams, Scriabin, Symphony and Pops Orchestra, as well and Beethoven. Also returning to the hall was as the Cincinnati May Festival, Cincinnati the Cincinnati Pops and Conductor John Mor- Ballet, and Cincinnati Opera. ris Russell, which performed music by John Williams for their first concert in the refurbished hall on October 13. Other reopening performances in Music Hall this fall include the final installment of the CSO’s Pelléas Trilogy, with the Cincinnati Opera; the Cincinnati Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet with the CSO; and the world premiere of Julia Adolphe’s new choral work, featuring the CSO and the May Festival Chorus. During the renovation, when the CSO performed at the Taft Theatre, the orchestra provided an inside view of Music Hall’s progress via a microsite with photos and updates http://cincinnatisymphony.org/stories/music-hall/, where visitors could learn about everything from the status of the hall’s chandelier to the new stage apron, Corbett Tower restoration, and the acoustical renovation by Akustiks.

Frankel

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Albany Symphony’s Floating Erie Canal Celebration Three hundred years ago, on July 17, 1717, Handel’s Water Music was first performed on the Thames River in London. A century later on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean, construction began on the Erie Canal, a dual anniversary that the Albany Symphony observed by performing selections from Handel’s Water Music this July in communities along the canal as part of Water Music NY, New York State’s Erie Canal bicentennial celebration. The orchestra and Music Director David Alan Miller went beyond Handel, though: each barge or canalside concert featured American favorites plus works by emerging composers who had spent time in their host communities. The first concert, in Albany on July 2, featured a new piece, Canal Songs, by Daniel Schlosberg, and then the orchestra headed west along the canal for concerts through July 8 featuring works by Annika Socolofsky (Schenectady), Angelica Negrón (Amsterdam), Benjamin Wallace (Little Falls), Ryan Chase (Baldwinsville), Loren Loiacono (Brockport), and David Mallamud (Lockport).

Gary Gold Photography

Fr ee

Two Extraordinary Training Opportunities for Young Instrumentalists

Albany Symphony Music Director David Alan Miller conducts the last of seven performances along the Erie Canal, on a barge docked in Lock 35 in Lockport, New York, July 2017.

Saluting Lou Harrison at 100

Ages 16–19 Application Due: November 15, 2017

Ages 14–17 Application Due: December 15, 2017

America’s brightest young musicians take part in a three-week residency that includes a performance at Carnegie Hall before embarking on a tour of Asia with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

NYO2 aims to expand the pool of highly trained musicians, particularly those who will bring greater diversity to classical orchestral music. These selected instrumentalists play alongside exceptionally talented peers and learn from world-class faculty before concluding their residency with a performance on the famed Carnegie Hall stage.

NYO-USA Supporting Sponsor: PepsiCo Foundation Additional funding has been provided by The Jack Benny Family Foundation; JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation; and Jolyon Stern and Nelle Nugent.

Founder Patrons: Blavatnik Family Foundation; Nicola and Beatrice Bulgari; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; Marina Kellen French and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation; The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation; Ronald O. Perelman; Robertson Foundation; Beatrice Santo Domingo; Robert F. Smith; Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon; and Joan and Sanford I. Weill and the Weill Family Foundation.

Leadership support for NYO2 is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Founder Patron: Beatrice Santo Domingo.

With additional funding provided by: Ernst & Young LLP

carnegiehall.org/NYO2

carnegiehall.org/NYOUSA

Chris Lee

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There isn’t one simple way to honor Lou Harrison, who would have turned 100 this past May. Several orchestras presented music by the wildly eclectic composer whose interests embraced Javanese gamelans, Eastern calligraphy, gay opera, and political activism. Among those paying homage was the San Francisco Symphony, which in June performed selections from Harrison’s Suite for Violin with American Gamelan, on a program including works by Charles Ives, George Antheil, and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas. The Toledo Symphony Orchestra and Toledo Museum of Art marked Harrison’s centenary with an August 12 music marathon that included chamber concerts, gamelan demonstrations, and Eva Soltes’s film Lou Harrison: A World of Music; the day culminated with Third Coast Percussion performing the Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra with soloist Paul Jacobs, and the Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra with soloist Todd Reynolds. In June, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented Harrison’s 1971 opera Young Caesar. symphony

FALL 2017

MUSICAL CHAIRS

Applications are being accepted through December 4 for the League of American Orchestras’ Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, to be hosted by Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony on April 3 and 4, 2018. Since 1995, the League’s Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview has showcased 85 conductors, Roderick Cox leads the Nashville Symphony at the 2016 with more than 50 orchestras Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview. engaging participants in conductor/music director appointments as a direct result. At the 2018 Preview, selected conductors will rehearse a 20-minute program of contrasting musical selections, culminating in a free public concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The performance will be streamed live, promoted to industry professionals and the public, and posted online for 45 days. Participants will have the opportunity to network with industry professionals and to receive feedback and mentorship from Nashville Symphony musicians and Guerrero, an alumnus of the 2001 Preview. The 2018 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview is made possible by a generous gift from Martha Rivers Ingram. Additional support is provided by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. To learn more, visit https://americanorchestras.org/brunowalter.

Idaho’s Boise Philharmonic has named ERIC GARCIA music director. is the new executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Conductor JEFFREY GROGAN has accepted a joint position with the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras and Ginstling Oklahoma City University: as conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra and as artistic director of the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras.

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has appointed ALEJANDRO GÓMEZ GUILLÉN associate conductor and JACOB JOYCE conducting fellow. has been appointed music director of the Corpus Christi Symphony in Texas.

HECTOR GUZMAN

North Carolina’s Salisbury Symphony Orchestra has appointed JAMES DANE HARVEY executive director.

americanorchestras.org

Oliver Theil

The San Francisco Symphony has named MARK HANSON executive director.

Hanson

has been elected president of the board of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

Musical Chairs

RICHARD D. HENDRICKS

The Carmel Symphony Orchestra in Indiana has named JANNA HYMES music director.

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has appointed DAVID HYSLOP interim president, succeeding Amy Adkins, who stepped down in July.

Tanglewood to Add Four-Building Complex

Tanglewood, the Berkshire Hills summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937, is about to get bigger. Following an August 18 groundbreaking ceremony, construction started on a new $30 million, four-building complex that will support performance and rehearsal activities of the Tanglewood Music Center and be the focal point of a new initiative, the Tanglewood Learning Institute, offering wideranging education and enrichment programs. Scheduled to open in summer 2019, the complex is designed by Boston-based William Rawn Associates, which also designed Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall in 1994. Kirkegaard Associates, the acousticians for Ozawa Hall, will serve as the project’s acousticians. The largest building of the complex will provide state-of-the-art space for rehearsals and concerts, multi-media education and lecture programs, and social and dining spots. Additional buildings include a 150-seat cafe, designed in part as a hub for visitors, TMC Fellows and faculty, and TLI participants, and two smaller studios with additional space for rehearsal, performance, educational, and At the August 18 Tanglewood groundbreaking (left to right): Architect William L. Rawn III, Boston Symphony Orchestra social activities. The complex Trustee Joyce Linde, Boston Pops Conductor Emeritus John will be climate-controlled Williams, BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons, BSO Associate for use by the Berkshire Principal Horn Richard Sebring, and BSO Managing Director community in the off-season. Mark Volpe.

Tod Martens

GARY GINSTLING

Ohio’s Canton Symphony Orchestra has named MATTHEW JENKINS JAROSZEWICZ assistant conductor.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic has named SCOTT KERESTESI board chairman.

has been named music director of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in Park Forest.

STILIAN KIROV

is the new executive director of the Albany (N.Y.) Symphony Orchestra.

ANNA KUWABARA

has been appointed music director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

LAWRENCE LOH

Kuwabara

The Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic Orchestra has named CURTIS LONG president and CEO. has been appointed to a one-year position as assistant conductor with the Nashville Symphony.

ENRICO LOPEZ-YAÑEZ

is the new president of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, after having served as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s president and CEO since 2012.

JONATHAN MARTIN

Hilary Scott

LaCresha Kolba

Calling All Conductors!

Symphony Orchestra Augusta in Georgia has appointed DIRK MEYER music director.

The Oklahoma City Philharmonic has appointed ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE music director, effective with the 2018-19 season. He is serving as music director designate in 2017-18.

The East Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, based in Collegedale, has named MATHEW MILLER executive director.

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Update: The League’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy

MUSICAL CHAIRS has been appointed music director of the New Mexico Philharmonic.

ROBERTO MINCZUK

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has appointed LINDA MOXLEY vice president of marketing and communications.

Credo Music, based in Oberlin, Ohio, has appointed HENRY PEYREBRUNE as its first executive director.

Peyrebrune has been a bassist in the Cleveland Orchestra since 1997, a position he will retain.

The Owensboro Symphony Orchestra in Kentucky has named TROY QUINN music director. is artistic director and conductor of the Michigan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

HEKTOR QYTETI

has been named concertmaster of Florida’s Venice Symphony.

MARCUS RATZENBOECK

Guitarist PABLO SÁINZ VILLEGAS has been appointed the Santa Barbara Symphony’s first artist in residence.

Karin Shook.PG

The American Composers Orchestra has appointed VANESSA ROSE as EarShot program manager and LYNDSAY WERKING as director of development.

Rose

has been named music director of California’s San Luis Obispo Symphony.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has named RALPH SKIANO as principal clarinet and ROBERT SULLIVAN as principal trumpet. Skiano and Sullivan will also hold the principal clarinet and trumpet chairs in the Cincinnati Pops.

The Abilene Philharmonic in Texas has appointed KEVIN SMITH executive director.

The Minnesota Orchestra has appointed JOHN SNOW principal oboe. FEI XIE is the orchestra’s new principal bassoon.

has been named interim conductor of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony in Pocatello, Idaho.

JULIE SORENSEN

is the new executive director of Georgia’s Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

ERIC THOMAS

Ohio’s Toledo Symphony has named ALAIN TRUDEL music director. will step down as president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra on December 31.

ALLISON VULGAMORE

The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, which provides administrative services to arts organizations including Ohio’s Columbus Symphony, has appointed CHAD WHITTINGTON president and chief executive officer.

The Juilliard School has named DAMIAN WOETZEL as president, effective July 2018. He succeeds Joseph W. Polisi.

Conductor JOSEPH YOUNG has been named the Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Artistic Director of Ensembles at the Peabody Conservatory.

The Cleveland Orchestra has named AFENDI YUSUF principal clarinet.

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Build an Audition Support System Create and launch a National Diversity Audition Fund to provide travel, financial support, and training opportunities for orchestral auditions to pre- and early-professional musicians from under-represented communities in orchestras.

Musical Chairs

ANDREW SEWELL

In December 2015, as part of its longstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the League of American Orchestras and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation convened about 45 stakeholders from in and around orchestras to understand barriers to achieving greater diversity among musicians in orchestras—and to formulate corrective strategies. Orchestra CEOs, staff, musicians, and people from higher education, afterschool music programs, community arts education, and more spent two days in New York City in what became a launching pad for a national resurgence of conversation and action in support of achieving diversity in orchestras. Many key relationships among people and organizations were established, laying the groundwork for ongoing dialogue and action.

One immediate outcome of this meeting was the creation of the annual Diversity Forum, which convenes at the League’s Conference; the Diversity Forum brings together activists in and around orchestras to exchange information and perspectives, and to take collective action. The first Forum, in June 2016, spawned five national task forces to advance the League’s strategy:

Young

Establish a Mentor Network Launch and promote the National Instrumentalist Mentorship and Audition Training Initiative, a program for pre-professional orchestra musicians of color. Co-chairs: Howard Herring, president and CEO, New World Symphony; Stanford Thompson, executive director, Play On, Philly!

Strengthen Music Education Pathways Determine orchestras’ and youth orchestras’ optimal roles in strengthening local music education pathways through collective impact efforts. Co-chairs: Lee Koonce, president and artistic director, Gateways Music Festival; Leni Boorstin, director of community and government affairs, Los Angeles Philharmonic Support Increased Board and Staff Diversity Identify strategies and resources to support the diversification of orchestra boards and staff. Co-chairs: Shea Scruggs, director of music admission and assistant dean for preparatory and summer programs, School of Music, Ithaca College; Jim Hirsch, chief executive officer, Chicago Sinfonietta Promote Organizational Readiness Advancing principles and practices of diversity, equity and inclusion requires organizational cultures that support those aims. This group is charged to explore how orchestra cultures help and/or hinder diversity, equity, and inclusion goals and what steps can be taken to develop highly supportive cultures. Co-chairs: Alex Laing, principal clarinet, Phoenix Symphony; Megen Balda, executive director, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies Since the task forces were chartered in June 2016, the Audition and Mentor groups have merged and are finalizing plans for a major national effort offering an array of resources for early-career musicians of color. The new program is expected to launch in spring 2018. The three remaining task forces are continuing their work, with facilitation by the League. The third Diversity Forum will take place in conjunction with the League’s National Conference in Chicago, June 13-15, 2018.

Find more on the League’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy—including recent reports, a statement on the role of orchestras in this time of divisiveness, and videos of DEI-related sessions at Conference—at https://americanorchestras.org/ diversityresources. symphony

FALL 2017

A Brighter Buffalo

Joe Cascio

In July, the Buffalo Philharmonic in upstate New York performed a spectacular free outdoor concert at a most unusual venue: the former Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane.

The event, dubbed “EnLIGHTen,” was held on the South Lawn of the newly renovated Richardson Olmsted Campus and was meant to “spotlight the historical function of the Richardson as a place of healing.” Music Director JoAnn Falletta conducted music

by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, and Rachmaninoff, chosen, the orchestra noted, because the composers “lived with mental illness and created astounding music.”

The concert was accompanied by a light show projected onto the iconic Richardson Towers, marking the successful completion of the first phase of redevelopment The view from the front lawn of the historic Richardson of the 145-year-old National Olmsted Campus, where the Buffalo Philharmonic performed Historic Landmark into a hotel an “enLIGHTen” concert in July celebrating the rebirth of the and architecture center. The campus, complete with light show. original Buffalo State Asylum was designed in the 1880s by Henry Hobson Richardson with the famed landscape team of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

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Tallahassee World Premiere

Amy Recht

It’s not every day that a youth orchestra commissions a brand-new piece— with ballet. But on May 7 at Tallahassee’s Ruby Diamond Auditorium, the Tallahassee Youth Symphony Orchestra performed Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Ballet 2017: Celestial Dance, its first commissioned world premiere, led by Music Director Alexander Jimenez. The three-movement work, which the composer noted was meant to mimic the general concept of DNA, was presented jointly with the Tallahassee Ballet. Zwilich said in a pre-performance interview in the Tallahassee Democrat, “I’ve been very taken with the idea that these will all be young performers, both the dancers and the players, and that was very inspiring. I hope they enjoy playing it because In May, the Tallahassee Youth Symphony Orchestra premiered there’s something wonderful about trying your best that enables you to Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Ballet 2017 with the Tallahassee Ballet. enjoy something more. You have to have a love for it that drives you.”

Des Moines Symphony and Grant Wood’s Iowa

Probably no other artwork so instantly evokes rural Iowa as Grant Wood’s American Gothic. That was the title for a program this spring by the Des Moines Symphony, featuring Michael Daugherty’s threemovement American Gothic, accompanied by a new film by John Richard featuring Wood’s depictions of Iowa’s farms and landscapes. Music Director Joseph Giunta led the May 13 and 14 concerts of Daugherty’s piece, originally commissioned and premiered by Orchestra Iowa in Cedar Rapids in 2013. Each of Daugherty’s three movements was inspired by Wood’s paintings. In his program notes, Daugherty, an Iowa native, writes that his father was a fan of Grant Wood’s regionalist art, a tour guide at the Grant Wood Studio, and displayed reproductions of American Gothic and Stone City at his home.

Grant Wood’s iconic 1930 painting “American Gothic”

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FALL 2017

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League Board Names Hagerman Chair, Plus More Board News The League of American Orchestras’ Board of Directors has named Douglas M. Hagerman chair. He succeeds Patricia A. Richards.

Other Board appointments include Melanie Clarke as co-vice chair and David M. Roth as secretary, and Alfred P. Moore joins the Board. They were elected for three-year terms by League members during the organization’s annual meeting in June. Ex-officio Board appointments include Simon Woods, Seattle Symphony; Sara Mummey, Lafayette Symphony Orchestra; and Ann Huntoon, Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra (orchestra executive directors); Megen Balda, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (Youth Orchestra Division); and Rebecca Odland, Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra (Volunteer Council).

Hagerman, based in Milwaukee, WI is the immediate past chair of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and current chair of the orchestra’s music director search committee. Joining the MSO Board in 2007, he became chair in 2011, serving in that role through 2014. Hagerman recently retired after thirteen years as senior vice president and general counsel of Rockwell Automation, Inc. Hagerman graduated from Harvard Law School and Drake University. He studied economics and accounting and is a certified public accountant and former director of the National Association of Manufacturers (2009-2016). Hagerman is married, with two adult daughters. He is a runner and triathlete and is also an Eagle Scout.

Melanie Clarke of Princeton, NJ retired from the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in 2015 after 25 years with the organization, including nine seasons as executive director. A conservatory-trained violinist, she is a trustee of the Highland Center for the Arts, the newly opened venue in Greensboro, VT. As chair of that organization’s Board of Directors, she led the development of the management team, as well as programming for its inaugural summer season.

Alfred P. Moore of Minneapolis, MN retired in 2007 as president of Fiserv Health, the healthcare services division of Fiserv, Inc. (now the UMR division of United Healthcare). During the ten years preceding his retirement, he served in several capacities at Wausau Insurance, Wausau Benefits, Inc., Fiserv Health, and Fiserv, Inc. Moore serves on the boards of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Forum, VocalEssence, and American Players Theatre.

David M. Roth of Hartford, CT is a senior managing partner of SouthOcean Capital Partners Inc., which invests in real estate, venture capital, and public and private markets. He was previously a principal and managing director of WLD Enterprises, Inc., a private investment company, and he began his career in the Connecticut law firm of Levy & Droney, P.C. He is a trustee of Lafayette College and a director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Bushnell Center for Performing Arts, the Jewish Community Foundation, and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

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FALL 2017

Orchestras Respond to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma Once flood waters abated, the Jacksonville Symphony held its season-opening concert as scheduled, though a concert at Sea Island was cancelled. As a safety precaution, staff members of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra evacuated Fort Myers; they have since returned and hope to proceed with the season as planned. The Naples Philharmonic shut down prior to Irma, and on September 25 resumed activities with the restoration of electricity.

Despite the upheaval, orchestras stepped in to offer relief.

Musicians from the Houston Symphony performed for free in shelters, parks, and a parking lot. Mercury, a Houston-based period-instrument ensemble, accepted donations to the Mayor’s Relief Fund, and Mercury musicians played for displaced Houstonians. The River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, also based in Houston, commissioned two fanfares as artistic responses to how Houston citizens coped with natural disasters. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra donated proceeds from single-ticket sales for two concerts to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, and musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, and Credo Music held a concert benefitting the American Red Cross. In Florida, musicians from the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra performed for Irma evacuees in a city shelter. The New World Symphony evacuated many of its musicians prior to Irma, and afterward offered a free, pre-recorded Wallcast for Miami Beach residents; free air-condiHouston Symphony musicians perform for displaced residents at the George R. Brown tioning, water, and fruit were also available.

Convention Center on August 31, shortly after Hurricane Harvey hit, when the center Two Houston-based ensembles started funds served as an emergency shelter. Pictured are violinists Rebecca Reale and Sophia to help musicians recover. The Houston Youth Silivos, violist Linda Goldstein, and cellist Brinton Smith.

Symphony’s Music and Instrument Fund for Harvey Victims provides grants to musicians in grades K-12 its home, Jones Hall, suffered flooding. Damage was relatively to replace or repair their instruments, offers funding to school minor; in contrast, the Houston Grand Opera, down the street orchestra and band programs to replace items lost in the flood, from Jones Hall, sustained massive flooding that will require and supports the Houston Youth Symphony instrument fund. months of restoration. The Symphony of Southeast Texas, in The Houston Symphony has set up an Employee Assistance Beaumont, reported no damage but stated that some members Fund to help musicians and staff who suffered damage to their lost their cars or homes in the storm. The Austin Symphony homes. was forced to cancel one concert but was otherwise in decent As the disasters unfolded, the League of American Orchestras shape. Due to some concert-hall flooding, the Victoria Symremained in contact with orchestras in the affected areas, reportphony had to postpone a mid-September performance until ing on their situations and providing information and assistance. next March, but the orchestra’s offices were intact.

At https://americanorchestras.org/disaster, the League has Florida wasn’t the only state affected by Hurricane Irma: also posted resources for musicians and orchestras affected by orchestras as far north as Georgia and South Carolina were natural disasters, including links to organizations that give supimpacted. Due to flooding, the Hilton Head Symphony port; information on disaster response, recovery, and readiness; Orchestra rescheduled its season-opening concert for Octoand ways to help orchestras and musicians affected by the ber 24. Symphony Orchestra Augusta in Georgia cancelled hurricanes. auditions but came through the storm otherwise unaffected.

Courtesy Houston Symphony

In September, hurricanes Harvey and Irma delivered a one-two punch to Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean, causing widespread devastation. Orchestras in Texas and Florida were hit hard, with flooded concert halls, cancelled performances, and displaced musicians and staff. Nevertheless, orchestras responded as only they can: with music. As Michael Pastreich, president and CEO of the Florida Orchestra, which is based in Tampa Bay, put it, “Yes, Irma was powerful, but music is powerful, too. It can’t turn on the lights or repair your house, but it can bring a community together when it needs it most.”

In Texas, Hurricane Harvey forced the Houston Symphony to cancel, postpone, and relocate its September concerts when

americanorchestras.org

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BOARD ROOM

Board Members as Advocates A key part of nonprofit governance is making sure that the organizations board members represent have a place at the table with elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels.

AD

C O V

Y C A

by Anne Wallestad

A

s directions in leadership are changing at all levels of government, nonprofit executives and board members across the country are asking themselves some important questions:

•

What will new leaders at the local, state, and federal level mean for our mission?

•

How do these leaders and decision makers view our work?

•

What changes might they contemplate that could affect us as an organization?

While these questions provide an excellent starting point for conversation, the mistake that many board members and others will make is to assume that their next step should be to begin preparing themselves to accept whatever changes new leadership will bring. Don’t make that mistake.

Our missions are far too important to sit on the sidelines while critical decisions are made. The people who depend on us need us to do more. They need us to engage. They need us to educate. They need us to organize. And, yes, sometimes they will need us to fight.

They need us to advocate.

For the past three years, BoardSource has helped lead the Stand for Your Mission campaign, which has worked to educate nonprofit organizations—in particular, nonprofit board members— about the importance of their leadership as advocates and ambassadors for their missions. Now, in this moment, that’s exactly what we need from board leaders. With a new balance of power at the federal level,

Don’t assume that newly elected leaders know about your nonprofit. Take the time to educate them about what you do, why it matters to your community, and why it should matter to them. a dramatic shift in the presidential policy agenda, and large-scale domestic spending cuts already promised, nonprofit leaders need to be prepared for potentially rapid and significant policy and funding changes at the federal, state and local levels. And we need to make sure that our voices are heard before those decisions are made.

Here are three important things for boards to do:

Assess your new reality. If you haven’t already, you should have a conversation in the boardroom about the range of potential opportunities and threats that your organization could face. For example: How much do you rely on government funds? What would happen to your organization if that support disappeared or contracted quickly? How big a risk is that, given the type of work you do or the type of support you receive?

What policy changes might be proposed that would significantly threaten— or help advance—your organization’s work? Are newly elected leaders more or less open to the types of policy solutions that would help your organization expand its impact?

What’s the big picture for the communities you serve? Are there proposals that could help—or harm—them? What will that mean in terms of the new realities that are created for those communities?

How will it impact your ability to serve them and achieve the impact you seek?

Articulate your values and beliefs.

Now more than ever, nonprofit organizations need to have a deep understanding of their organizational values: what you are as an organization, what you care about, and why. This goes much deeper

This article appeared earlier in slightly different form on the BoardSource website and is reprinted with permission.

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symphony

FALL 2017

“In the Broadway revival than defining your mission or advocacy agenda and is about the fundamental principles that guide your organization’s decision making. This is important because when the ground is shifting and changes in our external environment are moving quickly, there’s not always time to put together a formal strategy or to thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of a position or stance as a full board. In those moments, executives need to be able to rely on a shared understanding of organizational values and move forward with the confidence that they are acting in a way that is consistent with the organization’s values, not just their own personal ones.

Boards should contemplate these questions: Do we see our organization as a moral or ethical leader on any issue or set of issues? If so, what are they and how we would define our stance?

If we asked those we serve what we stand for as an organization, what would we hope they would say?

What decisions have we made as an

organization that we would lift up as a good example of our organizational values? Why? Are there any decisions we’ve made that don’t reflect our values? Why don’t they?

This is not about partisanship or a particular political view.

It’s about a fundamental understanding of the role of nonprofits in society, what our work means to this country and the people we serve.

With what issues, views, or values would we be embarrassed to be associated? Are any of them things that we’d be willing to speak out against publicly? In what circumstance would we feel that was appropriate, or even necessary?

Outline advocacy priorities and help make them happen. New leadership may mean that your organization’s policy priorities have shifted, or they may remain

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New from the League: Playing Your Part: An Orchestra’s Guide to Public Policy Advocacy A 2017 survey by the League of American Orchestras showed that 83% of responding orchestras are already talking about public policy inside their organizations. If you are involved in an orchestra in any capacity, and you care about the future of your orchestra and the community it serves, being an effective advocate is essential. As civic leaders and stewards of the orchestra’s mission, board leaders can play an especially effective role in speaking up on important public policy issues. As 501(c)(3) organizations, orchestras are permitted by the Internal Revenue Service to engage in issue advocacy, and many orchestras are leading such efforts at the local, state, and federal levels.

Through its new online guide Playing Your Part: An Orchestra’s Guide to Public Policy Advocacy, at www.americanorchestras.org/playingyourpart, the League offers advice on how to get engaged in the policy process and build successful relationships with policymakers. Our goal is to support and empower you to play your part in influencing public policy. This guide includes: • • • •

Facts about advocacy and lobbying Tips for identifying your policy issues, partners, and strategies Easy steps for tracking and reporting lobbying activity A Q&A section that explains the lobbying rules for orchestras

Read or download the complete Playing Your Part: An Orchestra’s Guide to Public Policy Advocacy for free at www.americanorchestras.org/playingyourpart.

americanorchestras.org

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The League of American Orchestras would like to thank the following sponsors and program funders for their support of the 72nd National Conference.

Lead Sponsor: Ford Motor Company Major Supporter: John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Generous Contributor: The Kresge Foundation

Fisher Dachs Association Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation Ford Motor Company Fund The Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts Instant Encore JRA Fine Arts

Sponsors and Program Funders:

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Akustiks

National Endowment for the Arts

American Express Foundation The Amphion Foundation

NUCLASSICAÂŽ, BTG Artist & Model Management

Arts Consulting Group

Opus 3 Artists

Asheville Symphony

Patron Technology

Bennett Direct

Robert Swaney Consulting, Inc.

Boomerang Carnets l CIB

SD&A

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)

TALASKE | Sound Thinking

Colbert Artists Management

TCG Entertainment

Columbia Artist Management, Inc.

Thomas Pandolfi, Pianist

The Aaron Copland Fund for Music

Threshold Acoustics

Julie F. Fisher and Peter D. Cummings

TRG Arts

DCM

The Wallace Foundation

EnCue, by Octava

Young Concert Artists

We look forward to seeing you in Chicago for the 73rd National Conference, June 13-15, 2018. To inquire about sponsorship opportunities for the 2018 Conference, please contact Steve Alter at 646 822 4051 or salter@americanorchestras.org.

exactly the same. Regardless, a new set of players in any leadership body means new power dynamics, and nonprofits cannot take anything for granted in terms of public support—whether that support is financial or policy-related. That’s why board members should: Capitalize on existing relationships.

Board members should tell nonprofit executives how they could help the organization connect with a particular leader and work with the executives (or designated staff ) to coordinate outreach efforts.

Reaffirm support. Enlisting a board member to thank an elected official who has taken positions or made statements in support of things that your organization cares about can be a powerful way to let them know how much you appreciate their support. When it comes from a board member—particularly one they know or respect—it may carry even more weight

than if it came from a staff member.

Move past disagreement. Changes in the cast of players may create new opportunities to build a relationship with an

Now more than ever, nonprofit organizations need to have a deep understanding of their organizational values: what you are as an organization, what you care about, and why. incumbent with whom your organization hasn’t seen eye-to-eye. Consider tapping a board leader—ideally one who lives or works in that person’s district or geographic scope—to initiate a conversation.

Educate new leaders about your organization and work. Don’t assume that newly elected leaders know about your nonprofit.

Take the time to educate them about what you do, why it matters to your community, and why it should matter to them.

BoardSource’s Stand for Your Mission campaign has never been about partisanship or a particular political view, nor is it about advancing any policy agenda.

It’s about a fundamental understanding of the role of nonprofits in society, what our work means to this country and the people we serve, and how all of that is affected by the decisions our elected officials make and the policies they enact.

So as we enter this next chapter in our country’s leadership, let’s make sure that our elected officials know exactly who we are and what we stand for.

ANNE WALLESTAD is the president and CEO of BoardSource, a globally recognized nonprofit focused on strengthening nonprofit leadership at the board of directors level.

Professional experiences, diverse opportunities for collaboration and dedicated instruction from renowned performers, composers and scholars await you at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music.

Work with leaders in the field to develop your talents and refine your passions as you experience The College of Music Advantage.

Apply online at colorado.edu/music

americanorchestras.org

19

Seen and Heard: Conference 2017 The League of American Orchestras’ 2017 Conference brought together a rich array of views about the present— and future—of orchestras. Here are excerpts from three key sessions. Find more about the 2017 Conference, including videos of multiple sessions, background information, and presentations, at https://americanorchestras.org/ conference-2017.

T

he Classical Musicians of African Descent: Perspectives, Aspirations, and Outlook session brought forward the unique points of view and lived experience of today’s musicians of African descent. League President and CEO Jesse Rosen moderated the panel, which included Judith Dines, flute, Houston Symphony Orchestra, principal flute, Gateways Music Festival; Lee Koonce, president and artistic director, Gateways Music Festival; Alex Laing, principal clarinet, Phoenix Symphony, principal clarinet, Gateways Music Festival; Michael Morgan, music director and conductor, Oakland Symphony, artistic director, Gateways Music Festival; Ann Hobson Pilot, former principal harp, Boston Symphony Orchestra; and Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violin, Gateways Music Festival.

JESSE ROSEN: Ann, you have an incredible story and legacy and have been a pioneer. What supported you and made it possible for you to prevail in an environment that was not all that welcoming?

ANN HOBSON PILOT: I found the harp. I could say I found the harp or the harp found me. My mother was a concert pianist and when I got to high school I wanted to take up a different instrument and discovered the harp through a

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music teacher at school. Because of the piano background, I made progress pretty quickly. When I graduated, I went to the Philadelphia Musical Academy and then continued.

JESSE ROSEN: Did you encounter adversity along the way?

ANN HOBSON PILOT: There definitely was adversity. From Washington, D.C., the National Symphony Orchestra [which Pilot joined in 1966] used to tour down south a lot. There were times when some of the hotels did not want me to stay there. And a credit to the orchestra, they said that I had to stay. Sometimes on the bus tours we’d arrive at Little Rock, Arkansas or somewhere on the outskirts of Alabama and find restaurants with signs that said, “Whites only.” I hadn’t experienced that before.

I had some experiences with colleagues that were not very pleasant. I learned to handle that. In Boston, someone actually said the N word to me. That is the only time that ever happened. I didn’t want to create a scene. But the next day I said to him, “Don’t you ever use that word in front of me again.” His response was, “Richard Pryor uses it all the time. I was just kidding.” I said, “Well, don’t you ever use that around me.” He apologized and said he would not. And he did not. That is the only time I experienced that.

JESSE ROSEN: We’re a long way

from institutionalized segregation, but I’m curious if anyone else has experienced anything that Ann has talked about. Are we past all these things?

KELLY HALL-TOMPKINS: Gosh, there are so many ways we’ve moved forward and there are ways that we’ve moved backward. What comes to mind in some limited cases is the soft racism of low expectations. There’s also hard racism. I became a substitute with a major orchestra because I was runner-up at the audition.

On one of my first few days there was an innocent joke, but kind of revealing.

I happened to pass by a male dressing room and somebody was knocking on the door and said, “Is Donald White there?”

And somebody responded, saying, “No, he turned black and they kicked him out.”

They all had a good laugh. And here’s 22-year-old me playing with this orchestra for the first time.

MICHAEL MORGAN: Sadly, conductors cannot audition behind a screen.

My entire career would be completely different if that were true. I find the whole notion of dealing with race is that you cannot tell why you’re being advanced and you cannot tell why you’re being held back. I’m constantly trying to get students and conductors of color to move past that and not let people stop them, because you will never know the actual reason that they didn’t take you.

JUDITH DINES: I won my job very young. This is a nice story, by the way. It was my first audition. Somebody else was playing the job and they really enjoyed her playing and it was presumed that she would win the job. When I won, I was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure why they picked me over her, because they were happy with her. I remember my first rehearsal. I play second flute and I had to play the Moldau, which begins as a second flute solo. Because of that, people were able early on to hear me play and say, “Okay, she is good. She did deserve to win this job.” I feel lucky in that it was very symphony

FALL 2017

Doug Coombe

At the Classical Musicians of African Descent: Perspectives, Aspirations, and Outlook session, from left: Judith Dines, Alex Laing, Kelly Hall-Tompkins, and Ann Hobson Pilot. At the session but not pictured: Michael Morgan and Lee Koonce.

clear, very early that people did enjoy my playing.

ALEX LAING: There are challenges that come from being the only anything— being isolated. I feel poignantly the separation that orchestras have from their communities, because it’s a community that I identify with. It’s challenging to not be able to move the needle in terms of making that an institutional priority. That doesn’t mean that change can’t happen.

KELLY HALL-TOMPKINS: I always preface this kind of discussion by saying I didn’t get into the field to be a black violinist. I got into the field because I’m a violinist.

JESSE ROSEN: This is a room full of people in orchestras and I think it’s safe to say they are committed to leading their orchestras in ways that are inclusive, supportive, diverse. Is there anything that you want to share that you think would be helpful?

LEE KOONCE: What orchestras can do is work on learning how to be comfortable in communities that are different than their own. Going out into the community and being there and being present is something that orchestras can do.

When I was at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, we did lots of programs in the community. [Former Chicago Symphony Orchestra President and former League of American Orchestras President and CEO] Henry Fogel is probably the most authentic community engagement ambassador on the planet. He believes that everybody in the world should wake up singing Mozart or Beethoven. We did programs in the community, maybe at an African-American church, and they’d have a reception afterwards. Henry would be there, 10:30 at night, still talking to americanorchestras.org

everybody. It’s not his community, but he was committed to learning about that community and being a part of that community. I would like to see that from all orchestras.

At Market Smarter: Insights and Strategy for Digital Marketing, Eric Gensler, president of Capacity Interactive, a digital marketing firm for the cultural sector, examined the new ways that orchestras and other arts organizations are embracing digital media in order to market their offerings.

ERIC GENSLER: My presentation today is all about getting your digital marketing priorities straight. It is very easy to be distracted by shiny buzzwords, new channels, sales reps, articles, new targeting techniques, and there is so much you can do with digital marketing. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should. The point of today’s presentation is to help you prioritize, to understand what’s important.

In the last ten to fifteen years, how human beings communicate has changed faster than any time in history. For many years arts and culture were sold through print advertising. If you wanted to sell a concert you would buy a big ad in your local newspaper and you would put it next to the music and arts coverage. Now, most information is consumed on small mobile devices. This requires a completely new approach to how you’re marketing, positioning, communicating about your organization. About 90 to 100 percent of you have Facebook accounts that you check every day. But when you look at allocations of marketing budget, many organizations are completely misaligned.

Why are we marketing differently than we are behaving as individuals? I’m going to

say it many times: Facebook should be the number-one line item on your marketing budget. It is the most powerful advertising and marketing tool and is incredibly effective for arts and cultural organizations.

Cut a print ad. Instead, create video and amazing social-media content.

How does that work in the digital world? First and foremost, it’s about creating content in the form of videos, infographics, imagery, e-mail. We often forget that e-mail is content and not just the “buy now” tool. It’s about investing and reallocating your budgets to create amazing content, content that potential concertgoers or your fans will get excited about, content that they are going to engage with and share. When you do a good job creating content, you get people’s attention. Then you get leads. Leads is someone raising their hand and saying, “Hey, this organization is a great content creator. I’m going to like them on social media or join their e-mail lists or go to their website.” Which organization is going to be more successful—the one with 10,000 e-mail addresses or the one with 100,000? Of course the one with 100,000.

When it comes time to sell your season or to sell a concert, if you have a larger base you’re going to be successful because people trust you. You’re giving them great content, so they’re already further down the funnel.

When someone has joined you on email, it’s not about sending promo codes and “come to this concert” and “donate now,” it’s about telling your story in a compelling way. Ultimately you will get a ticket sale, they will have a great experience, and that cycle will continue.

The point of this is that then it was about buying media. Now it’s about creating and promoting content. We’re still in a world where you have to buy media.

I’m not saying you need to be 100 percent digital, but you need to be more than 5 or 10 or 20 percent digital. About 30 percent of advertising budgets are now spent on digital across the 200 arts organizations that we surveyed.

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Bold and Informed: Researching Audiences on a Budget explored the best low-cost ideas for researching target audiences from arts organizations around the country. Including examples drawn from the Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for the Arts initiative, the session also revealed why audience research matters.

The speakers were Sara Billmann, director of marketing and communications for the University Musical Society, and Bob Harlow, an expert on researching arts audiences and head of Bob Harlow Research and Consulting, LLC. SARA BILLMANN: The University Musical Society is a presenter that’s been around since 1879, with about 60 performances a year. Our budget is $7.5 million, we’re itinerant, don’t own a venue, and our audiences are about 21 percent students, which comes from being on the campus of the University of Michigan.

One of our programming threads has been “Renegade,” focusing on artistic game-changers from the past and the present—and that included artists like Gesualdo, Monteverdi, Beethoven. We wanted to target entrepreneurs and cre-

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create more effective marketing, so you learn how to talk to people. We know how to talk to our current audiences, but new audiences sometimes need different language The Market Smarter: Insights and Strategy for Digital Marketing or images. Audience research Conference session, led by Eric Gensler, can be viewed at also helps track progress. https://americanorchestras.org/conference-2017.

Organizations on tight budgets have to be smart.

They don’t have time. They don’t have ative placemakers as audience members, money. Low-cost research follows some thinking that they also had that innovavery good, effective principles of more tive mindset. We started our research with expensive formal research. support from the Wallace Foundation in There are two types of research for 2015. We began with in-depth interviews two types of questions. Sometimes the with previous “Renegade” attendees about questions we have are quantity: how their arts-going habits, and used that inmany, how much, what number. If your formation to develop a protocol for focus questions are how many people went to groups and an online survey. That was the website and read the program notes, incredibly valuable, because it helped us how many people went to the café during figure out the right questions to ask and intermission, then you want to do a survey. what we should be looking at.

There’s another type of data that we get, In focus groups with “Renegade” atand Sara’s project really spoke to it, where tendees and tech-industry people and the data isn’t numbers. Sometimes it’s artists, as well as with prospects that we stuff that a survey could never tell us, like identified based on our online survey, we how to build loyalty. That’s when you ask learned that there was a lot of confusion how and why questions. If you have how about that past-and-present focus. When and why questions, you want to do things we programmed Monteverdi’s Vespers like focus groups or in-depth interviews. on “Renegade,” people were scratching One great example of how to use focus their heads and saying, “That doesn’t feel groups is the California Symphony’s very contemporary.” We realized that Orchestra X project. They wanted to we needed to reduce the complexity. We build their audience with Gen X-ers and reframed the curatorial product, and we millennials. So they had some attend a continue to have ongoing debates about concert and then talk about their experithat. I always say to our programming ence later in a local craft brewery. The director that when I’m doing audience orchestra learned that its website did not research, we’re not trying to tell you what have information that would help these people want and to program what people newcomers figure out which concert to want. But we have to figure out a way to attend. They don’t know what a concerto make that programming legible to the is. They don’t know the significance of target audience.

Rachmaninoff ’s Second Symphony. The We think that there’s potential to use California Symphony, like many of us, was a combination of online surveying, focus so used to talking to the current audience groups, and in-depth interviews, and then that they didn’t realize you have to put apply that data analysis to help make that stuff on your site. marketing more successful.

All the same, every comment about the BOB HARLOW: Audience research is performance was positive. Many newcomimportant because it can do three things. ers were awed by the live experience. No First, it helps you learn about audiences, one asked for a shorter concert or called pinpoint the barriers that are keeping out composers they didn’t want to hear. them away—and also figure out what’s They just needed a way to get into it. attracting them. Audience research helps symphony

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November 5 United Methodist Church Haddonfield, NJ November 24, 25, 26 The Cleveland Orchestra December 1, 2 The Utah Symphony January 11, 12, 13 The Philadelphia Orchestra January 21 Segerstrom Concert Hall The Pacific Symphony Costa Mesa, CA January 28 Our Lady of Lourdes Church Sun City West, AZ

March 15 Baylor University Waco, TX March 18 Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior Green Valley, AZ March 25 Pomona College Claremont, CA April 8 Davies Symphony Hall San Francisco Symphony April 14 Huguenot Memorial Church Pelham, NY April 28 The Cleveland Orchestra

February 11 University of Tampa Tampa, FL

May 6 Stambaugh Auditorium Youngstown, OH

September 24 St. John’s Lutheran Church Sacramento, CA

February 18 Trinity Downtown Lutheran Church Houston, TX

May 11, 12, 15 The Chicago Symphony

October 6, 7, 8 The Philadelphia Orchestra

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EdCE on the Rise

Of and For the Community:

The Education and Community Engagement Work of Orchestras

In August, the League of American Orchestras released Of and For the Community: The Education and Community Engagement Work of Orchestras, which reveals marked growth in education and community engagement (EdCE) activity by orchestras between 2009 and 2014. Here are excerpts and highlights from the report.

O

rchestras across America are reexamining and recreating their roles as civic institutions, both of and for the diverse communities they serve. For many, education and community engagement have already become central to a vision in which the work of orchestras is shaped by the distinctive characteristics of the people they serve.

Orchestras’ ambitions to engage with communities, in ways that create new and distinctive opportunities for creative expression and connection, are growing. Yet at the same time, social, cultural, economic, and policy change creates a complex and ever-shifting landscape for this work.

At this crucial moment, the education and engagement work undertaken by orchestras deserves dedicated attention.

Naturally, every community has its own distinctive culture and needs, and—as a result—each orchestra has its own story to tell about the impact of its education and community engagement work.

Nonetheless, there is an important role for a cohesive, national picture. The field-wide data provided by this report provides an essential backdrop to each orchestra’s own story of impact and engagement, as well as important insights into the tremendous scale and breadth of the work underway nationally.

Drawing on a dedicated survey of League of American Orchestras’ mem-

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A report by the League of American Orchestras

AUGUST 2017

AWMF This report was made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

• ber orchestras, Of and For the Community presents a more accurate and detailed picture of orchestra Education and Community Engagement (EdCE) activity than has previously been available to the field.

The 98 survey respondents included adult orchestras with and without affiliated youth orchestras, as well as independent youth orchestras. U.S. orchestras of all sizes from across the country took part. This report—the first League review of EdCE programming since 2008—is also the first to investigate current field interests such as the diversification of orchestra EdCE programming and the true artistic costs associated with orchestras’ EdCE programs.

Download Of and For the Community: The Education and Community Engagement Work of Orchestras free of charge at http:// www.americanorchestras.org/edcereport.

Key findings from Of and For the Community: Orchestras reported growth over the period 2009-14 on each of the following measures:

• • • •

the number of EdCE participants engaged; the racial/ethnic diversity of EdCE participants; the number of EdCE concerts produced; the range of EdCE activity types undertaken;

• •

the extent of school and community partnerships developed; the number of staff hours dedicated to EdCE activity; and the budget available for EdCE work, relative to the orchestra’s overall budget.

Almost two thirds of participants took part in EdCE programming free of charge, and 85% of all EdCE sessions took place outside of the concert hall.

Growth and diversity of participants:

•

82% of orchestras surveyed stated that the number of EdCE participants in their programs had increased over the five-year period 2009-14.

•

70% of all EdCE participants were believed to be 18 years old or younger.

•

61% of orchestras reported that their EdCE participant base was more diverse in 2014 than it had been in 2009.

•

38% of EdCE participants were believed to be African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, or American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 62% were believed to be white.

Diversification of the range of EdCE program types:

•

69% of survey respondents confidently reported a greater range of program types in 2014 than in 2009. symphony

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Racial / Ethnic Demographics of Orchestra EdCE Program Participants (FY 2014) African American / Black (14%)

Asian / Pacific Islander (7%) Native American / Alaskan Native (1%)

Orchestras serve communities:

• Almost two thirds of participants took part in EdCE programming free of charge.

• 85% of all EdCE sessions (incorporatWhite (62%)

Hispanic / Latino (16%)

ing both concerts and other musical activities and events) took place outside of the concert hall.

• 83% of orchestras surveyed offer the

opportunity to meet musicians and/or explore orchestral instruments.

Increase in number of EdCE concerts:

• Almost half of the survey cohort

reported that the number of EdCE concerts they performed had increased during the five-year period 2009-14.

Increase in partnerships with school and community-based organizations:

• Two thirds of all responding orchestras reported that the extent of their partnership work had increased during the five-year period 2009-14.

• 79% of orchestras surveyed reported working with schools.

• 63% reported working with community (non-school) partner organizations.

• 34% had worked with (non-school)

community partners focused on youth engagement.

• 26% had worked with health and well-

• Orchestras also reported having worked with organizations dedicated to homelessness (10%), mental health (8.2%), domestic violence and abuse (4.1%), criminal justice (3.1%), bullying (3.1%), young people in the foster care system (3.1%), and school dropouts (3.1%).

Orchestras’ investment in EdCE work is increasing:

• Almost half (47%) of the 85 orchestras

in our cohort of adult orchestras (and their affiliated youth orchestras) stated definitively that the budget available for EdCE programming increased in the period 2009-14, relative to their overall budget.

• Over 80% offer performances by

smaller professional groups of orchestral musicians, which enables this work to take place in a wider range of community venues.

• 73% offer in-person lectures or talks.

• 73% of community-based EdCE sessions took place in schools.

• 68% of orchestras surveyed present

family or school concerts, making the unique cultural experience of the full symphony orchestra welcoming and accessible to a large community audience.

• 61%* offer the opportunity for amateur musicians to rehearse and perform

EdCE Activity Types (FY 2014) Other musical activities and events (69%)

Performance (31%)

ness organizations.

• 24% had worked with senior-services providers.

• 17% had worked with organizations focused on racial diversity and inclusion.

• 13% had partnered with organizations working to address poverty in their communities.

americanorchestras.org

25

Breakout of EdCE Venues (FY 2014)

alongside orchestra musicians (*percentage does not include independent youth orchestras).

Schools (K-12) (73% of all community venues) Sessions held in home concert hall (15%)

• 51%* offer individual instrumental in-

struction (*percentage does not include independent youth orchestras).

Other community venues (27% of all community venues)

• 34%* run a community orchestra for

adults, and 30%* run an adult community choir (*percentages do not include independent youth orchestras).

• 27% of community-based EdCE ses-

sions took place in non-school venues including: -healthcare settings - civic institutions (such as museums or libraries) -religious buildings - civic spaces (such as parks and town squares)

Sessions held in venues other than concert halls (85%)

-care homes for the elderly -youth and community centers -criminal justice settings -community festivals or parades -social care centers -shelters

Of and For the Community: The Education and Community Engagement Work of Orchestras was made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Download Of and For the Community: The Education and Community Engagement Work of Orchestras free of charge at http://www.americanorchestras.org/edcereport.

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Bassist Maurice Todd (center rear) and cellist Blake-Anthony Johnson (center right, to Todd’s front and left), two of the inaugural musicians in the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship program.

P I P E L I N E

T O

Inclusion More and more orchestras are launching fellowships to increase musician diversity. What are these programs like for participants? The inaugural musicians in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music’s CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship program share their first-person perspectives.

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symphony

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M

omentum is growing for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the orchestra field, perhaps most visibly in the rising number of orchestra fellowship programs, which have the goal of increasing diversity in musician ranks. Several programs have been launched in the past year or two by orchestras of every size, while other fellowship programs have been around for much longer. Many aim specifically to increase the number of professional African American and Latino musicians, two persistently under-represented groups in the orchestral field. These programs advance already well-trained musicians to the next level in order to succeed professionally, provide mentorship and guidance from orchestra musicians, give participants the experience of being embedded within a professional orchestra, and offer financial support that allows emerging musicians to focus on refining their musical and audition skills. As League of American Orchestras President and CEO Jesse Rosen has said, “The biggest part of addressing diversity of musicians on stage is growing the pipeline.”

At the advanced end of that pipeline are orchestra fellowship programs. One of the newest, launched in 2016, is the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship program, funded with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The fellows, all Artist Diploma candidates at CCM, receive financial support and mentoring for two years. The Sphinx Organization, the Detroit-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting diversity in the arts, particularly in classical music, is serving as an external evaluator and adviser.

The CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowships program is just one of many similar initiatives around the country. A cross-section of some current musician fellows programs includes the IRIS Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee, which runs a fellowship program now in its second year for string musicians who identify as

Fellows family (left to right): Fellow Emilio Carlo, CSO Violist Joanne Wojtowicz, Fellow BlakeAnthony Johnson, Fellow Vijeta Sathyaraj, CSO Principal Cello Ilya Finkelshteyn, Fellow Diana Flores, CSO Music Director Louis Langrée, CSO Violinist Stacey Woolley, CSO Assistant Principal Cello Norman E. Johns, CSO Principal Bass Owen Lee, CSO Concertmaster Timothy Lees, Fellow Maurice Todd. americanorchestras.org

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Cellist Diana Flores in performance (center) within the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra cello section

Black/African American, Latino, or both.

Musicians perform with IRIS Orchestra and Music Director Michael Stern, are mentored by IRIS musicians and guest artists, and receive a salary and housing in Memphis. This year’s participants are cellist Dara Hankins, violinist Marcos Santos, and violist Gabriel Polycarpo. The Minnesota Orchestra’s newly launched Rosemary and David Good Fellowships support the career development of young musicians of African American, Latin American, and Native American descent.

Myles Blakemore, a trombonist from Dallas, and Jason Tanksley, a tuba player from Eastpointe, Michigan, just started their two-year positions in the program. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s EQT Orchestra Training Program for African American Musicians (OTPAAM) is a two-year pre-professional program during which musicians work with members of the orchestra to train and prepare for professional auditions and performance opportunities. Cellist Ryan Murphy, a participant in the 2011-13 EQT program,

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won a position with the San Antonio Symphony in 2012, and 2013-15 Fellow Adedeji Ogunfolu, a horn player, won a position with the San Antonio Symphony during his first year of the fellowship. The Chicago Sinfonietta’s Project Inclusion string fellowships at Chicago’s Grant Park Orchestra, now in their fifth year, give musicians the chance to rehearse and be paid to perform with the Grant Park Orchestra during the annual Grant Park Music Festival. This year’s musicians were violinists Teddy Wiggins and Robert Switala, violist Danielle Taylor, and cellist Denielle Wilson. The string fellowships are part of the Sinfonietta’s wide-ranging Project Inclusion, which has programs to develop diverse and emerging musicians, conductors, and administrators. In New York City, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s Orpheus Fellowship Program, launched in 2015, is aimed at emerging and pre-professional musicians, with special encouragement for those from underrepresented communities. Orpheus Fellows have included cellist Khari Joyner, clarinetist Ian Tyson, violist Celia Hatton, and bassoonist Alexander Davis. Davis is a current fellow at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s decades-old African American Orchestral Fellowship Program, in which participants have the

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Vijeta Sathyaraj (rear center) in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra violin section. Her stand partner is CSO musician Rebecca Fryxell.

dressed from many angles—and talked about what it might take to get there.

One oft-cited statistic: Latinos make up 3 percent of U.S. orchestras’ members, according to 2014 figures from the League of American Orchestras. African Ameri-

“This fellowship program is truly devoted to helping us get symphony jobs. They have given five people of color a chance to experience a professional orchestral setting where every member is approachable and willing to help.” —Maurice Todd opportunity to perform with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra during the regular season. Weeks not spent playing in the orchestra are devoted to individual coaching, mentoring, and training in audition techniques. Detroit program alumni have gone on to professional orchestral careers, among them Alexander Laing, principal clarinet in the Phoenix Symphony; Douglas Cardwell, principal timpani in the New Mexico Philharmonic; and Kenneth Thompkins, principal trombone of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

When Rosen spoke before the Association of British Orchestras on the topic of diversity at American orchestras in January 2017, he pointed out that the scope and scale of increasing musician diversity make for a challenge that needs be ad-

30

cans comprise 2 percent. To help address this field-wide challenge, the League has adopted a multi-pronged approach. It has commissioned and published two major research studies: Racial/Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Orchestra Field, reporting on gender and ethnic/racial diversity in orchestras among musicians, conductors, staff, executives, and board members; and Forty Years of Fellowships: A Study of Orchestras’ Efforts to Include African American and Latino Musicians, an in-depth examination of orchestras’ past efforts to diversify their musician ranks with fellowships for African American and Latino musicians. The League has organized national task forces and annual diversity forums where orchestras, musicians, administrators, and other stakeholders are incubating major collec-

tive efforts to address audition preparation and support, board and staff diversity, organizational culture, music education, and mentorships. The League’s online Diversity and Inclusion Resource Center at www. americanorchestras.org/diversityresources offers hundreds of resources including practical advice, best practices in diversity and inclusion at orchestras and other fields, the business case for diversity, and publications, reading lists, and research. Sparked by the League, a National Diversity Audition Fund being launched in 2018 will provide financial support and training opportunities for orchestral auditions for musicians from underrepresented communities. Funding will come from orchestras themselves as well as foundations, corporations, and individuals, and will establish a multi-year pool of resources.

Among noteworthy programs for younger musicians is the long-running Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Talent Development Program, in its 23rd year of providing music education for musicians of color in the Atlanta area. The Dallas Symphony Young Strings program, established in 1992, works with string musicians from underrepresented groups; recently they performed onstage with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra during the orchestra’s annual springtime SOLUNA symphony

FALL 2017

festival. The Nashville Symphony’s new Accelerando program, which launched in 2016, focuses on fourth- through ninthgraders of diverse ethnic backgrounds who dream of pursuing a professional orchestral career. Those selected for the program receive instruction, mentorship, and performance experience, as well as help with applying to music schools. An industry leader in this area is the Sphinx Organization, founded by violinist Aaron Dworkin in 1997, which has an array of programs meant to address the lack of black and Latino musicians. Sphinx’s programs include ones for young musicians as well as early-career musicians, and range from education and artist development to developing and sponsoring touring ensembles.

SphinxConnect, the organization’s annual conference in Detroit, brings together leaders in diversity in classical music and the performing arts.

What’s it like for the musicians in diversity fellowship programs? What’s the perspective of the emerging musicians who are actually participating? We caught up with the first five CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows, who have just finished their first year in the program. Each Fellow receives a full tuition scholarship from CCM, plus a $10,000 annual graduate stipend and a one-time Graduate School Dean’s Excel-

lence Award of $3,000. Fellows each receive $8,000 per season for performing with the CSO the equivalent of five weeks.

In addition to working with their CSO mentors and performing with the orchestra, Fellows also participate in community engagement and educational activities. In

“Having the word ‘diversity’ in the title of the Diversity Fellowship is important. It means that the CSO and my colleagues and I are trying to break down barriers and bring change into the world of music.” —Emilio Carlo August, four new fellows arrived for the next class of CSO/CCM fellowships.

Here are first-person accounts from the five inaugural CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows.

Emilio Carlo, viola Emilio Carlo, a native of the Bronx, New York, is a resident of Washington D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree from CCM in viola performance, and studies with Jan Grüning of the Ariel Quartet. He has attended the Aspen Music Festival and was a 2012 recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Brewster Award for young artists. His Diversity Fellowship mentor is CSO Violist Joanne Wojtowicz.

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Emilio Carlo (center) in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra viola section

americanorchestras.org

What has been the most valuable aspect of the program so far?

I believe every aspect of the fellowship has played its part in making the experience beneficial for all of the fellows. This program has given us the opportunity to perform regularly with a major U.S. sym-

phony orchestra, in addition to having weekly lessons at CCM and private master classes with visiting artists/pedagogues— all while receiving a very generous stipend.

We are also able to experience this with four (now eight) additional colleagues! The performance experience I’ve gained this year will stay with me far into my musical career, and I’m glad I was able to learn and share the journey with my friends.

How has your playing improved over the season?

This past year in the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship has been incredibly productive and eye-opening. Getting the chance to rehearse and perform with an orchestra of such a high caliber forced me to increase my levels of focus while practicing and onstage. In turn, I have noticed drastic changes in my approach to the viola and I am very much looking forward to the many musical discoveries yet to come in my final year with the CSO. What has your relationship with your CSO mentor been like?

My CSO mentor, Joanne Wojtowicz, has been nothing but incredible in my first year of the program. She continues to push my level of self-expectation, and there have been multiple “ah-ha” moments in the practice room after discussing an excerpt or technical challenge with her.

We’ve also become great friends over the past year, and playing with her onstage is never a dull moment. I can’t wait to share a stand with her again when Music Hall re-opens in October.

What has been a favorite memory or experience from the first year?

My fondest memory from this past year was having the opportunity to play in a private coaching for Cincinnati Symphony Music Director Louis Langrée. He was

31

One thing I’d want the world to know about the Diversity Fellowship is just how important the word “diversity” is in the title. It doesn’t mean that the level of expectation is lower compared to other fellowships, or that my colleagues and I were given an opportunity simply because of the color of our skin or because of our backgrounds.

It means that the CSO and my colleagues and I are trying to break down barriers and bring change CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Emilio Carlo with his mentor, into the world of music. I Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Violist Joanne Wojtowicz feel that I must work twice as hard to make it in this business because, speaking at a reception following an afterin a way, the odds are stacked against me. noon performance and stated that if any of It’s already difficult enough to win an orthe fellows had upcoming auditions and chestral audition, but fewer than 5 percent wanted a “second opinion,” he’d be happy of American orchestra musicians are muto hear us. I had an audition the followsicians of color. I hope that through this ing week, and on a whim I asked him if fellowship along with others such as Pittshe would be available to hear me play on burgh, Detroit, and Minnesota that we can such short notice. To my surprise, I found increase that percentage in the years to come.

Diana Flores, cello A native of Costa Rica, Diana Flores started playing cello at age nine at the Instituto Nacional de Musica in San José.

Ten years later, Flores moved to Boston to complete her undergraduate studies at the Longy School of Music, where she studied under Mihail Jojatu. Flores holds a master’s degree in music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts. She has performed with the Boston Pops and the BosCSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Diana Flores with her mentor, ton Philharmonic, was a FelCincinnati Symphony Orchestra Principal Cello Ilya low at the Tanglewood Music Finkelshteyn Center in 2012 and 2013, and is a former member of Youth Orchestra myself playing for maestro Langrée two of the Americas. In 2013, she became a days later in the basement of the Taft Themember of the Civic Orchestra of Chiatre a few hours before a performance. It’s cago, a two-year training program with been a thrill to work and discuss with the the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. While maestro—and even better to know that he there, she joined the MusiCorps String strongly supports the students of the felQuartet, a music education and advocacy lowship. program in partnership with the Chicago What’s the one thing you would want the Public Schools and Chicago Park Disworld to know about this program?

32

tricts. Her Diversity Fellowship mentor is Cincinnati Symphony Principal Cello Ilya Finkelshteyn.

What has been the most valuable aspect of the program so far?

The most valuable aspect of this program is being able to perform with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on a regular basis. Another important aspect of the program is the partnership with CCM. As Artist Diploma students, we are able to take weekly private lessons and perform chamber music and solo recitals every semester.

How has your playing improved over the season?

Constant practice makes you improve, but being able to perform in a professional setting where you can have direct feedback from your stand partner and mentor really helps you refine your orchestral skills.

What has your relationship with your CSO mentor been like?

My relationship with my mentor has been a bit different, I think, from the other fellows because my mentor is also my teacher at CCM. And since he is the principal cellist in the CSO, I can ask him questions about divisis, bowings, and strokes, and he can also advise on a specific conductor’s tempo and interpretation, which makes me feel more comfortable going into the first rehearsal.

What has been a favorite memory or experience from the first year?

I particularly enjoyed playing Rachmaninoff ’s Symphony No. 2 with conductor Edo de Waart; it’s a beautiful piece with a great cello part. I also enjoyed working with conductor Gilbert Varga on a program of Roussel and Stravinsky.

Blake-Anthony Johnson, cello A native of Atlanta, Blake-Anthony Johnson began playing cello at age 12 and was self-taught until age 18. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and has studied with Cleveland Orchestra cellists Bryan Dumm and Alan Harrell, among others. Johnson is former chair and founding member of the Music Education and Youth Initiative for underprivileged children in the Nashville metropolitan area. He was a CSO/CCM diversity fellow for the 2016-17 season, after which he left to take a position as coordinator of the New World Symphony’s Impromptu symphony

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“Being expected to fit into a violin section of the highest caliber required and enabled me to play at my highest level and greatly raised my awareness as to how to blend in a section.”

—Vijeta Sathyaraj

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Blake-Anthony Johnson with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Assistant Principal Cello Norman E. Johns, one of two CSO musicians who mentored Johnson

music series in Miami Beach, Florida. His CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship mentors were Norman E. Johns and Alan Rafferty.

What was the most valuable aspect of the program?

Being onstage with collectively hundreds of years of orchestral experience is extremely inspiring. Playing with the CSO gave me a clear understanding of the level required to be and remain in a great orchestra, but most importantly it gave me the confidence that it is obtainable. This confidence has been the greatest thing I’ve developed while in Cincinnati, and has completely changed my approach to playing the cello.

How did your playing improve over the season?

My time with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra was an opportunity to focus solely on my playing as a cellist and artist, while also learning about how I could and would make the role of an orchestral musician my own and unique to my beliefs, experiences, and goals. How much or little I got out of the experience was largely based on my willingness not just to work hard but also experiment, ask questions, and fail.

What was your relationship with your CSO mentor like?

The relationship with my CSO mentors, Norman E. Johns and Alan Rafferty, has been a real treasure for me, and took on a life of its own. My relationships with Tim Lees, the concertmaster, conductors John americanorchestras.org

gree from Florida’s Lynn Conservatory of Music. In 2004, Sathyaraj organized and performed in a piano trio to raise money for development work in Hanoi, Vietnam.

She says her commitment to outreach and diversifying audiences to Western classical music is what led her to apply to CCM. Her CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship mentor is Stacey Woolley.

What has been the most valuable aspect of the program so far?

The experience of playing in a top orchestra and working with and having accessibility to exceptional players. Each player’s input is invaluable and has been a great help.

How has your playing improved over the season?

Being expected to fit into a violin section of the highest caliber required and enabled me to play at my highest level and greatly raised my awareness as to how

Russell Morris and Louis Langrée—as well as the entire cello section and so many others in the orchestra—were really great for my development not only as a cellist but also a person, which to me is far more important.

What was a favorite memory or experience from the first year?

A memory I’ll remember forever is performing the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the CSO in May 2017. Being asked to perform as a soloist with the CSO was a very public display of support and trust in me that I’m extremely thankful for.

What’s the one thing you would want the world to know about this program?

In my opinion, it’s crucial for everyone to understand the history of orchestras in relation to women and people of color, both here in the U.S and abroad. In short, it is not great. Experiencing first-hand the enormous influence foundations and private donors have in encouraging art institutions to play a more active role in diversity has been amazing. This fellowship on very basic level puts a spotlight on the benefits of having the stage of musicians as diverse as the audience we wish to draw into the concert hall.

It is my goal and hope that the world sees the larger picture that this “fellowship puzzle” is a part of. It is crucial to connect the dots of what makes diversity difficult in classical music directly to very real problems outside the concert hall. Once that connection is made, no matter how uncomfortable it may make an individual, I think communities and orchestras will interact differently. If a fellowship helps move the dial to more honest discussion and action, I’m all for it!

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Vijeta Sathyaraj with her mentor, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Violinist Stacey Woolley

Vijeta Sathyaraj, violin Born in Macau, China, Vijeta Sathyaraj began violin studies in the Philippines at age three. She studied with Fan Ting at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and graduated from California’s Idyllwild Arts Academy. She holds a bachelor of music degree from Oberlin Conservatory and a master of music de-

to blend in a section and perform in the CSO. What has your relationship with your CSO mentor been like?

Open and comfortable. My mentor, Stacey Woolley, is always willing to lend an ear and offer help.

What has been a favorite memory or experience from the first year?

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Thank you to everyone who helped make League

Giving Day a success.

Thanks to you, we were able to raise $102,718 in 24 hours!

We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of the following donors, who made contributions on League Giving Day:

Horst Abraham Burton Alter Tiffany Ammerman Jennifer B. Barlament Lisa Bryington Barr Chris & Terri Bell Dr. Susan B. Betzer Chris Blair Beth Boleyn Steven Brosvik Janet Cabot Benjamin Cadwallader Robert Campbell Rosina Cannizzaro Elaine C. Carroll David Chambers Melanie Clarke Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Bruce & Martha Clinton On behalf of The Clinton Family Fund Jeffrey D. Collier Laura Connors Elaine Buxbaum Cousins Joy Crawford Mary A. Deissler Michelle Devine Karen Dichoza Katherine Donaldson Marisa Eisemann Scott Faulkner & Andrea Lenz Susan Feder & Todd Gordon Stephen Felter Courtney & David Filner Leslie Fink Susan & Victor Fink David Fisk Aaron Flagg John & Michele Forsyte Barbara Frankel & Ron Michalak Catherine French Elizabeth Galpin Bill Gettys

Gary Ginstling & Marta Lederer Marian Godfrey Eithne Goetz Caroline Greenberg Mark Greenburg Andre Gremillet Douglas M. Hagerman Jennifer Harrell Byron Harrison Ed Harsh Adrienne Hartzell Knudsen David Hastings & Ann Huntoon Dale Hedding Gail & Bob Hetler in honor of Ann Hobson Pilot Jennifer Hicks Susan G. Hoffman Rhonda P. Hunsinger Huynh Wroblewski Orenstein Family ICSOM International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians Anthea Jackson Romana Jaroff James M. Johnson Alan & Karen Jordan Mark Jung Charitable Fund Jonathan Kaledin Bonnie Kampa Veronica Kannan Caryl Fuchs Kassoy Alyce Katayama Sarah E. Kelly Gerri Kirchner Laurie Korobkin Edmund Landau, III Chester T. Lane & Marianne Sciolino Najean Lee Stanley S. Leonard Benjamin Loeb

Evelyn Loehrlein Doris Loomis Ginny Lundquist Marc Martin Kevin Marvin Ed Matthew Tonya McBride Robles Kenneth Meintz Julie Meredith Jo Frances Meyer Frederick T. Miller Jean H. Moffitt Mohr & Mohr Bows Alfred P. Moore Heather E. Moore Sara Mummey Bridget Mundy Beth Musgrave Michael Naess J.L. Nave III & Paul Cook Mark A. Neville Heather Noonan Lowell Noteboom Lindsey Nova Rebecca Odland Casey Oelkers Kay Olthoff Steve C. Parrish Mary Carr Patton Mark D. Peacock, M.D. Connie Pirtle Shauna Quill & Mark Maupin Tresa Rademacher in memory of Fred McCord Agnieszka & Marat Rakhmatullaev Ted Reese David Renfro Hilary Respass Patricia A. Richards Vanessa Rose Jesse Rosen Kathryn Rudolph Shelley Sampson Patricia D. Savadove

Timothy Savage Paul Scarbrough Elisabeth Scheffler-Madeja Elizabeth Schurgin Susan M. Schwartz Alan Seidenfeld Priscilla & Seth Slaughter Kevin Smith Kevin H. Smith David Snead Pat Sommer Trine Sorensen Joe Soucy Ruth Sovronsky Peggy Springer Nicholas D. Stagliano Lourdes Starr-Demers Laura M. Street David Styers & Chong Ee Stella Sung Julia Tai Isabel Thiroux David L. Thompson Shirley & Carl Topilow Marylou & John D.Turner Dr. Martin Ungar Brandon VanWaeyenberghe Volunteer Council in memory of Fred McCord Brenda Walker Kelly Waltrip Kay Walvoord Tina Ward Jon Weber Linda & Craig Weisbruch David Whitehill Jeannie Williams Chris Wingert Theodore Wiprud Karen Wix Randy Wong Nancy Bowie Wrenn Kathryn Wyatt Karen Yair Victoria Young

For more information regarding a gift to the League of American Orchestras, please visit us at americanorchestras.org/donate, call 212 262 5161, or write us at League of American Orchestras, 33 West 60th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10023

“This fellowship on very basic level puts a spotlight on the benefits of having the stage of musicians as diverse as the audience we wish to draw into the concert hall.”

—Blake-Anthony Johnson The last concert of the season was my favorite because of the exceptional conductor, Gilbert Varga, and the programming. Varga was exacting, and his rehearsing was meticulous. In addition to Bartók’s Two Portraits, Stravinsky’s Firebird, and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Anna Vinnitskaya, the program included Roussel’s Bacchus and Ariadne Suite No. 2, which I had never played before. Both

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Maurice Todd with his mentor, CSO Principal Bass Owen Lee

the Roussel and Stravinsky highlighted the beautiful, warm, and powerful sound of the CSO. What’s the one thing you would want the world to know about this program?

That it is a valuable experience for people who might otherwise have had a difficult time in the orchestra world—and that it has been a success so far.

Maurice Todd, double bass Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Maurice Todd holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in double bass performance from CCM. He is current a bassist in Kentucky’s Lexington Philharmonic. He is a seven-time Aspen Fellowship recipient and previously won the Dayton Philharmonic Minority Fellowship and National Symphony Orchestra League Scholarship.

At CCM, Todd has served as the graduate americanorchestras.org

assistant for the double bass studio under Albert Laszlo. His CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship mentor is CSO Principal Bass Owen Lee. What has been the most valuable aspect of the program so far?

The most valuable aspect of being in the program so far has been the association of the CSO with the Sphinx Organization in Detroit, Michigan. I played in the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and made many personal and professional connections. As a result of this association, I applied and was awarded an MPower Artist Grant through the Sphinx Organization to start the Cincinnati Double Bass Institute.

How has your playing improved over the season?

As a result of playing in the CSO bass section and having lessons with my mentor, Owen Lee, my chamber music skills have benefited greatly. I am more sensitive and more expressive than I was before entering the program.

What has your relationship with your CSO mentor been like?

I basically have three mentors in the CSO—Owen Lee, plus stand partners Matthew Zory and Rick Vizachero—all of whom have been very supportive and encouraging. Before entering the program I was a regular substitute with the CSO and would always sit last chair. The program allows me to sit higher up in the section with my mentors, which strengthens my relationships with them. I get feedback from them that I can apply immediately.

What has been a favorite memory or experience from the first year?

My best memory so far was playing Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4. I played this piece with the CSO as a substitute, but playing it a second time with them was a truly educational experience. Assistant Principal Bass James Lambert, a seasoned member of the orchestra, brought the score to rehearsals and was checking a tricky entrance in movement four. This immediately told me that every conductor’s interpretation is different, so you have to do your homework.

What’s the one thing you would want the world to know about this program?

I would want people to know that this program is truly devoted to helping us get symphony jobs. They have given five people of color a chance to experience a professional orchestral setting where every member is approachable and willing to help.

Have there been any particular joys or challenges that stand out?

Being nestled in the section with the principal, assistant principal, associate principal, and section members—and being part of the sublime music making within the bass section—is one of my greatest joys of being in this program.

Two Pioneering Diversity Studies from the League As orchestras across the U.S. work to ensure that the field is inclusive and representative of the communities they serve, the League of American Orchestras recently published two landmark diversity studies. Racial/ Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Orchestra Field, commissioned by the League with research and data analysis by Dr. James Doeser, reports on gender and ethnic/racial diversity in orchestras among musicians, conductors, staff, executives, and board members. Forty Years of Fellowships: A Study of Orchestras’ Efforts to Include African American and Latino Musicians, commissioned by the League with research and analysis

by Nick Rabkin and Monica Hairston O’Connell, is an in-depth examination of orchestras’ past efforts to diversify their musician ranks with fellowships for African American and Latino musicians.

The report presents program and impact data about diversity fellowships from 1976 to 2016, and explores the perspectives of fellowship program alumni. Both reports offer insights based on rigorous data and careful methodologies.

Visit www.americanorchestras. org/diversitystudies to download the studies for free.

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The Legacy of

Composer: Bernstein at work in his New York City apartment, circa 1946-1948

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eonard Bernstein would have been astonished to discover that at the centenary of his birth, 2018, he would be remembered as America’s most beloved and famous composer of classical and concert music. Bernstein’s name is recognized all over the world, and his music appears on concert programs everywhere.

His enormous posthumous reputation rests neither on his legacy as a conductor nor on the memory of him as a television personality. It is Bernstein’s work as the composer of West Side Story, On the Town, Candide, the Chichester Psalms, the Serenade, three symphonies, and a Mass that has insured his immortality. That places him firmly in a pantheon of composers from Paul Dukas to Edward Elgar whose popularity rests on only a few works. Bernstein’s contemporaries, whom he himself might have suspected were stronger competitors for such fame—even fellow conservatives such as Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber, not to speak of modernists such as Roger Sessions and Elliott Carter—possess less of a presence than Bernstein in the public imagination and on concert stages, certainly abroad and

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by Leon Botstein

Leonard Bernstein was the first internationally acclaimed American-born maestro, a man of prodigious talents as a pianist, conductor, and composer, with an extraordinary gift for communicating the allure of classical music. As Bernstein’s 100th birthday in 2018 approaches, and orchestras everywhere perform his scores, one conductor shares his personal view of the legacy of man who was—and still is—America’s best-known classical musician.

even in in the United States. The achievement that eluded Bernstein during his lifetime—to be taken seriously as a composer, not merely of songs and for Broadway but of music in the grand tradition on a large scale—has been granted finally by posterity.

At the same time, the aura that continues to surround Bernstein stems as well from how famous he was during his lifetime as perhaps the greatest American conductor and certainly the first internationally acclaimed American-born maestro. A cult of personality developed around him that was unprecedented in the history of American classical music; his popularity transcended race and class. By the mid-1960s he was a public personality, media superstar, and ambassador of the nation.

The range of Bernstein’s talent was itself astonishing. Although Bernstein took pains to debunk any thought that he had been some sort of “wunderkind” child prodigy, there was nothing in music that Bernstein could not do. He was a truly fine and original pianist, as an early recording of the Beethoven First Piano Concerto

Allan Warren

William Gottlieb/Leonard Bernstein Office

Leonard Bernstein

Conductor: Bernstein in 1973

and his later performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue reveal. He could improvise and mimic any style. He composed in every genre. His rapid facility also may have helped betray him. Much of his “serious” music—the Serenade and the symphonies, for example—reveals the enduring impression left on him by the music symphony

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Bert Bial, courtesy of New York Philharmonic Digital Archives

Communicator: Bernstein brought classical music to millions when he explored the relatively new technology of television on the Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, shown here in 1958.

of Copland, Stravinsky, and Bartók. Bernstein was at his least derivative when writing for the stage, for dancing and singing.

As a conductor, Bernstein was an original. He transformed the theater of conducting. His charisma, his athleticism, and his unabashed confessional display of emotion on the podium altered the public’s expectations of conductors. Owing to Bernstein we no longer describe how we “heard” a concert; rather, we recount how we “saw” a concert. Bernstein turned Richard Strauss’s advice to conductors upside down. Strauss cautioned that at a concert only the audience should sweat. The image of Bernstein, drenched in sweat, exhausted and drained after a heart-wrenching traversal of a score in public, set a new standard. What infuriated his critics, however, was that when conducting, Bernstein brought his instincts as a composer to the podium. That may have led to off-putting and idiosyncratic solutions. But he never failed to take thoughtful risks. A Bernstein performance was never dull or routine; moments of insight and originality occurred regularly in his readings of major works, both at the start of his career—an unforgettable Schumann Second—and at the end, with the symphonies of Brahms. americanorchestras.org

Arts Advocate

What most distinguished Bernstein from other composer-conductors, both contemporaries and predecessors (with the possible ironic exceptions of Richard Wagner and Pierre Boulez), was Bernstein’s unique command of language. Bernstein was as much a man of words and ideas as he was of sounds. He had a lifelong fas-

A cult of personality developed around him, and by the mid-1960s he was a public personality, media superstar, and ambassador of the nation. cination with words and word games, and even invented, as a child, with his siblings, his own language. And he read literature, history, and philosophy avidly and closely, as his six 1973 Harvard Norton Lectures, The Unanswered Question, make plain. He wrote fluidly and easily, everything from the poetic declamation in his 1963 “Kaddish” Symphony to his first bestselling popular book, The Joy of Music, published in 1959. And he always wrote his own concert lectures for television.

It was Bernstein the orator that really set him apart. No one before or since has

come close to matching the magnetism, charm, and eloquence of Bernstein the speaker and teacher. No one could talk about music so clearly, enthusiastically, and alluringly. It was through his television shows and the broadcasts of his Young People’s Concerts that Bernstein became a national figure. He talked about so-called “long hair” music with a disarming absence of pretense, but always with a commanding authority. He made viewers believe that he really wanted them to learn and enjoy music. And by using television he made classical music in America seem an art form fit for a democracy, and much more than a snobbish elite entertainment imported from Europe.

With these gifts Bernstein captured and shaped the spirit of post-World War II America. The Broadway theater music from the mid-1940s on—On the Town, Fancy Free, and West Side Story—gave voice to an America that was moving on a progressive trajectory towards desegregation, social equality, the end to prejudice (particularly anti-Semitism), universal access to education, and perhaps world peace, the Cold War notwithstanding. Bernstein, in all his television appearances, lectures, and performances, articulated an affectionate liberal populism and commitment to accessibility. Music, like language, needed to communicate to the masses, and do so with immediacy.

During the 1950s Bernstein came to symbolize a new, vibrant, young, and triumphant post-War America, just as John F. Kennedy would at the end of the decade. Indeed, the twenty years between the end of World War II and the escalation of the Vietnam War under Lyndon Johnson were the apogee of Bernstein’s career in America. Bernstein became gradually less visible and less of a force in the America of Nixon, Carter, and Reagan. The fact that his last moment on the world stage was his now legendary 1989 performance of Beethoven Nine, with an altered text, celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall, was fitting. Although an event entirely consistent with Bernstein’s lifelong dedication to freedom and justice, it was a triumph that occurred in Europe, not in his native country.

Above all things Bernstein sought love, first from his family, then his friends, and last the public. And they all gave it

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No one could talk about classical music so clearly, enthusiastically, and alluringly. jan’s only rival. He became an international master, a legendary conductor who incidentally happened to be a composer and an American. Bernstein put his efforts into readings of the standard repertoire, from Tchaikovsky and Mahler to Shostakovich and Stravinsky. He deepened his personal identification with Mahler, whose music (following Bruno Walter and Dimitri Mitropolous) he helped become part of the standard repertoire. Even a few years after his death in 1990, his career as educator and public figure in America had already receded into memory, a consequence of the marked decline in interest in classical music in America that began in the mid-1970s.

New Beginnings

At the peak of his career—particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, the decades immediately following Bernstein’s sensational 1943 New York debut, when he stepped

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Steve J. Sherman

to him, particularly the public. The range and depth of his public still sets Bernstein apart from podium and composer predecessors and successors. Having succeeded in becoming the first American superstar of classical music, in the 1970s Bernstein sought to extend his fame abroad. After stepping down in 1969 as music director of the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein focused on his international career as a conductor, cultivating a special relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic. That relationship benefitted both parties. The orchestra’s embrace of Bernstein—who showered Karl Böhm, Vienna’s beloved maestro and once an ardent Nazi, with affection—helped diminish the public impact of a growing recognition of the Vienna Philharmonic’s dubious history under Nazism. And as an unabashedly proud Jew and supporter of Israel, Bernstein took pains to sustain his unique connection to the Israel Philharmonic—solidified during the country’s 1948 war of independence.

Until the Nixon years, Bernstein, despite earlier triumphs in London, Prague, and Milan, was world-famous because he was somewhat exotic: a young American conductor. By the end of his life he was Kara-

Well-wishers, among them composer Morton Gould at far right, greet Leonard Bernstein at a gala dinner honoring him during the League of American Orchestras’ 1988 Conference in Chicago.

in for Bruno Walter on a nationally broadcast concert that made the front page of the New York Times—Bernstein’s name remained synonymous with the new. His meteoric rise suggested a watershed. Owing to its deft appropriation of sophisticated compositional practices taken from Copland, Stravinsky, and jazz, and Bernstein’s acute sensitivity to the link between text and music, his theater music represented a major advance in the aesthetic of Broadway. Equally novel was the fact that he was an American Jewish celebrity who celebrated his religion and heritage without apology. He found new a way to communicate and reveal the possibilities of television. He brought classical music into America’s homes. And he chose not to hide behind his status as an artist. He participated in public life and politics.

Bernstein became crucial to the postStalin thaw between the United States and the Soviet Union, as his 1959 tour to the Soviet Union with Shostakovich Five demonstrated. At one and the same time Bernstein managed to communicate pride as an American and also tap into the special emotional and tacitly political relationship Russians audiences, under Soviet rule, maintained with listening to music in public. Bernstein did not shy away from

showing his solidarity with liberal causes, particularly the struggle for civil rights in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s.

In his programming as music director of the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein was also the apostle of the new. He advanced the cause of new music. Some may have been dismayed at the relative conservatism of his taste, but Bernstein honored the example set by his patron and mentor, Serge Koussevitzky, and his closest musical friend, Aaron Copland. From Charles Ives to Marc Blitzstein and David Diamond, Bernstein used his unprecedented influence to bring American music to audiences. At the same time, Bernstein embraced his predecessors and the European musical heritage in new ways; he promoted the music of Carl Nielsen and invited Nadia Boulanger to conduct.

But by the end of his career, Bernstein no longer was a symbol of a new beginning. The momentum towards an age of prosperity and innovation for classical music in America, which Bernstein had come to represent, stalled. When Bernstein died, the hope that he would guide the classical music establishment and orchestras to find a central place in American culture had vanished. At the start of his career, Bernstein signaled the possibility that the symphony

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worlds of popular music, jazz, and concert music would become connected, and that a gulf between the popular and the so-called “serious” practices of composition would be closed.

Learning from Bernstein

Following the example of Bernstein, it might have been right to expect orchestras in the United States would abandon the habit of expressing a nineteenth-century cultural insecurity by hiring non-American music directors with little connection to the culture and politics of the communities surrounding the civic institution of the orchestra that hired them. Symphony orchestras might forge bonds with their communities, the way Bernstein did, so classical music would become central in America to major political and educational aspirations, and attract larger and younger audiences. But, for the most part, this did not happen.

The leaders within the establishment of institutions of classical music in America failed to learn from Bernstein’s example.

As a result, the optimism he inspired faded, particularly in the 1980s. This paralleled a shift in the nation’s politics from liberal to conservative. America ended up treating Bernstein as a unique phenomenon, not a harbinger of the new. Consider who the music directors of America’s 24 largest orchestras (in terms of budget) are. Only six are Americans. Not surprisingly, two of them, Marin Alsop and Michael Tilson Thomas, are Bernstein protégés. The rest are from Europe, Latin America, and Asia and, in my opinion, many of them show little interest in making a difference in the public life of the nation.

In his own manner, James Levine can be said to have followed in Bernstein’s path.

He revived the Metropolitan Opera. He promoted American singers and a few new American operas. During his tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (a post that Bernstein coveted and should have been offered), Levine maintained a staunch and unpopular advocacy of American modernist composers, from Milton Babbitt and George Perle to Carter and Charles Wuorinen.

For all his gifts—including being a fabulous pianist—Levine has remained, however, a profoundly private person. He never americanorchestras.org

sought to become the eloquent, entertaining, and ebullient public personality Bernstein was. And he does not compose.

It turns out that Bernstein was not the beginning of a new era. Looking back, his work and career turn out actually to mark the end of an era. He represented an unexpected last hurrah of an old cultural pattern, in which classical music was taken for granted as an essential and significant component of culture and politics. Leonard Bernstein deserves to be remembered with honor, and his work and contributions should be covered with glory and praise because he tried to do something different. He brought learning and dis-

The proper way to honor Bernstein’s memory is to do more than perform his music.

We must pick up where he left off and make orchestras and concert life crucial to our communities. cernment to the public. He sought to elevate taste. He was a teacher. And he showed singular courage and commitment as a musician and a citizen. His achievements should serve as the conscience of every conductor, composer, orchestra manager, and civic leader in the United States.

The tragedy is that we have failed to learn from his example. I suspect that if he were alive he would be astonished at how little classical music matters in our nation. He would be appalled at how vulnerable and invisible orchestras and classical music are in the politics of the nation and their communities. Are we educating a new generation of amateurs and listeners? Are we exploiting new technology the way Bernstein did to advance the cause of the art of music? Have orchestra managers and boards really tried to make their institutions relevant to the communities they serve? Why has the concert repertoire narrowed to a few masterpieces and experienced a persistent dumbing-down? Why so little new music and such a meager representation of music from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries Why have we failed to prevent the marginalization of classical music?

There certainly are token efforts—a single

concert to support immigrants, and a few efforts at streaming, educational outreach programs, and tweeting gimmicks. But the repertoire remains mired in a predictable and distorted representation of the past and endless repetitions of a few masterworks and embarrassing efforts to curry popular attention with movie music and scores from the musical theater. And audiences, public support, and patronage are in decline.

Bernstein’s career is therefore more relevant today than ever. Classical music and orchestral music in particular can find new audiences and gain a lasting significance in American culture and society. In Bernstein’s spirit Michael Tilson Thomas has made the San Francisco Symphony an important part of the city and he has pioneered with new ideas and new ways of thinking with the New World Symphony in Florida. He has advocated American music and thereby honored Bernstein’s example. Gustavo Dudamel deserves praise for using the Los Angeles Philharmonic to adapt the achievements of El Sistema in that city and for speaking out recently as an advocate for democracy in his home country of Venezuela.

The proper way to honor Bernstein’s memory and achievement is to do more than perform his music. We in the world of classical music must pick up where he left off and make orchestras and concert life crucial to our communities. We must render our artistic tradition an ally of humanism and civility. We must engage in the national struggle against intolerance, prejudice, vulgarity, and ignorance. We must reach a wide public, restore the variety and depth of the historic repertoire, promote new music, harness new technology, and share in the joy of music in a manner that mirrors our commitment to freedom, social justice, and democracy.

That is the right way to celebrate, on his 100th birthday, the phenomenon that was Leonard Bernstein.

LEON BOTSTEIN is music director of the American Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra NOW, the artistic director of the Bard Music Festival in New York and Austria’s Grafenegg Campus and Academy, and conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony. He is the editor of The Musical Quarterly and is president of Bard College.

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The American Symphony Orchestra League, as it was known until 2007, enjoyed a long relationship with Leonard Bernstein. As early as 1959, well before Bernstein had become a classical-music legend/superstar, the League bestowed its highest honor, the Gold Baton, on Bernstein “for his television concerts for young people.” Bernstein had begun hosting broadcasts of the New York Philharmonic’s Concerts for Young People the previous year, when he was named the orchestra’s music director—and television was still a relatively new technology.

In 1980, Bernstein gave the keynote address at the League’s Conference, held in New York City. As Chester Lane reported in the August 1980 issue of Symphony, “Despite his enormous prestige in the orchestra world, Bernstein opened his address on June 18 with a disarming question: ‘Why me?’ He was alluding to the fact that he had no conducting projects slated for 1980, having reserved the current year ‘exclusively for composing.’ … Bernstein’s musings on the history of orchestras and orchestral music, however, dispelled all doubts about his claim to authority on the subject. His message was an upbeat one: orchestras have a rich and interesting past as well as a promising future.” (See excerpts from his address at right.)

Leonard Bernstein delivers the keynote address at the League of American Orchestras’ 1980 Conference in New York City.

Excerpts from keynote speech by Leonard Bernstein at the American Symphony Orchestra League Conference, June 18, 1980

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et’s ask ourselves: Whence cometh this remarkable phenomenon, this monstre sacré known as the Symphony Orchestra?

Was it born full-blown, like Minerva from the head of Jupiter? Not at all; it grew and developed concomitantly with the growth and development of a musical form called the symphony, a tonal and dualistic conception which, along with its allied forms of concerto, symphonic poem, and the rest, traversed a fantastic arc from Mozart to Mahler…. The truth is that our present-day

League of American Orchestras

As part of the League’s American Conducting Program, in 1988 Bernstein worked with three rising conductors during the League Conference in Chicago. Bernstein was in town to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and all through the week Bernstein ran a masterclass with conductors Leif Bjaland, John Fiore, and Kate Tamarkin. In a special event for Conference delegates, each young conductor led a Strauss work on the first half of a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert, leaving the second half to Bernstein’s rendering of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1. The program was repeated for a CSO subscription audience the following night.

League of American Orchestras

Lenny and the League

Standing at the lectern from which he delivered his keynote address at the League’s 1980 Conference, Leonard Bernstein is flanked by (left) departing League Board Chairman Karney Hodge and (right) Conference Chairman Irma Lazarus. From far left to right are New York Philharmonic Board Chairman Amyas Ames; National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Livingston Biddle; soprano Beverly Sills, who had just received the League’s Gold Baton award; and newly elected League Board Chairman Mark Bernstein.

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symphony

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Jim Steere

As part of the League’s American Conductors Program, Bernstein worked with rising conductors and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during the 1988 League Conference. Pictured: San Francisco Symphony Affiliate Artist Assistant Conductor Leif Bjaland works with Bernstein and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.

Jim Steere

symphony orchestra is not basically different in concept or composition from that of 1910, say, in spite of the tripling or quintupling of wind instruments, or the addition or invention of the plethora of percussion instruments which sometimes these days seem to be invading the whole stage.

At the League’s American Conductors Program, Bernstein worked with rising conductors and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during the 1988 League Conference.

In photo, Kate Tamarkin, music director of the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, rehearses Strauss’s Don Juan with Bernstein and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Theoretically, one could say that the symphony, as a form, reached its ultimate possibilities with Mahler—certainly Mahler thought so!—but in fact we know that major symphonic works of real significance continued to be written for another thirty-five years…. One cannot simply dismiss such symphonic masterpieces as have come from Sibelius, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Copamericanorchestras.org

land, Stravinsky, Schuman, Bartók.… Curious, isn’t it, that the last really great symphony, in the broad classical sense of the term, was Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, dated 1945, exactly coincident with the end of World War II? It is as though that apocalyptic bomb had demolished not only Hiroshima but, as a side effect, the whole tonal symphonic concept as well….

Where does that leave the symphony orchestra now? Obsolete? A doomed dinosaur? … In fact, it is precisely in these last thirty-five years that symphony orchestras have had their heyday, have burgeoned and flourished as never before….

The last thirty-five years have seen a creative ferment unprecedented in musical history; composers have struck out in any number of directions, producing a wealth of new works. Not symphonies, maybe, but so what? Where is it written that what we have come to call symphonies must constitute the exclusive repertoire of the symphonic orchestra? We have extraordinary new works from Carter and Berio and Crumb, Boulez, Stockhausen, Foss, Rorem, Corigliano, Schuller … And these new works do make new demands on our standard orchestra of 70 strings and 30 winds and a handful of percussionists….

These composers are compelling orchestral musicians to hear in new ways, especially in nontonal music; to listen much more attentively to one another … to be adventurous in much the same way as Beethoven compelled the Haydn orchestra to venture into new territory, or as Debussy did with the orchestra of César Franck…. This rich new area seems to demand different

schedules, different approaches, even, at times, different personnel from those serving at the altar of Brahms….

Then where, you ask, is the time and energy to come from that will permit all this to happen without killing our artists with overwork, or driving them mad with stylistic somersaults? Ah, that is where you come in, my friends: it is your imagination; your new inventive ideas; your flexibility, cooperation, and goodwill that can save the situation. I realize that I am speaking to a highly diverse and composite group representing all aspects of the American symphonic worlds: conductors, managers, agents, composers, union officials, orchestral players, board members—all, I am sure, devoted music lovers, and, I assume, all gathered here at this great conference precisely to determine how to save the situation.… Use this week as a springboard, and then go on learning and understanding one another more and more deeply. It can no longer be Us against Them; it must be only Us. There is no Them—not if music is to survive …

My friends, all of you together: Interdisciplinary education can do wonders. Understanding and flexibility can do wonders.

Yes, even money can do wonders. But the energy, the energy to put all these wonders into action—where does it come from? It will come from where it has always come from: it will come from the love of music, the sheer aesthetic delight in this most mysterious and rewarding of all the arts; from the sporting sense, the instinct for continuity, and the joyful and total dedication of our selves to the art we have sworn to serve.

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East

Meets

West Meets

The New York Philharmonic is in the third year of its Shanghai Orchestra Academy program that trains postgraduate musicians in China. That’s just the tip of the iceberg— U.S. orchestras of every description are flocking to China, the number of Chinese orchestras is growing, and Chinese composers are being played by orchestras in both countries.

by Jennifer Melick

Shanghai Orchestra Academy

East

Chris Lee

Shanghai Orchestra Academy

Far left: New York Philharmonic Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi works with a graduate student at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy in June 2017. Left: New York Philharmonic oboist Robert Botti in a side-byside rehearsal in Shanghai with Shanghai Orchestra Academy graduate student Yiling Chen, June 2017.

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Shanghai Orchestra Academy students in a June 2017 sideby-side rehearsal with the New York Philharmonic at Shanghai Symphony Hall, led by departing Music Director Alan Gilbert.

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americanorchestras.org

Chris Lee

“I

would say after the high B-flat, maybe you shouldn’t take a breath,” New York Philharmonic Principal Trombone Joe Alessi is saying to the young trombonist.

“It’s the highest note in the phrase, a longer note, and you should sing on it.” Alessi picks up his trombone to demonstrate: a beautifully shaped arc that peaks at a rich, warm B-flat. “If you stop the note, you’re missing a very good opportunity to sing on a note that’s highlighted.” It’s late June 2017 in steamy summertime Shanghai, and we’re in a rehearsal room in the recently built Shanghai Symphony Hall with Huaming Zhang, Xuanyu Wang, and a handful of other aspiring Chinese trombonists. The student trombonist tries it again: a noticeable improvement, more expressive, freer. “Very good!” says Alessi.

“It’s like Frank Sinatra—when he sings a high note, he’s going to let it continue.

Right? All right.” Alessi looks around the room. “Who’s next?”

These students—postgraduate instrumentalists from throughout China—are participating in the third annual summer residency of the New York Philharmonic at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy. Down the hall from Alessi and the trombonists, Philharmonic Principal Bassoon Judith Leclair is working on intonation and fingering with first-year SOA bassoonist Sihong Zhao, encouraging him to sit up more so he doesn’t lose support, and offering a nonstop patter of tips (“the whisper key most important key on the horn”). Elsewhere in the building, Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill is urging first-year student Yanru Chiu to be more expressive in her Beethoven 8 excerpt (“unfortunately, you’re judged on what you don’t play as well as what you do play”); Principal Tuba Alan Baer is working on valve basics with second-year SOA student Xianquan Mu, advising him not to “play into pain” on his high notes; and Principal Cello Carter Brey is telling first-year SOA student Dunbang You he needs to “have a plan for what’s going on harmonically” to better shape his phrasing.

The Shanghai Orchestra Academy, launched in September 2014, is a partnership among the New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The two-year program is designed to address

Students from the National Youth Orchestra of the USA and the National Youth Orchestra of China meet in Purchase, New York, for their back-to-back July 2017 concerts at Carnegie Hall.

the need for advanced, post-graduate orchestral training in China, and the main part of that practical training happens through weeklong residencies in Shanghai of professional orchestra musicians. The goal is to help prepare graduates for careers in orchestras in China and elsewhere.

The New York Philharmonic is the founding orchestral partner of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, which has expanded since 2014 to also include weeklong visits to the SOA by musicians from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Germany’s NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and Hong Kong Philharmonic, among others.

tras in China increased from about 30 five years ago to 72 in 2016; the current number of orchestras was given as 74. Among the new orchestras, noted Musical America recently, are Beijing’s Oriental Symphony Orchestra, the Yellow River Symphony Orchestra (Zhengzhou, Henan Province), Baoding Symphony Orchestra (Baoding, Hebei Province), and the Wenzhou City and Ningbo symphony orchestras (both

Expanding Scene

The broader backdrop to the Shanghai Orchestra Academy is China’s intense and deepening interest in Western classical music, which has spurred rapid growth, both in building concert halls and forming new Denver Philharmonic Concertmaster Katherine Thayer greets orchestras. This is a coun- fans at a sold-concert in the Tangshan Grand Theater, Tangshan, try where few things hap- China, during the orchestra’s 2016 China tour. pen without the governin Zhejiang Province). Even with all the ment’s imprimatur, so many orchestras are new orchestras, many new halls have open government-supported, though a few are dates to fill, and Western orchestras tourprivately run. A June 12 article in China ing China find themselves performing Daily USA, the country’s officially statefor enthusiastic audiences not only in the sanctioned news outlet, stated that the biggest cities, but also in “smaller” cities, number of professional symphony orches-

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Jan Regan / Philadelphia Orchestra

long tour to China, and within days of their departure the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, and the San Diego Youth Symphony headed for China as well.

And it is now a given that visiting U.S. orchestras, whether large or small, professional or youth, go beyond formal concerts by holding Many U.S. orchestra tours include activities outside the concert hall.

Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Richard Amoroso works with a student in side-by-side rehearsals a master class at Penn Wharton China Center in Beijing, China, May 2016. with local or amateur musicians, giving coming Tan Dun’s epic Water Passion, which munity engagement activities, appearing at Symphony Tacoma performed in March hospitals or community centers, and even 2016. Works by established composers staging small-scale pop-up concerts in unlike Tan Dun and Bright Sheng are no expected locations. longer rarities here, and pieces by younger Meanwhile, Chinese orchestras are flexcomposers like Wang Jie, Du Yun, and ing their muscles with tours to the West.

Chen-Hui Jen are regularly programmed.

In December 2016, the Beijing-based Many of these composers have been educated in both China and the U.S. Du Yun, The broader backdrop to the Shanghai Orchestra Academy is China’s intense and deepening interest in Western classical music, a Shanghai native who won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her opera Angel’s which has spurred rapid growth, both in building concert halls and Bone, will curate a three-day festival at National Sawdust in Brooklyn in March, forming new orchestras. entitled “The Velvet Revolution: PanAsian Sounding Festival,” featuring her China Philharmonic Orchestra, founded Orchestra, which performed in Shanghai, own musical Dim Sum Warriors as well in 2000, performed in New York, Los Suzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, and Chong­ as music by Claire Chase, Pauchi Sasaki, Angeles, and San Francisco. The China qing for its first China tour in July 2017. and others to be announced. In January NCPA Orchestra—resident orchestra of The Seattle Symphony picked China for 2018, the New Jersey Symphony OrchesBeijing’s National Centre for the Performits second-ever international tour in June tra’s Winter Festival concerts will include ing Arts—will perform at Carnegie Hall 2016; the Chicago Symphony Orchestra not only the NJSO Chamber Players in on October 30 in a program that features toured China plus Taiwan, Japan, and Tan Dun’s Eight Colors for String Quarpianist Haochen Zhang in the popular South Korea in January 2016; and the tet but also the full orchestra in Ge Xu 1969 Yellow River Concerto, plus a new New York-based Park Avenue Chamber

by Chen Yi, a composer born and raised work by Qigang Chen and Sibelius’s SymSymphony, an amateur group, performed in Guangzhou and a product of Beijing’s phony No. 2. The Shanghai Symphony in Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, Chaoyang, Central Conservatory of Music—led by Orchestra and Beijing’s China National Jinzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang and Xi’an NJSO Music Director Xian Zhang, a Opera have both toured the U.S. The new in 2011. Two smaller orchestras, the Dengraduate of the same conservatory. The National Youth Orchestra of China dever Philharmonic and Pennsylvania’s York Juilliard School’s annual Focus! festival of buted at Carnegie Hall this summer—the Symphony (which share the same music new music in 2018 will be “China Today: same weekend as the National Youth Ordirector, Lawrence Golan), visited BeiA Festival of Chinese Composition,” and chestra of the USA’s performance there. jing, Zhenzhou, and Yichun in July 2016. will feature pieces by composers Shuci The National Youth Orchestra of China The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Wang and Liu Sola, during what is billed is modeled directly on the Carnegie Hall and Cincinnati Pops both toured Beias a week of programs in “a large range of Weill Music Institute’s National Youth jing, Shanghai, Taiwan, and Hong Kong styles and four generations of composers,” Orchestra of the USA program, launched in March 2017. (The Cincinnati Pops with Chinese conductor Chen Lin leadin 2012. had performed during the 2008 Beijing ing the Juilliard Orchestra. Oh, and the Chinese composers are finding their Olympics.) Then there are youth orchesJuilliard School has broken ground on its way onto American orchestra programs tras: in June 2015 alone, the Santa Rosa new campus in Tianjin, scheduled to open with greater frequency, one example beYouth Symphony embarked on a weekwhich may have 5 million or even 8 million residents.

The New York Philharmonic is far from the only American orchestra that is a frequent flyer to China. One of the most frequent is the Philadelphia Orchestra, which in 2016 signed a five-year annual performance contract with Shanghai Oriental Art Center. The orchestra has commitments to perform annual concerts at Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts and at Shanghai Oriental Art Center, as well as a semi-outdoor performance space near Shanghai’s Disneyland.

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s activities go beyond performing: in 2016 the orchestra visited the Eastman Music Company’s string-instrument factory outside Beijing.

The factory and the orchestra partnered for the orchestra’s Buy One, Give One instrument program to donate instruments to schools in Philadelphia.

The appetite for travel to China involves a wide range of U.S. orchestras. A partial list includes the Detroit Symphony

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Young musicians from the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra (red shirts) during a side-by-side rehearsal with musicians from the Hangzhou Youth Orchestra, during the GDYO’s 2015 China tour.

in 2019. Taken broadly, all the cultural exchange and interplay between the U.S. and China can assume added importance during politically turbulent times.

At the Academy

Twenty instrumentalists are admitted to the Shanghai Orchestra Academy each year through competitive auditions. Selected Philharmonic musicians, mostly principals and assistant principals, serve as faculty, traveling to Shanghai for residencies throughout the year. The SOA is embedded within the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where students are enrolled in the master of music or artist diploma program. Students come from all over. Violinist Aolie Wu, whose parents are from Xinjiang in far northwest China, was one of four Academy musicians in 2016 to be invited to New York to rehearse and perform with the Philharmonic during its summer parks concerts.

David Bernard leads a local ensemble during the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony’s 2011 tour of China.

Violinist Renchao Yu, a first-year student in the program who goes by the nickname “Carlos,” is a native of Shanghai who before attending Shanghai Conservatory of Music went to Shanghai Nanyang Model High School, where 92-year-old conductor Cao Peng runs a respected music program. This year, four young women in the program from Taiwan—flutists Fangyu Huang and Iling Ho, oboist Yiling Chen, and clarinetist Yanru Chiu—ended up as roommates in Shanghai. Others come from Beijing, Kunming, Guangzhou, and elsewhere.

During the ten-day residency of the teaching New York Philharmonic musicians in Shanghai in June and July, it wasn’t just lessons and masterclasses. There were chamber music sightreading sessions for brass, woodwinds, and strings, plus side-by-side rehearsals of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 (“New World”) and Brahms’s Symphony No.

3 with Philharmonic musicians, led by departing Music Director Alan Gilbert.

There was a panel discussion on what it takes to be a concertmaster, with Philharmonic Concertmaster Frank Huang and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Co-concertmasters Pei Li and Guillaume Molko, moderated by Shanghai Classical FM radio host Chao Gu. Sometimes, a New York Philharmonic teaching residency at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy coincides with other Philharmonic events and programs in Shanghai, as was the case this year. During the June/July residency, Jon Deak, artistic director of the Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers Program, and Philharmonic Vice President of Education Ted Wiprud flew to Shanghai for work sessions with young composers selected for a Chinese offshoot of the main Very Young Composers program in New York. One of the composers, fifteen-year-

Rosalie Abbott

The Santa Rosa Youth Symphony, pictured here in Beijing, embarked on a weeklong tour to China on June 17, 2015. Within days of their departure three other groups—the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, and the San Diego Youth Symphony—headed for China as well.

americanorchestras.org

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Hart Hollman

Western orchestras touring China find themselves performing for enthusiastic audiences not only in the biggest cities, but also in “smaller” cities, which may have 5 million or even 8 million residents.

Among China’s many new concert halls are (above, left to right) Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, and Suzhou Poly Grand Theatre in Suzhou. Opposite page: Qintai Concert Hall in Wuhan, where the Detroit Symphony Orchestra performed during its first-ever China tour in July 2017.

old Shuya Feng, had her piece Memories of Marnyi Stone performed in July by the New York Philharmonic at Shanghai Symphony Hall, along with Aye Ni Ilu (Life Is a Rhythm) by Very Young Composer Isai Rabiu, a twelve-year-old New Yorker who traveled to Shanghai with his family for the occasion. Translators were occasionally needed, but many activities during the Philharmonic’s residency were conducted in English—a testament to the prevalence of English-language education in Shanghai. The rest of the New York Philharmonic arrived partway through the residency for two full-orchestra performances, with repertoire ranging from Copland’s Quiet City to symphonies by Brahms, Mahler, and Dvořák. During the same week, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra joined the New York Philharmonic for the first Asian performance of Wynton Marsalis’s Symphony No. 4 (“The Jungle”), and there was the concert of works by members of the Very Young Composers Program.

On the sidewalk outside Shanghai Symphony Hall before the first of the Philharmonic’s two concerts—Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with soloist Yefim Bronfman—ticket seekers waited, hoping to get into the concert hall. Inside, the majority of the attentive audience appeared to be well under age 40, with lots of families in attendance. When you go to

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a concert in Shanghai, one striking thing is that people are really into the music, hungry for Brahms and Dvořák and Mahler. And in this mega-city of 24 million residents, there are presumably lots more who are eager to hear it.

In China, 120 million people are studying music, “a little less than one-tenth of the population,” said Doug He, Shanghai Orchestra Academy’s executive director, when we met this summer in Shanghai.

“Everyone’s children are studying violin, piano, and so on—in Shanghai, Beijing, provincial cities, everywhere,” he says.

“This has happened in the last 20 to 30 years.” Beginning in the late 1970s, after the end of the Cultural Revolution, says He, “A lot of good things happened.

People were thinking, what should we pass on to our children? Do something meaningful. So a lot of families invested in a piano, a violin, to get them started.

In the 1970s and ’80s, when they became parents, they educated their children to be musicians.” However, says He, many advanced students in China have a limited understanding of “the whole philosophy of Western music—structure, harmony.”

This stems from the traditional Chinese focus on solo performance, not ensembles—a repeated refrain heard from New York Philharmonic musicians teaching at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy. This means Chinese musicians can have difficulty becoming orchestra players, and

that is something the Academy hopes to change.

From his perspective, says He, “New York Philharmonic musicians have brought a lot of innovative thinking to our students, not only artistically, but also how to take care of yourself when practicing, Alexander Technique, those kinds of things.” The SOA actively recruits musicians from regions far distant from the bigger cities, and one of the program’s goals is to “help musicians from provincial cities with few educational and artistic resources.” He points out that unlike musicians in China’s more developed eastern cities, those from the inner provinces of western China might be “very passionate about music, but lack guidance. So I think this is our responsibility, to be able to lead, raise their standard together.”

He is a native of China who trained as a double bassist at Juilliard and returned to his country in 2010, first to launch Shanghai’s Music in the Summer Air (MISA) festival, then to get the SOA up and running. Since that time, he says he has already “witnessed many positive changes” but notes ongoing challenges. One of them is that China lacks a standardized system for its orchestras: “When our conductors go around China, we have different librarian systems and bowing markings. It makes things so crazy.” He says that conductor Long Yu, founding music director of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, “wants to establish a protocol, so everyone should speak same language, everyone should be able to understand each other. This is not happening yet in China, although we have so many orchestras.” symphony

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Donald Dietz

Donald Dietz

moments in music need to be equally moving and captivating.”

Michele Balm is director of the New York Philharmonic’s Global Academy, which in addition to Shanghai Orchestra Academy has also included partnerships with the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas. Every year, Balm solicits feedback from students. Bassoonist Hui Zhang, a 2016 participant in the Shanghai Orchestra Academy who is now a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, says she “learned a lot about how a professional orchestra operates and interacts” and felt “much more confident in my orchestral playing and much better prepared to audition for/play in an orchestra.” Each year during Detroit Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leonard Slatkin chats the Academy, “They with some of the 50 monks and nuns from the Tiantai Temple and get two mock audiBuddhist Music Academy who attended the DSO’s concert this July tion opportunities,” at the new Qintai Concert Hall in Wuhan, China (top photo). says Balm, “and they’re not just normal mock auditions. They are Solo vs. Ensemble Playing mock auditions with a representative of Two topics came up over and over in conevery section. They play mock auditions versations with Philharmonic faculty at when they first arrive and get immediate the Shanghai Orchestra Academy: enfeedback. Four or five days later, they do couraging deeper musical expression and the exact same thing, but in the hall, with teaching students to listen more actively a screen, before those same people. They to the whole orchestra, not just their own get no feedback until it’s all done, and parts. “If I had to generalize,” says Philharthen they get called in through the whole monic Concertmaster Frank Huang, “in process. When I ask in surveys what was Asia—not just in China—I feel like the the best part, it’s really the mock auditions focus is very often on technical proficiency, that are the most valuable, because nordeveloping your technical abilities to the mally they never get feedback for their aupoint where you can win an international ditions, it’s come and go, ‘Sorry, we didn’t competition or something like that. But like it, that’s it.’ ” I’m not sure how much awareness these And the Philharmonic musicians who musicians have of the meaning of the are doing teaching residencies: what’s in it music, character, expression, timing, all of for them? In Frank Huang’s case, it’s simthese more intricate ideas. The technical ple: “I love teaching,” he says. As someone level is amazing. But it doesn’t do anything who as a youngster was initially resistant if it’s just a technical art. There is a bigto the idea of training to become a proger picture. Music should reflect life. You fessional violinist, Huang says, “If I can should have moments where you’re feeling inspire someone to pursue this as a prolike you’re on top of the world, but equally fession the way that Don [Weilerstein at there are moments when you feel vulnerthe Cleveland Institute of Music] inspired able or alone, or are thinking about someme, it’s quite meaningful.” Bill Thomas, the thing serious in your life. Those reflective americanorchestras.org

Philharmonic’s executive director, has been on multiple tours with the orchestra over his many years with the organization. He says for the musicians one of the appealing factors of a residency, as opposed to a straight tour, is the opportunity stay in one place and really get to know the concert hall and the local musicians. When he sat in on Carter Brey’s cello masterclass this summer, he enjoyed watching students who had been focusing mainly on becoming soloists learn “all about being with an ensemble. The musicians are so responsive, they’re well trained, but we’re here to enhance that. There is no greater satisfaction when you’re teaching, to see that you’re getting through, to see lights going off: ‘Oh, I get it!’ ” Judith Leclair says she “would have been happy to have spent more time working with students this summer,” and is looking forward to her next weeklong residency in March 2018, working with what she calls “the cream of the crop in China.”

For the young musicians in the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, the benefits are clear: help in experiencing what it takes to perform in an orchestra in China or elsewhere, improving one’s prospects as a working musician, getting personalized training from professional orchestra musicians without having to leave China.

SOA Executive Director Doug He says, “China now has about 70 orchestras, and the number is obviously going to go up in the next decade. My dream would be to see our Academy students become leading musicians in most Chinese orchestras.

But I would be most happy to see them win an audition such as New York, or any European major orchestra.” Student Aolie Wu—one of that group of four Academy students who traveled to New York in 2016—described the trip as “amazing. Not only the performance but also the rehearsals with the New York Philharmonic. You can get the feeling of sitting in the orchestra, of many great musicians. You can see, and also feel the music.” Less than a year after Wu visited New York, as he was nearing the end of his two years at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, he won a section violin position in the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Chances are there are more like him in the wings.

JENNIFER MELICK is managing editor of Symphony.

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Paul Phillips | Competitive Image

Minneapolis-based rapper and singer Dessa reaching out to the audience during her April 2017 concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra.

Audra McDonald in 2011 performance with the New York Philharmonic, led by then-Music Director Alan Gilbert, at Carnegie Hall. She returns to the Philharmonic in May 2018.

Star Search

by Steven Brown

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PATTI AUSTIN Veteran R&B/pop/jazz singer Patti Austin is spending much of this year celebrating Ella Fitzgerald’s centennial, performing a tribute program with orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Austin’s first moments in front of each group always give her a special frisson. “After they’ve done their runthrough, I come in and run everything with the orchestra,” she explains. “Hearing those first few notes is mind-

David Halliday

They galvanize audiences, connect with classical musicians, and give pops concerts that extra jolt. What’s it like for the headliners who take center stage to perform pops concerts with orchestras? Six stellar soloists and one conductor tell the inside story.

Vocalist Patti Austin with Utah Symphony substitute saxophone player David Halliday at a July 2017 performance.

blowing. It’s the best feeling on earth.”

Austin’s schedule takes her from jazz clubs to concert halls to sprawling outdoor venues to recording studios.

Making herself at home in each of them is a matter of “different hats and different gears,” she says. That points up “another reason I love to perform with orchestras. The audience is there with one purpose in mind: to listen to that music. Their eyeballs are on you.” Austin acknowledges symphony

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Artis-Naples

Melissa Etheridge in concert with the Boston Pops, July 4, 2017

that performing with orchestras brings pressure alongside excitement. “It’s a very empowering feeling as an artist to stand there with all of those people behind you,” she says. “It’s also nerve-wracking to a degree, because you have a lot to stand up to.

But you know how to survive.”

Austin has been singing since she was a child, and she began her career surrounded by show-business veterans who cut their teeth in vaudeville. “They knew how to do it all,” she says. “They knew how to sing.

They knew how to tell a story. They knew how to act.” She looks at musical versatility as an extension of that all-embracing view of performing. “It’s the same when you do a song in front of an entire orchestra.

You are trying to make one piece of music cohesive. Part of that, when you’re singing from the American songbook, is to kind of float within the construct of the orchestra.

You can’t do that when you’re singing in front of a trio. When you’re with an orchestra, the painting is already there. All you have to do is step in.”

DESSA When the Minnesota Orchestra invited Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter Dessa to collaborate for a concert this past April, she jumped at the chance.

“The orchestra was genuinely committed to artistic risk-taking,” she recalls. “They went above and beyond what I might have americanorchestras.org

violinist perform a passage imagined they’d do, to make from J.S. Bach’s Chaconne in sure I had the resources to D minor—which inspired the pull off something really specsong—as a middle section. tacular. And I think we did.”

“Hearing it, I felt like I was The writer, rapper, and peran audience member with the formance artist began her year best seat in the house,” Dessa of preparations with a quesrecalls. “It was chilling. It was tion: “Where does romantic fantastic.” love live in the brain?” she Dessa, who performs with asks. “If the relationship were the Minneapolis hip-hop colto end, but the love were to “The orchestra was lective Doomtree, said the orcontinue, is there anything genuinely committed to chestra immersed her in sound you could do to weed that love artistic risk-taking,” says out of your brain?” Neurologi- rapper and singer Dessa of in a way that never happens her April 2017 collaboration with amplified groups. “Becal researchers from the Uniwith the Minnesota ing in the middle of a sound versity of Minnesota pitched Orchestra. “They went storm is an emotional place in by taking MRI images of above and beyond what I to be,” she says, “and the conDessa’s brain. She wove those might have imagined.” tinuum is infinite. Being able into a spoken narrative that to swing very quickly from delicate and linked the songs she and her backup singbeautiful to enormous and powerful and ers performed with the orchestra. “What ominous—it felt like each side of my dial we ended up with was a hybrid symphonic had more numbers on it,” she says. “To performance, rap show, and TED-style have done something that takes so many presentation of the neurological context people with a shared vision was a rare exabout romance,” Dessa says. perience for me. It’s not often where you Drawing on songs she had performed have 80 people all focused on creating the for years and a few new ones, Dessa and same outcome. It’s a moving experience.” arranger Andy Thompson “really wanted to burn the songs to the ground and reMELISSA ETHERIDGE build them using the tools at the disposal The teenage Melissa Etheridge was a budof an orchestra,” she says. Thompson proding rock-and-roller who performed with duced scores and orchestral parts. For Desher school ensembles and adult countrysa’s “The Chaconne,” describing a woman music groups. But she also had other in love with a violinist, Thompson had a Bill Phelps

Chris Lee Michael Blanchard

Jack Everly with the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, one of several orchestras where he is principal pops conductor

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sounds in her ears. “When I was growing up, one of my most influential albums was the London Symphony Orchestra’s version of Tommy,” the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter recalls. “I would come home from school every day and listen to it. The blend of rock-’n’-roll and orchestra was so powerful to me.”

Now, Etheridge helps create that blend.

She and her band celebrated last July 4 with the Boston Pops in the orchestra’s annual patriotic concert on the Esplanade, and she will help the Kansas City Symphony launch its 2017-18 pops series.

Performing with an orchestra “is a musical experience like nothing else,” Etheridge says by phone from a tour stop in Edmonton, Canada. “When you have 60 to 70 musicians behind you, creating music at the same time, it’s like the biggest wave you can imagine. It’s thrilling.” But Etheridge was “a nervous wreck” before her first orchestral date, about three years ago. “I’ve been playing for over 40 years,” she says.

“I knew that I had the capability of making a beautiful piece of music. But I also had the capability of driving the train off the track.” Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart, during a rehearsal, gave her the key to staying on course. “He was looking at me, and he said, ‘You’re not following me, are you?’ I said, ‘Is that not what I’m supposed to do?’ He said, ‘No, no, no. I follow you.’ I thought, ‘Oh. All I have to do is connect with him, and he will bring the orchestra along.’ It’s really cool.”

Etheridge relishes the impact that orchestras add to her music, such as “The

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Way I Do,” “which is this huge rock song.

To hear it go deeper with the orchestra is thrilling. It’s like hearing all the things I heard in my head when I wrote it.” Another of her hits comes to mind. “How many times have I sung ‘Come to My Window’?

But every time I do it with an orchestra, the last chorus that the horn section takes gives me chills. It’s dream-come-true stuff.”

Most of the orchestrations come from arrangers who have studied her recordings and live performances. But Etheridge occasionally gets a surprise, as she did last spring when she performed with Cleveland’s Contemporary Youth Orchestra. In her emotional “Meet Me in the Dark,” “instead of a piano solo with the orchestra, they had a young harpist. It was extraordinary, what she played. I would never have thought of putting a harp on one of my songs. It was a bring-a-tear-to-your-eye sort of thing, very touching.”

JACK EVERLY As principal pops conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, and Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, and a regular guest with orchestras nationwide, Jack Everly works with a procession of big-name headliners.

And as leader of the National Symphony Orchestra’s annual National Memorial Day

Capital Concerts Inc.

Robert Mueller

Melissa Etheridge rehearses with the Cleveland-based Contemporary Youth Orchestra for their June 2017 joint concert.

Concert and A Capitol Fourth broadcasts on PBS, he has worked with artists ranging from the Beach Boys and country singer Trace Adkins to soprano Renée Fleming and pop diva Vanessa Williams. “That’s quite a mélange of backgrounds,” Everly says. The Memorial Day Concert and Capitol Fourth often feature artists who are appearing with orchestra for their first time.

“I must say, they’re very eager to learn,” Everly continues. “There they are, thrust in front of a gigantic audience and TV cameras, and the orchestra is behind them.”

He adds with a laugh: “We couldn’t possibly throw anything more at them.” Does he offer the neophytes any tips before the first rehearsal? “No, I tend not to scare them with that,” he says, chuckling again.

He credits the arrangers with building orchestrations around the sounds the performers are accustomed to hearing— guitars or drums, for instance. That way “the artists aren’t left at sea,” Everly says.

He and the orchestra listen to the soloist and respond, just as they might to the pianist in a Mozart concerto. “We always

Conductor Jack Everly with pop singer Vanessa Williams at a rehearsal for the 2017 National Memorial Day Concert with the National Symphony Orchestra.

try to make them feel welcome and at ease,” Everly says. “I know that if this is a new milieu to them, they are going to feel tense and perhaps a little frightened at being—as they might think—a fish out of water. But in reality, we’re there to support them as artists. And they always rise to the occasion. They’re really pretty brilliant about adapting to this sudden symphony

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Wynonna Judd in performance with the San Diego Symphony at the orchestra’s July 4, 2017 concert at Embarcadero Marina Park South.

difference of sound that is the symphony orchestra.”

Some performers reveal new facets when they step in front of an orchestra.

Everly points to Broadway performers such as Kristin Chenoweth: They’ve gotten acquainted with conductors and pit orchestras in the theater, and the move to the concert hall can liberate them. “They are in their element,” Everly says. “And everything they bring to the musical stage is enhanced. Everything is larger, everything is more elegant, because of the musicality and sheer numbers of musicians you have.

They usually revel in it. Kristin is just a brilliant talent. To watch her blossom onstage with a symphony orchestra behind her is a very special thing to see. She’s freed of the stage character. She’s becomes more herself. It’s great to watch.”

WYNONNA JUDD Wynonna Judd has a favorite example of going after a dream. It comes from when the Kentucky-born country singer followed through on her urge to perform with orchestra. “I didn’t really think it would happen,” she says. “but all I did was pick up my phone, call my manager, and say, ‘You know what? I think I want to sing with a symphony.’ ‘A couple of calls are made, and the next thing I know, it’s happening.”

Judd thinks back to her most recent orchestral date, on July 4, 2017 with the San Diego Symphony. “The venue was on the water,” she says. “It was a glorious day, 70 americanorchestras.org

degrees. I showed up for the sound check, and it wasn’t even like work. It was just getting together with people who are so gifted. I felt like I was in a classroom with kids smarter than me. I was a student, and I stood there and listened to every note.”

Judd rose to fame in a country duo with her mother. But she credits her grandparents with introducing her to the sounds of the orchestra. “These instruments are so lush and so beautiful,” she says. “They remind me of my mamaw and papaw, of things I grew up on. When I’m up there, for me it’s almost like the sounds of heaven.”

In her concerts with her own band, Judd says, she may prod the audience to sing along or giggle when she forgets words. Togetherness with her fans is the point. When she stands in front of an orchestra, there’s a different dynamic: “I’m an instrument myself. I go into this hypersensitive thing about the notes and my voice—how to bend the note a certain way, or how to make a note matter.

It’s a microscopic approach. I have to stand there and really hunker down. I have be still and focus the notes. Because I’m singing to the best of my ability to fit in with the excellence of the instruments.”

Judd takes extra pride when a conduc-

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tor compliments her orchestral arrangements. One of her favorites goes with her 1993 hit “Is It Over Yet,” a bittersweet song about a breakup. “There’s a moment when the strings come in, and they get louder, louder, louder,” she says. “It’s almost like I feel my right hand lifting up in a fist, then opening like a flower. I know that’s a cliché, but that’s how I feel.

The musicians support me. There’s a little pause before the second verse, and then the orchestra comes in. It’s almost like they’re lifting me up off the ground. It’s so romantic and so emotional.”

“I want to be an orchestra,” says vocalist Brian Stokes Mitchell, shown here at a 2012 concert with the Boston Pops, Conductor Keith Lockhart, and Principal Pops Bassist Larry Wolfe.

BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL Starting piano lessons as a six-year-old set Brian Stokes Mitchell on an artistic path.

When he wasn’t busy discovering the stage in school and at San Diego Junior Theatre, he also learned to play the trombone,

Eric Williams

Michael Blanchard

Headliners appearing with orchestras come from multiple musical worlds, from rock headbangers to Motown favorites to avatars of the American Songbook to the newest forces in the field, rappers.

Leslie Odom Jr., seen here with the Boston Pops on July 4, 2017, won a 2016 Tony Award in the rap musical Hamilton—but he’s a cool, soulful crooner with orchestras.

Boyz II Men bring their R&B sounds to the Kansas City Symphony, October 2016.

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Stephanie Berger

Gates Photography

Bernadette Peters, here with the San Diego Symphony in 2016, injects a dash of Broadway glamour to her appearances with orchestras.

Musical-theater and cabaret icon Barbara Cook with the New York Philharmonic.

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Hilary Scott

Audra McDonald with conductor John Williams and the Boston Pops, 2013

French horn, and clarinet—“not brilliantly well, but enough to get familiar with them,” he recalls. He went on to study film scoring, orchestration, and arranging, and as his acting career took hold, Mitchell

also composed soundtracks for TV shows.

“I think what I mostly want is—I want to be an orchestra,” Mitchell says. “I love the colors.” The Tony-winning leading man has blended his husky baritone with those

colors in orchestral dates reaching back more than a decade. This season, he performs with the Kansas City Symphony.

“What I love about performing with orchestras most is this grand collaboration that’s going on onstage,” Mitchell says.

“There’s a great power that comes from being onstage with 90 or 100 other musicians, and with a conductor who’s playing the orchestra—the conductor’s instrument. All of that joins together, and all of that sound comes out and hits the audience. I can watch the delight on their faces and see how the music is impacting them.”

Mitchell’s pops appearances include a few orchestral arrangements of his own.

The demands of Broadway, television, and other projects leave him scant time for creating more, though. So he often turns to Ted Firth, his pianist and “a brilliant orchestrator.” Mitchell’s vision is usually the guide. “When I’m thinking about orchestrations, they come almost as visual ideas to me, like a movie in my head,” Mitchell says. “I see a scene unfolding—the beginning, the middle, and the end. I have a color

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in mind, a feeling, an emotion. I’ll say, ‘This should be stark. This should be like a Bergman film. We’re in overcast Sweden here.’

Ted knows exactly what I’m talking about.”

In most of his concerts, Mitchell says, he uses a bit of his chitchat between numbers to clue in the audience about the feats of musicianship and efficiency that are on display. “A lot of people don’t know what goes into pops concerts, because they’re generally so polished,” Mitchell says. “It’s really incredible, and I think it’s a testament to the artistry of the musicians and the conductors in pops orchestras around the country. I always have a comfortable vocal bed to lie in. It’s quite amazing.”

AUDRA MCDONALD When it comes to performing, what hasn’t Audra McDonald done? She shuttles among television, movies, recordings, and Broadway, where she has won a recordbreaking six Tony Awards. And yes, she collaborates with orchestras. “The energy of an orchestral concert is incredibly unique,” she says. “In a theatrical perfor-

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mance, you play one of several characters in the show, which tells a singular story over the course of the evening. In an orchestral concert, there are several different pieces and characters, and you are making music with almost 100 other people.

I bring the same energy and vocalism to orchestral concerts, but there’s a specific kind of attentiveness required for all of us to make music together.”

Studying opera at the Juilliard School helped lay the groundwork. Even though McDonald realized as a student that musical theater would be her touchstone— she took time out from Juilliard for a national tour of The Secret Garden—she finished her opera degree nonetheless. She portrayed an aspiring opera singer in one of her earliest music-theater successes, Terrence McNally’s Master Class. Houston Grand Opera and Los Angeles Opera have enticed her back to the opera world, and McDonald returns regularly to the concert hall: the coming season will take her to orchestras from Boston to Kansas City to Utah to San Francisco, sharing the

stage with a battalion of collaborators each night.

“It can be intimidating to make music with that many strangers—especially when the rehearsal and performance are on the same day!” McDonald says. “Since each orchestra has its own sound, you have to be flexible and react to their colors and gestures in order to create something special.” Every program lets McDonald and the orchestra tell a series of stories. “Each piece is a completely different character who finds themselves in a very specific moment in time. With practice, changing gears or ‘quick changing’ becomes pretty routine. Although repertoire selection is not a science, we want there to be a varied yet balanced range of narrative, emotion, and styles. But ultimately, we want to perform pieces that will speak to people.”

STEVEN BROWN, a Houston-based writer specializing in classical music and the arts, is the former classical music critic of the Orlando Sentinel, Charlotte Observer, and Houston Chronicle.

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Symphony Pops Listings 2017 The following paid listings have been supplied to Symphony by League of American Orchestras business partners who represent pops attractions and conductors in the areas of pops performance. What follows does not imply endorsement by the League of American Orchestras or Symphony. It is not intended to be fully comprehensive, but to be a reference point for orchestra professionals charged with pops programming.

A M ERICANA/COU N TRY DUKES of Dixieland shoup@dukesofdixieland.com dukesofdixieland.com The oldest performing jazz band in New Orleans, whose first pops performance was in 1974 with the Chicago Pops Orchestra in Grant Park, followed by many others including Boston, Cleveland, and New York.

Becky Martin – The Heartland – Songs and Stories Andersen Arts Group Presents Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com

BIG BA N D / SWI N G Dave Bennett’s “Tribute to Benny Goodman” and “Clarinet Swing Kings” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com Carmen Bradford Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

DUKES of Dixieland shoup@dukesofdixieland.com dukesofdixieland.com The oldest performing jazz band in New Orleans, whose first pops performance was in 1974 with the Chicago Pops Orchestra in Grant Park, followed by many others including Boston, Cleveland, and New York.

The Heart of the Women of World War II – Their Songs and Stories Andersen Arts Group Presents Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com

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Symphony Pops Listings 2017

BIG BAND/S WING (c on ti n u e d )

In the Mood, A 1940s Musical Revue with Symphony Orchestra

BRO A D WAY

Gurtman Murtha Associates GMArtists@aol.com inthemoodlive.com/symphony Touring internationally for 24 years, In the Mood is a costumed, choreographed, and orchestrated musical event with a sensational big band, singers, and dancers with sheer American pizzazz!

Have your audience fall in love again while celebrating the music that moved a nation’s spirit. Affordably priced and perfect to round out your season.

Behind the Mask™ The Music of Webber, Hamlisch, Schwartz & More!

Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com Bohème to Broadway!™ Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com Broadway A-Z: Abba to Les Miz!™ Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com

New York Voices “Swing & Jazz Romp” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com

Broadway By Request™ Your Audience Picks the Show!

Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com

Byron Stripling Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com Steve Lippia – Simply Swingin’ – Great American Crooners; Simply Sinatra; 100 Years and Beyond – The Life and Times of Sinatra Andersen Arts Group Presents Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com

Broadway Gentlemen™ Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com

Broadway’s Grammy-nominated Fiddler on the Roof Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violinist Kelly@Kellyhall-Tompkins.com Kellyhall-Tompkins.com Hailed by the New York Times as “the versatile violinist who brings the music to life,” Broadway’s Fiddler/violin soloist brings new solo works from theater to concert hall, orchestrated and conducted by Ted Sperling.

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Symphony Pops Listings 2017 This Broad’s Way – Jeri Sager Performance Management International mprestamo@pmiarts.com pmiarts.com

BROADWAY (c on ti n u e d )

Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway’s “West Side Story to Wicked: Broadway with the Callaways”

Broadway star Jeri sings favorites from Cats, Evita, and Les Misérables, as well as new songs that make audiences laugh, cry, and feel like they were there or remember they were!

Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com The Tony-nominated Callaways sing showstoppers from West Side Story, Chicago, Funny Girl, Cats, Carousel, Wicked, and more. Ann and Liz provide an evening of wit, humor, and the soaring sounds of Broadway’s greatest songs.

Fascinating Gershwin™ Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com

C O N D U C TO RS, P O P S

The Golden Age of Broadway!™ Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com

Tim Berens Tim Berens timb@erinet.com timberens.com

Richard Glazier – Gershwin – Remembrance and Discovery; He’s Playing Our Song-Great Music from Stage and Screen; From Broadway to Hollywood; A Salute to Judy Garland and Friends Andersen Arts Group Presents Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com

Looking for a unique pops conductor to engage, uplift, and expand your audience?

Tim, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra’s arranger/guitarist, will work with you to create programming ideal for your audience.

Kern Tribute featuring Show Boat in Concert!™ Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com

Bob Bernhardt Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

My Fair Broadway! The Hits of Lerner and Loewe™ featuring My Fair Lady, Brigadoon & Camelot!

Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com

Brian Byrne Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

Janice Martin Shalom Broadway!™ Celebrating the Heritage of Broadway Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com Something Wonderful™ The Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein with Oscar Andy Hammerstein III, As Your Host!

Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com

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Flying Muse Productions jm@janicemartin.com janicemartin.com World’s only acrobatic aerial violinist multitalent. Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops, and on America’s Got Talent. Martin performs onstage and in high-flying acts while playing and singing.

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FALL 2017

Symphony Pops Listings 2017 Troupe Vertigo

C ONDUCTORS , P OPS (c on ti n u e d )

Dispeker Artists emmy@dispeker.com dispeker.com Led by Artistic Director Aloysia Gavre, featuring world-class aerialists, contortionists, and ballet dancers, Troupe Vertigo represents innovative and collaborative experiences for the symphonic stage

Lee Musiker Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com Robert Thompson Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com Jeff Tyzik Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com William Waldrop Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

FA M ILY C O N C E RT S

Ethan Bortnick David Belenzon Management, Inc. david@belenzon.com ethanbortnick.com

D ANCE/MOVEMEN T Janice Martin Flying Muse Productions jm@janicemartin.com janicemartin.com World’s only acrobatic aerial violinist multitalent. Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops, and on America’s Got Talent. Martin performs onstage and in high-flying acts while playing and singing.

americanorchestras.org

With over 4,000 PBS airings, 16-yearold music sensation Ethan Bortnick’s concerts are packed with energy, excitement, and PBS pledge audiences.

Venues are spending zero ad dollars.

Educational opportunities available.

Classical Kids LIVE! Classical Kids Music Education paul@classicalkidsnfp.org classicalkidslive.com Classical Kids are far and away the best for introducing children to classical music! Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Gershwin’s Magic Key, Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage, Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery, Tchaikovsky Discovers America.

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Symphony Pops Listings 2017

FAMILY CONCERTS (c on ti n u e d )

G RE AT A M E RICAN SO N GBO O K

DUKES of Dixieland shoup@dukesofdixieland.com dukesofdixieland.com The oldest performing jazz band in New Orleans, whose first pops performance was in 1974 with the Chicago Pops Orchestra in Grant Park, followed by many others including Boston, Cleveland, and New York.

Julie Budd “Showstoppers” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com Ann Hampton Callaway – The Streisand Songbook Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com Steve Lippia – Simply Swingin’ – Great American Crooners; Simply Sinatra; 100 Years and Beyond – The Life and Times of Sinatra Andersen Arts Group Presents Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com

FILM WITH ORCHESTRA Dan Kamin

Will & Anthony Nunziata – “The New Classics” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com Lisa Vroman Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

Dan Kamin’s Comedy Concertos dan2@dankamin.com dankamin.com Dan Kamin’s entertaining introductions and Grant Cooper’s witty and tuneful symphonic scores make Chaplin classics Easy Street and The Immigrant funnier, more exciting, more poignant—more relevant—than ever before.

Science & Symphony Films KV 265 Science & Symphony Films admin@KV265.org KV265.org Awe-inspiring science films featuring original photography and NASA visuals. Films presented by a bilingual astronomer. Perfect for Pops, Youth & Family concerts. Eleven productions including films for Halloween and Christmas.

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Symphony Pops Listings 2017

HOLIDAY POPS

JA Z Z / BL U E S

MARK209’s “Christmas from the Heart of Nashville” Center Stage Artists info@centerstageartists.com centerstageartists.com/artists/Mark209 This dynamic Nashville-based quartet brings you the sounds of the Christmas season like no other. Audiences delight at their modernized arrangements of timeless holiday classics and festive originals.

New York Voices “Swingin’ Christmas” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com Steve Lippia – A Swingin’ Holiday Affair Andersen Arts Group Presents Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com

Dee Daniels Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com DUKES of Dixieland Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com Becky Martin – Heart and Soul – A Fresh Take on the American Songbook in Songs and Stories Andersen Arts Group Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com Denzal Sinclaire Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

Will & Anthony Nunziata – “The Gift Is You” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com

L IGH T C L A SSI C S Richard Glazier – Gershwin – Remembrance and Discovery; He’s Playing Our Song – Great Music from Stage and Screen; From Broadway to Hollywood; A Salute to Judy Garland and Friends Andersen Arts Group Presents Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com

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Symphony Pops Listings 2017

L IGHT CLASS ICS (c on ti n u e d )

Janice Martin

O TH E R

Flying Muse Productions jm@janicemartin.com janicemartin.com World’s only acrobatic aerial violinist multitalent. Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops, and on America’s Got Talent. Martin performs onstage and in high-flying acts while playing and singing.

Hector Del Curto (bandoneon artist) Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com Cathie Ryan (Celtic) Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

Alasdair Neale Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

RO C K/ PO P

OPERA/OPERETTA The Merry Widow in Concert™ Broadway Pops International office@broadwaypops.com broadwaypops.com Camille Zamora Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

Patti Austin – “The Music of Glory, Raising the Spirit” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com The Beat Goes On: Liz Callaway Sings the ’60s Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com

Dave Bennett’s “Swing to ’50s Rock” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com Hold onto your seats as multiinstrumentalist Dave Bennett rocks the stage saluting music from swing and rock-n-roll to country, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Beatles.

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Symphony Pops Listings 2017 Blood Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com

Janice Martin Flying Muse Productions jm@janicemartin.com janicemartin.com

Brass Transit – The Musical Legacy of Chicago Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com Brass Transit “nails” the Music of Chicago with Grand Rapids Symphony. “A high-energy, hit-filled, crowd-pleasing, studiotight powerhouse with incredible orchestrations.” “Fantastic!” “Spellbinding!”

World’s only acrobatic aerial violinist multitalent. Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops, and on America’s Got Talent. Martin performs onstage and in high-flying acts while playing and singing.

New York Voices “Baby Boomer Bash – Music of the ’60s and ’70s” Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com

Ann Hampton Callaway – The Linda Ronstadt Songbook

Shayna Steele Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com This show celebrates Ronstadt’s songs from her pop/rock period—“Blue Bayou” and “Desperado”—as well as classics from her Nelson Riddle CDs: “What’s New” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

Classical Night Fever - The Ultimate Symphonic Best of ’70s Disco Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com

Eileen Ivers Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com Mambo Kings Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

The performers take the stage in stylin’ afros, headturning costumes, and groovy choreography. It’s a ’70s disco tribute, a feel-good musical extravaganza you won’t soon forget!

Pink Martini Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com

Michael Lynche Greenberg Artists jami@greenbergartists.com greenbergartists.com

Quartango presents “Tango on Fire!”

Marilyn Rosen Presents marilyn@marilynrosenpresents.com marilynrosenpresents.com

Becky Martin – Heart and Soul – A Fresh Take on the American Songbook in Songs and Stories Andersen Arts Group Lori@AndersenReps.com AndersenReps.com

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W O RL D M U S I C

Four extraordinary musicians and awardwinning tango dancers present “sultry, exciting, seductive” music enticing the audience with unique arrangements of tango infused with Celtic, jazz, classic, and humor… Quartango will bring down the house!

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100 Years Young

by Mike Telin

W

hen the Cleveland Orchestra began its centennial season on September 23, it had many things to celebrate. Not the least is the success of its Center for Future Audiences, launched in 2010 with the stated goal of having the youngest audience of any symphony orchestra in the United States. That’s quite a goal, and while definitions of “the most” of anything are always up for grabs, the initiatives that have been created as part of the Center are paying off. In the Center’s first six years, more than 220,000 young people took advantage of a broad range of new opportunities to attend Cleveland Orchestra concerts. Today, 20 percent of the classical concert audience is made up of patrons 25 years old and under, an increase of 12 percent since the introduction

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and expansion of programs made possible by the Center’s funding.

Created with a $20 million lead endowment gift from the Maltz Family Foundation, the Center aims to address economic, motivational, and geographic barriers to attending Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center, the outdoor amphitheater located in nearby Cuyahoga Falls. In 2011, a $5 million gift established the Alexander and Sarah Cutler Fund for Student Audiences with a focus on Cleveland Orchestra programs for students at Severance Hall.

Funds generated by the endowments are used to underwrite concert tickets.

“I’m absolutely delighted” with the results, says Ross Binnie, the orchestra’s chief brand officer and director of the Center for Future Audiences. “When we symphony

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Roger Mastroianni

Music Director Franz Welser-Möst leads the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall.

Peter Hastings Dudley Brumbach

The Cleveland Orchestra with Music Director George Szell, 1966

Namesake John Severance lends a hand at the 1929 groundbreaking of Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

started this journey, we had hopes—so many orchestras have tried to attract a younger audience. The number of young people coming now adds up to 40,000 a

year between Blossom and Severance Hall, and that’s terrific.”

How did the Cleveland Orchestra accomplish that? Not by creating concert

programs targeted specifically toward young people—no beer-and-Beethoven approach—but by sticking to core principles that have existed since the Orchestra was founded, and by making a close assessment of the special qualities of Northeast Ohio. Those principles include an uncompromising focus on musical excellence, community service through pub-

Roger Mastroianni

Heading into its 100th anniversary season, the Cleveland Orchestra could have been content to rest on its considerable laurels. Instead, it is looking forward: patrons 25 years old and younger now make up 20 percent of its audience for classical concerts. How did they do it?

Audience members at a recent concert by the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall

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lic engagement and music education, and a belief in the value of classical music for enriching the lives of future generations.

And among the region’s special assets is the large number of students who live and study there, with some of the country’s top music schools.

Binnie notes that in the 1980s only some 8,000 households were buying tickets to the winter season at Severance Hall in the form of full-season subscriptions.

As demographics changed and competition for people’s entertainment expanded, the Cleveland Orchestra wasn’t replacing aging subscribers with the next generation.

“When I arrived in 2010, we probably had the oldest audience in the country at the time,” he says.

Many orchestras face similar concerns about aging audiences, changing demo-

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Roger Mastroianni

Members of the Circle, the Cleveland Orchestra’s youngprofessionals group, at Blossom Music Festival, summer of 2017

looked ahead by looking at its audience. graphics, and shifts away from the traDoes Binnie think that what has ditional subscription model. They are worked in Cleveland could be successful deploying a broad spectrum of tactics to elsewhere—or that such tactics could be address them, honed to their own situaadapted? “There is so much classical mutions: virtually every few days an orchestra sic in this town relative to its size, and it’s announces a discount-ticket program for all good, too,” he says. young people or an “Cleveland also has a engagement activity Twenty percent of the heritage of outstandwith previously uning music schools. So derserved communi- classical concert audience ties or a social media is 25 years old and under, an I think what we did might work in cities event for millenniincrease of 12 percent since that share the same als. The League of orchestral traditions American Orchestras’ the launch of the Center for and perhaps have the “Reimagining the Or- Future Audiences in 2010. same number of stuchestra Subscription dents within reach.

Model” study, issued But even if these conditions don’t exist, I in 2015, documents changing patterns in think every orchestra has some hook it can subscriptions at orchestras nationwide— use to attract its own target audiences.” and offers insights and recommendations.

(See the Fall 2015 issue of Symphony for more on the study at https://ameriFriends and Families canorchestras.org/images/stories/ReiBinnie says the first order of business was maginingtheOrchestraSubscriptionModto build up single-ticket sales: “When we elSymph.pdf.) What’s compelling about started to review our local markets, we the case of the Cleveland Orchestra, aside found that we had 60,000 students livfrom the considerable financial investment ing within 30 miles of Severance Hall. behind the Center for Future Audiences, is The idea manifested itself quickly that we that an organization with an international needed to open the doors to this young profile still had to discover solutions taiaudience. Now we have over 30,000 lored to its own circumstances by conducthouseholds participating and they’re buying research, being creative about events ing more single tickets than at any other and offerings, becoming much more intime in our history. In fact, we sell more volved with social media, and learning tickets on a single-ticket basis than we do what worked (and what didn’t). The Cleveon subscriptions. That’s all due to the inland Orchestra could have rested on the flux of young people.” laurels of its artistic reputation. Instead, it The first new program to be established

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under the CFA was the Under 18’s Free initiative, introduced at Blossom in 2011 and expanded to Severance Hall in 2012.

At Blossom, two under-18s receive free Lawn Passes when accompanied by an adult ticketholder. At Severance Hall, each full-price adult ticket entitles the ticketholder to one free ticket for a young person age 7 to 17 for the orchestra’s Fridays@7, Friday Morning at 11, and Sunday Afternoon at 3 concerts, as well as Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra concerts, Family Concerts, and PNC Musical Rainbows, which are for ages 3 to 6. Access to this program is available to everyone—you don’t need to join a program.

The spark for this idea came largely from Binnie’s wife. “She told me, ‘You should make Blossom concerts free for our four kids—it’s a far better value than going to a movie, where we’d spend $100.

We could have a picnic, enjoy the music, and have quality time as a family.’ ” Binnie says that it struck him that classical music has no barriers in and of itself, other than those that people historically put up to make it an elitist activity: “It’s been wonderful to open the doors at Blossom and see so many young parents who have been keen to bring their kids and enjoy that moment together.”

The results were much in evidence on Saturday evening, August 26, when a crowd full of families descended on the Blossom Lawn to enjoy a concert of music by Dvořák and Holst. Hoby and Sara Randrianasolo and their two children from Green Township—just south of Akron—were attending for the fourth time this season and planned to return for the next weekend’s showings of E.T.: The Extraterrestrial with live orchestra. Hartville resident Jon Gerbetz was bringing his two children for the fourth time in two summers. Parents and children of both families said that they love coming to Blossom. The parents added that the Under 18 program plays a major role in their ability to attend multiple times, and noted that the concerts are a wonderful way to spend time together as a family, as well as exposing young people to great music.

At Severance Hall, the orchestra offers even the best available seats to participants in the Under-18s Free and Student Advantage Program—including those in the dress circle, some of the most expensymphony

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The Cleveland Orchestra

1,755. The Frequent Fan Card functions somewhat like a Netflix or gym membership. Sector explains, “Students can purchase a card for $50 at the beginning of the season, and they can attend any concert for free throughout the year. They can come as many times as they want and whenever they want. This program is what I think set off the big explosion of average student attendance from 1.8 to 5.5 times per year, a pretty serious increase. We see subscribers attending at the same rate.”

Closely related is the Student Ambassadors Program, introduced in 2012 and designed to grow student engagement through peer advocacy. In the 2016-17 season, a record number of 32 Student Ambassadors participated in the program, which over the years has included students from eight local colleges, universities, and conservatories, as well as universities in Michigan and New York. “The Ambassadors promote the Frequent Fan Card and

The Cleveland Orchestra

sive in the house. “We don’t cordon off a kids’ section,” Binnie says. “Even if we could sell a concert out in advance, I try to protect some seats for students, because those are the concerts they want to hear.

I want those seats full of people who are energized for the performance. Our do“I think every orchestra has some hook it can use to attract its own target audiences,” says Ross Binnie, the Cleveland Orchestra’s chief brand officer and director of its Center for Future Audiences.

nors just love that. They think it’s great fun and that it’s the future of our business.

It’s important as an institution to make the number of young people who attend a concert count as much as the ticket sales.

We want to make them fall in love with what we do.”

The Student Advantage Program is designed to provide students with discounted tickets for performances at Severance and Blossom and exclusive invitations to masterclasses, post-concert receptions with musicians, and behind-the-scenes open rehearsals. Membership is free for full-time high school and full-time college undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students. In 2016-17, the program signed up more than 7,600 members, who are able to buy $15 tickets to any of the Cleveland americanorchestras.org

Orchestra’s classical concerts except holiday concerts and “At the Movies.” Ticket availability is emailed to members at the beginning of each week.

“What’s nice is that there is no limit to how many times someone can attend,” says Jim Sector, the orchestra’s director of marketing. “The exact seat locations are left to the discretion of the box office, but seats are available on the floor, the dress circle, and the lower and upper balconies. The students are mixed in with the rest of the audience, which I think makes the crowd feel younger.”

The program is a hit with students.

End-of-season surveys include comments like these: “The Cleveland Orchestra has added a unique aspect to my college experience. The pricing for students makes enjoying the Orchestra much more manageable.”

“I have been able to go to concerts almost every weekend I’ve been in school, which has helped me grow in terms of my exposure to repertoire and my musicianship. It is a price I can afford, and I’ve considered going to concerts just as important a part of my music education as my college courses.”

Another opportunity for young people, the Frequent Fan Card Program, was rolled out in 2012-13. The orchestra sold 396 cards during the first year, and by 2016-17 that number had quadrupled to

The Cleveland Orchestra

As part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s programs for young audiences, the Grand Foyer of Severance Hall is put to uses that were unimaginable when the building opened nearly a century ago. In photo: yoga class for the Circle, the orchestra’s young-professionals group, 2017.

“The Student Ambassadors promote the Frequent Fan Card and recruit groups to come to concerts through their social media networks,” says Jim Sector, director of marketing at the Cleveland Orchestra.

“It’s a nice way of getting the word out.”

recruit groups to come to concerts through their social media networks,” Sector says.

“It’s a nice way of getting the word out, because students tend to change addresses each year, and they often are not in tune with the traditional ways that we communicate with audiences.” And students can exert more of a personal influence on their peers than marketing campaigns. As one Ambassador put it, “Telling classmates about the great atmosphere and the variety of music—even if it isn’t that familiar—really drew them to come.”

CFA’s newest program allows students to maintain their relationship with the Cleveland Orchestra as they move on in their lives. The Circle, launched in January of 2014, engages with young professionals from ages 21 to 40. “We want to make sure that people who have participated in the student programs can continue their access to the orchestra after they graduate,” says Andrew Singer, who volunteers as Circle

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INDEX

ADVERTISER

Andersen Arts Group ........................... 54 Carnegie Hall ......................................... 8 Cherish the Ladies ............................... 27 Colbert Artists Management ............... 23 Tony DeSare......................................... 53 Greenberg Artists ................................. 55 Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violinist.............. 17 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.................................. 1 League of American Orchestras ..... 18, 34, C3 Marilyn Rosen Presents........................ 51 Online marketing materials of Cleveland Orchestra programs for young people

president. Benefits of membership, which costs $20 per month, include CFA-subsidized tickets, behind-the-scenes access to the orchestra and its musicians, and networking and volunteering opportunities.

The program currently serves 285 members. “One of our goals is to make sure that area young professionals are engaged with classical music and the orchestra, and there are so many ways to make that happen,” says Singer, whose day job is senior program coordinator at Cleveland’s Civic Leadership Institute.

Many orchestras have young professionals groups, and the Circle takes full advantage of resources unique to the Cleveland Orchestra. “We’ve had behindthe-scenes tours of Severance, and recently we held a scavenger hunt in the Hall, which was a fun way to learn about the facility,” Singer points out. “We’ve watched a screening of Amadeus in Severance, and we’ve planned trivia nights with other arts organizations like the young professionals group of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Once we heard a presentation about the European tour and all the details that go into taking an orchestra on the road. That was fascinating.”

Equally fascinating for young audiamericanorchestras.org

ences, it seems, is challenging repertoire.

Binnie says that these initiatives have shown him that “we don’t have to curate special concert programs to appeal to a young audience. They just need a break on price.” Among the events that proved popular with young audiences last season: an all-Stravinsky concert which included Apollo, Symphonies of Wind Instruments, and Threni, Lamentations of Jeremiah; Jörg Widmann’s Trauermarsch with pianist Yefim Bronfman, and Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7; Pierre-Laurent Aimard in György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto along with the premiere of Anthony Cheung’s Topos; and the wild combination of Hans Werner Henze’s Il Vitalino raddoppiate with violinist Julia Fischer, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “We’re still just as esoteric in our repertoire as we’ve ever been,” Binnie says, “and the students want to come and participate as much as everybody else. This is a new atmosphere, and I think it’s kind of cool.”

OnStage Productions ........................... 22 Jaimee Paul – At Last/Bonded ............ C4 Janice Martin ........................................ 14 Peter Throm Management.................... 12 Roosevelt University ............................. 26 Robert Swaney Consulting, Inc. .......... C2 Schiedmayer Celeste GmbH .................. 5 Thea Dispeker Artists ........................... 11 University of Colorado Boulder College of Music .............................. 19 Video Games Live...........................Cover Wallace Foundation................................ 3 Word Pros, Inc...................................... 11 Yamaha Corporation of America ......... 13

MIKE TELIN is executive editor at ClevelandClassical.com. Additionally, he teamteaches classes in music criticism at Oberlin College and Conservatory.

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LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS With the support of our valued donors, the League continues to have a positive impact on the future of orchestras in America by helping to develop the next generation of leaders, generating and disseminating critical knowledge and information, and advocating for the unique role of the orchestral experience in American life before an ever-widening group of stakeholders.

We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of the following donors who contributed gifts of $600 and above in the last year, as of August 15, 2017. For more information regarding a gift to the League, please visit us at americanorchestras.org/donate, call 212.262.5161, or write us at Annual Fund, League of American Orchestras, 33 West 60th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10023. $150,000 and above

Bruce and Martha Clinton, on behalf of The Clinton Family Fund Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Sargent Family Foundation, Cynthia Sargent

$50,000 – $149,999

Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm McDougal Brown † The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation The Edgemer Foundation, Inc. Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company Fund John and Marcia Goldman Philanthropic Fund John S. and James L. Knight Foundation National Endowment for the Arts The Negaunee Foundation Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation The Wallace Foundation

$25,000 – $49,999

American Express Foundation Richard and Kay Fredericks Cisek † Melanie Clarke The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Peter D. and Julie Fisher Cummings † Phillip Wm. Fisher Fund Douglas and Jane Hagerman Mrs. Martha R. Ingram The Kresge Foundation New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Steve and Diane Parrish Foundation Patricia A. Richards Sakana Foundation

$10,000 – $24,999

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Mrs. Trish Bryan † Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation John and Marcia Goldman Foundation Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation Lori Julian, on behalf of the Julian Family Foundation Mark Jung Charitable Fund Alan and Maria McIntyre Alfred P. Moore Michael F. Neidorff and Noémi K. Neidorff Marilyn Carlson Nelson New York State Council on the Arts Lowell and Sonja Noteboom Mary Carr Patton Brian J. Ratner Philanthropic Fund Barry A. Sanders † Drs. Helen S. and John P. Schaefer † Penny and John Van Horn

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Geraldine Warner Wells Fargo Foundation The Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation

LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRA’S NOTEBOOM GOVERNANCE CENTER

$5,000 – $9,999

The League of American Orchestras’ Noteboom Governance Center was created in recognition of former League Board Chair Lowell Noteboom, honoring his longstanding commitment to improving governance practice in American orchestras. We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of the following donors who have made commitments to support the Center.

Burton Alter Mr. and Mrs. William G. Brown Nicky B. Carpenter † The CHG Charitable Trust † John and Paula Gambs Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts Jim Hasler The Hyde and Watson Foundation Jacksonville Symphony Board of Directors Hugh W. Long Kjristine Lund Jim and Kay Mabie † Anthony McGill Catherine and Peter Moyé Princeton Symphony Orchestra Board of Trustees Jesse Rosen Alan Seidenfeld Helen P. Shaffer Connie Steensma and Rick Prins † Laura M. Street Phoebe and Bobby Tudor Judy and Steve Turner Nick and Sally Webster †

$2,500 – $4,999

Lester Abberger The Amphion Foundation Alberta Arthurs Jennifer Barlament and Kenneth Potsic • Beracha Family Charitable Gift Fund Richard J. Bogomolny and Patricia M. Kozerefski The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP NancyBell Coe and William Burke Martha and Herman Copen Fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Gloria dePasquale Chris and Stephanie Doerr + D.M. Edwards, in honor of Pat Richards, Jesse Rosen, and Vanessa Gardner Dr. Aaron A. Flagg Catherine French † Marian A. Godfrey Margot and Paul Grangaard Mark and Christina Hanson • Lyndia and C.Y. Harvey IMN Solutions, Inc. John A. and Catherine M. Koten Foundation † Mr. and Mrs. Dennis W. LaBarre †

Alberta Arthurs Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Brown † John and Janet Canning † Richard and Kay Fredericks Cisek † Melanie Clarke Bruce and Martha Clinton, on behalf of The Clinton Family Fund Gloria dePasquale Phillip Wm. Fisher Fund Marian A. Godfrey Marcia and John Goldman Margot and Paul Grangaard, in honor of Lowell and Sonja Noteboom Douglas and Jane Hagerman Daniel R. Lewis † Dr. Hugh W. Long Steve and Diane Parrish Foundation Mary Carr Patton and John Shaw Daniel Petersen † Barry A. Sanders † Sakana Foundation Sargent Family Foundation Cynthia Sargent Sewell Charitable Fund Penelope and John Van Horn Tina Ward •† The Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation Anonymous (1) Mattlin Foundation Paul Meecham † Steven Monder † Anne Parsons and Donald Dietz • The Alfred and Jane Ross Foundation Deborah F. Rutter † Kevin H. Smith Enea and Dave Tierno Melia & Mike Tourangeau Alan D. and Jan Valentine Kathleen van Bergen

symphony

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Doris and Clark Warden † Linda and Craig Weisbruch † James H. Winston Simon Woods and Karin Brookes

$1,000 – $2,499

Jeff and Keiko Alexander Tiffany and Jim Ammerman II Eugene and Mary Arner Marie-Hélène Bernard William P. Blair III † Deborah Borda † Barbara M. Bozzuto Susan K. Bright Wayne S. Brown & Brenda E. Kee † Charles W. Cagle † Janet and John Canning † Leslie and Dale Chihuly Robert Conrad Margarita & John Contreni † Bruce H. Coppock The Dirk Family Marisa Eisemann Dawn M. Fazli Susan Feder and Todd Gordon Courtney and David Filner • Henry & Frances Fogel † John and Michele Forsyte • Barbara Frankel and Ron Michalak James M. Franklin † Lawrence and Karen Fridkis Bill Gettys Martha A. Gilmer Gary Ginstling and Marta Lederer Gordon Family Donor Advised Philanthropic Fund André Gremillet Dietrich M. Gross Ian Harwood • Sharon D. Hatchett Howard Herring The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Dr. & Mrs. Claire Fox Hillard Patricia G. Howard + ICSOM, International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles Paul Judy Cindy and Randy Kidwell Douglas W. Kinzey Peter Kjome Hess and Helyn Kline Foundation Joseph H. Kluger Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Donald Krause and JoAnne Krause † Robert & Emily Levine Sandi Macdonald & Henry Grzes Yvonne Marcuse americanorchestras.org

Jonathan Martin Alan Mason, President, Association of California Symphony Orchestras Steve & Lou Mason † Shirley D. McCrary † Debbie McKinney † Zarin Mehta † David Alan Miller Phyllis J. Mills † Thomas Dreeze and Evans Mirageas Michael Morgan † Rebecca (Becky) Odland James W. Palermo • Michael Pastreich • Peter Pastreich † Mark D. Peacock, M.D. Henry Peyrebrune Tresa Rademacher, in memory of Fred McCord Barbara S. Robinson Susan L. Robinson Barbara and Robert Rosoff † Seattle Symphony Board Pratichi Shah Trine Sorensen Tom and Dee Stegman Linda S. Stevens Rae Wade Trimmier † Marylou and John D.* Turner Matthew VanBesien & Rosie Jowitt • Gus M. Vratsinas Allison Vulgamore •† Tina Ward •† Terry Ann White Camille Williams Donna M. Williams Paul Winberg and Bruce Czuchna

$600 – $999

Sandra Sue Ashby David R. Bornemann, Board Member, Phoenix Symphony Drs. Misook Yun and James William Boyd • Elaine Amacker Bridges Doris and Michael Bronson Melinda Whiting and John Burrows Judy Christl † Elaine Buxbaum Cousins Jack Firestone Ryan Fleur and Laura Banchero GE Foundation Michael Gehret Edward B. Gill † Richard & Mary L. Gray Carrie Hammond Scott Harrison and Angela Detlor Daniel and Barbara Hart • Yoo-Jin Hong + David Hastings & Ann Huntoon

HELEN M. THOMPSON HERITAGE SOCIETY 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.

Janet F. and Dr. Richard E. Barb Family Foundation Wayne S. Brown and Brenda E. Kee † John and Janet Canning † Richard and Kay Fredericks Cisek Martha and Herman Copen Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Myra Janco Daniels Samuel C. Dixon • Henry and Frances Fogel † Susan Harris, Ph.D. Louise W. Kahn Endowment Fund of The Dallas Foundation The Curtis and Pamela Livingston 2000 Charitable Remainder Unitrust Steve and Lou Mason † Lowell and Sonja Noteboom Charles and Barbara Olton † Peter Pastreich † Walter P. Pettipas Revocable Trust Rodger E. Pitcairn Robert and Barbara Rosoff † Robert J. Wagner Tina Ward •† Mr. and Mrs. Albert K. Webster † Robert Wood Revocable Trust Anonymous (1) Chester T. Lane and Marianne Sciolino David Loebel Julie Meredith Anne W. Miller † Andy Nunemaker Pacific Symphony Board of Directors David Snead Joan H. Squires • Susan Stucker Gabriel van Aalst Edith and Tom Van Huss Robert Wagner Eddie Walker and Timothy Fields † Directors Council (former League Board) • Orchestra Management Fellowship Program Alumni + Includes Corporate Matching Gift * Deceased

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LEAGUE AT 75

The Artist’s Voice As the League of American Orchestras celebrates its 75th anniversary throughout the 2017-18 season, we’ll share a sampling of moments in our history. Here’s a look at correspondence from composers, conductors, and artists to Helen M. Thompson during her tenure as a League executive from 1950 to 1970. The letters capture the concerns of their time, and each reveals a distinctive voice and personal style.

Clockwise from bottom left, letters from cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, composers Lou Harrison and Aaron Copland, and conductor Leopold Stokowski.

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While the letters from Aaron Copland, Charles Schulz, and Leopold Stokowski were typed (most likely by an assistant), the letter from Lou Harrison was hand-lettered by the composer on heavy dark-orange paper.

Harrison’s gifts as a calligrapher lend an artistic flair to his note, which acknowledges receipt of a photo and praises the League’s Conductors Workshop in Asilomar, California.

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2018 Mid-Winter Managers’ Meeting and Pre-Meeting Seminar Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan in New York City January 27–28—Pre-Meeting Seminar January 28–29—Meeting The League of American Orchestras invites executive directors (and administrators of youth orchestras) to attend the 2018 Mid-Winter Managers’ Meeting. It’s your opportunity to meet with fellow executives, to hear and be heard about what is happening in the field today.

Go to americanorchestras.org/conferences-meetings for pricing and additional information and to learn about our Pre-Meeting Seminar.

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