symphony SPRING 2016 n $6.95

THE MAGAZINE OF

THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS

Finding Your Bliss How Summer Music Festivals Build Their Brands

Gender and Musical Instruments

Orchestra Diversity Programs

Pierre Boulez Remembered

New Strategic Plan for the League

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PRELUDE

VO LU M E 6 7, N U M B E R 2

symphony SP R IN G 2 0 1 6

s the tuba the final frontier? When blind auditions for musicians were implemented at orchestras in the 1970s, a vast shift in the gender balance of American orchestras commenced. Screens shielded the auditioning musician from view, so auditors judged the playing, not the person. In 1978 women represented 38 percent of U.S. orchestra musicians. Today, the gender balance is nearly 50-50. Yet most of those women players are concentrated in traditionally “female” instruments—violin, flute, harp. It’s rare to see a female bass player, or a percussion section of women. Why is that—societal expectations, orchestral norms, individual aptitude? As Heidi Waleson reports in this issue, more and more women are taking up traditionally male instruments, often with great success, as principals and section leaders. What’s heartening here is that musicians are increasingly choosing the instrument they like best. After all, everyone should be able to play the instrument he or she wants—tubas included. Symphony has regularly reported on the topic of minority representation at orchestras, and in this issue we look at programs by orchestras that aim to broaden musician diversity though multiple approaches: with fellowships for serious young musicians, talent-development projects for teens, and training programs that put instruments in the hands of really young kids. Usually these programs are aimed at engaging musicians and communities of African and Hispanic descent; the strides and presence of AsianAmerican musicians are plainly visible at many orchestras. The thinking behind these programs is to create a pipeline of talented artists for the future, so that orchestras more accurately reflect the world we live in.

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

SENIOR EDITOR Chester Lane

MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Melick EDITORIAL INTERN Jeremy Reynolds

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Michael Rush MANAGER

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W S PI N R TI N EG R 2016

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June 9-11, 2016 • Baltimore, MD

2016 Conference

The Richness of Difference Hosted by

Be with your peers

at the League’s National Conference, June 9 -11, 2016, in Baltimore, Maryland. Come gather with orchestra professionals and volunteers at the League of American Orchestras’ National Conference to acquire skills, solve problems, and develop your professional network. More than 1,000 people attend each year – staff, musicians, board members, business partners, volunteers, and thought leaders in and out of the orchestra field.

Register today and get 20% off with our Early-bird Rate.* Go to americanorchestras.org/ conference for details. *Valid through 4/29/16

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symphony SP R IN G 2 0 1 6

THE MAGAZINE OF THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS

2 Prelude by Robert Sandla

6 The Score Orchestra news, moves, and events

Canton Symphony

14 Critical Questions The League’s new Strategic Plan offers a roadmap to the future. by Jesse Rosen © Universal Edition / Eric Marinitsch

18 Conference Preview Diversity is the theme of the League’s 2016 Conference. by Ken Cole 22 Board Room Set to be published this summer by the League, Effective Orchestra Governance: A Guide for Boards.

Forward Steps A glance at what orchestras are doing to increase diversity among their ranks. by Steven Brown

Instrumental Change Why are women still more likely to play the flute than the tuba, or the violin than the double bass? by Heidi Waleson

Growth Spurt Too cool for school: the activity and variety of youth orchestras in America are growing rapidly. by Chester Lane

Remembering Pierre Boulez Reminiscences of a great musician from those who knew him.

Summer Festivals 2016 Your guide to what’s on this summer.

60 Advertiser Index

Artosphere Festival

Finding Your Bliss How summer festivals fine-tune their musical offerings.

72 Coda Leif Ove Andsnes discusses conducting Beethoven from the piano and starting his own summer festival. Throughout this issue, text marked like this indicates a link to websites and online resources that can be accessed by visiting SymphonyOnline l at symphony.org.

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Oezguer Albayrak

70 League of American Orchestras Annual Fund

about the cover

The Hollywood Bowl, summertime home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. See story, page 50.

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

MUSICAL CHAIRS has been named concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, effective with the 2016-17 season.

MADELINE ADKINS

California’s Santa Rosa Symphony has appointed HEATHER BALITZKAT director of development.

Adkins

has been promoted to general manager and director of artistic administration at the Mobile (Ala.) Symphony Orchestra. J.C. BARKER

The New York Pops has appointed CAROLYN O. BOLT director of development and LISA BETH VETTOSO director of education. and DAVID HUBER will assume leadership roles as co-chairs of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Board of Trustees on July 1, 2016.

LINDA BOWDEN

Musical Chairs

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra has named assistant conductor.

ADAM KERRY BOYLES

Los Angeles Philharmonic

will step down as assistant conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra this summer upon the expiration of her two-year contract.

KARINA CANELLAKIS

Pennsylvania’s Reading Symphony Orchestra has appointed CHRISTOPHER CINQUINI conductor of the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra.

The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra has named music director and conductor, effective with the 2016-17 season. HANRICH CLAASSEN

has been appointed executive director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

STEVE COLLINS

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors has elected MARK DAVIDOFF chairman; he succeeds PHILLIP WM. FISHER .

Collins

Idaho’s Boise Philharmonic has announced that will step down as music director at the end of the 2015-16 season. ROBERT FRANZ

has been appointed managing director of Australia’s Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

SOPHIE GALAISE

The Reno (Nev.) Chamber Orchestra has named executive director.

GERARD GIBBS

ILYA GIDALEVICH has been appointed artistic administrator at the Cleveland Orchestra.

Arizona’s Tucson Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of JOSÉ LUIS GOMEZ as music director starting in the 2017-18 season; he will serve as music director designate in 2016-17. The San Juan Symphony (Durango, Colo.) has named THOMAS HEUSER music director, effective with the 2016-17 season.

has been named associate conductor at the Portland-based Oregon Symphony, effective August 1, 2016.

NORMAN HUYNH

Ohio’s Canton Symphony Orchestra has appointed

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Super-Sized Performance Musicians of Youth Orchestra Los Angeles had the chance of a lifetime this February, when they and Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director Gustavo Dudamel made a high-profile appearance at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Before 70,000 fans at the stadium and 115 million television viewers, they performed with Chris Martin, Beyoncé, and Bruno Mars, bringing young classical musicians to a stage that is dominated by pop and rock. YOLA, launched in 2009 by Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, provides free instruments, intensive music training, and academic support Above: The Super Bowl halftime show in February 2016, with Youth Orchestra Los Angeles musicians (in red and to students from underserved blue) alongside pop stars. Top photo: YOLA onstage at neighborhoods. About YOLA and Dudamel’s Super Bowl ap- Youth Orchestra Festival Day, Walt Disney Concert Hall. pearance, Los Angeles Times classical-music critic Mark Swed wrote, “That Dudamel will up his viewership ante by an estimated 120 million is nothing but good news for classical music and the L.A. Phil. But what matters most is that … through YOLA, regular kids given the opportunity and encouragement to devote themselves to studying music will now ascend an unimaginably vast stage.” symphony

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concertmaster.

has been named executive director of the Albuquerque (N.M.) Youth Symphony Program.

MANDI KANE

The Reno Philharmonic in Nevada has appointed marketing director.

EVELYN KLATT

DONALD KOTRADY has been elected president of the Austin (Tex.) Symphony Board of Directors.

Violinist PEKKA KUUSISTO and cellist/ conductor JONATHAN COHEN have been named artistic partners at the St. Paul (Minn.) Chamber Orchestra. Both appointments take effect in September 2016.

Kaapo Kamu

The Erie (Pa.) Chamber Orchestra has announced that MATTHEW KRAEMER will step down as music director at the end of the 2016-17 season.

Sreve J. Sherman

In January, the National Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic announced that they had chosen successors to their incumbent music directors, both of whom will be stepping down at the end of the 2016-17 season. The National Symphony, in Washington, D.C., has selected Gianandrea Noseda to succeed Christoph Eschenbach, whose NSO tenure began in 2010. At the Philharmonic, Jaap van Zweden will take the reins from Gianandrea Noseda Alan Gilbert, who has led the orchestra since 2009. Noseda’s five-year contract with the NSO calls for him to lead two subscription weeks next season as music director designate and assume the post officially in 2017-18. Van Zweden will become the Philharmonic’s music director designate in 2017-18 and begin his five-year contract as music director the following season. Noseda is now in his ninth season as music director of Teatro Regio Torino in Italy, and is also principal conductor of Barcelona’s Orquestra de Cadaqués and principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He Jaap van Zweden served as chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic from 2002 to 2011 and has conducted the Metropolitan Opera regularly since 2002. A native of Milan, Noseda trained in piano, composition, and conducting there before pursuing further studies with conductors Donato Renzetti, Myung-Whun Chung, and Valery Gergiev. The Dutch-born van Zweden has served as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2008, and as music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic since 2012. He began his career as a violinist, serving from age nineteen as the youngest-ever concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw in his native Amsterdam. Van Zweden made his podium debut with the New York Philharmonic in 2012, returned as a guest last fall, and is scheduled to lead the Philharmonic again in November of this year. He will conclude his tenure as DSO music director at the end of the 2016-17 season and then assume the title of conductor laureate. Both conductors have been honored with Musical America’s Conductor of the Year award: Noseda in 2015 and van Zweden in 2012.

VIVEK JAYARAMAN

Kuusisto

MARCELO LEHNINGER will conclude his tenure as music director of the New West Symphony (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) at the end of the 2015-16 season.

New Hampshire’s Portsmouth Symphony has appointed VIRGINIA MACDONALD as its first executive director. Ohio’s Cleveland Pops Orchestra has announced the election of DONALD H. MESSINGER as chairman. has been named CEO of InstantEncore Inc., a San Diego-based provider of mobile solutions for performing arts organizations.

CHRIS MONTGOMERY

Musical Chairs

Bert Hulselmans

Podium Plans at National Symphony, NY Phil

The Memphis (Tenn.) Symphony Orchestra has appointed ROBERT MOODY principal conductor, effective with the 2016-17 season.

has been appointed executive director of the Portland (Ore.) Youth Philharmonic.

NOREEN MURDOCK

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has named ERIC principal viola, effective with the 2016-17 season. NOWLIN

Florida’s Artis–Naples has appointed JACLYN RAINEY principal horn in the Naples Philharmonic, effective next season.

ROBERT REED has been named executive director of the Plano (Tex.) Symphony Orchestra.

The York (Pa.) Symphony Orchestra has named MICHAEL S. REICHMAN general manager and chief operating officer.

CHRISTIAN REIF has been appointed resident conductor of the San FranReichman cisco Symphony and music director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, effective in September 2016.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has named MARK RITTINGER vice-president, development. Montana’s Great Falls Symphony has appointed executive director.

HILLARY ROSE

JEFF vom SAAL has been appointed executive director of the Spokane (Wash.) Symphony.

California’s New Century Chamber Orchestra has announced that violinist NADJA SALERNOSONNENBERG will step down as music director at the end of the 2016-17 season, her ninth with the orchestra.

Cellist ALEXANDER SCHEIRLE has been named executive director of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in New York City, effective May 1. The New World Symphony in Miami Beach has appointed MARTE SIEBENHAR assistant vice presi-

americanorchestras.org

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MUSICAL CHAIRS dent for audience development. LEONARD SLATKIN will step down as music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the end of the 2017-18 season, and will then assume the title of music director laureate.

The Bay-Atlantic Symphony, based in Bridgeton, N.J., has announced the election of MARK SOIFER as president of its board of trustees. SAMANTHA TETER has been named executive director of Tennessee’s Chattanooga Symphony and Opera.

The Auckland-based New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has appointed EDO de WAART music director.

Teter

Florida’s Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra has named LUKE WITCHGER orchestra personnel manager and AMANDA LIPSEY director of grants and sponsorships. HELEN ZELL has been elected chair of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association’s Board of Trustees, the first woman to lead the CSOA board in its 125-year history.

Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune

Meecham to head Utah Symphony | Utah Opera

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera has announced the appointment of Paul Meecham as president and CEO, effective July 1. He will succeed Patricia A. Richards, who has served as interim president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-based organization since the departure of Melia P. Tourangeau last spring. Meecham Paul Meecham has been president and CEO of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2006, and previously held executive posts at the London Sinfonietta, the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Seattle Symphony. A native of the U.K., he holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Birmingham and plays both piano and violin. Utah Symphony Music Director Thierry Fischer noted in a statement from USUO that Meecham’s “vast experience as a leader in our industry is a spot-on match for our artistic ambitions.”

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On the Financial Front

In January, Hartford Symphony Orchestra management and musicians agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement through August 31, 2019. The contract, following extensive negotiations, incorporates salary cuts of 33 percent for core musicians. Music Director Carolyn Kuan agreed to adjust her compensation to match cuts taken by musicians. In March, the orchestra renegotiated a management services contract with the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, which since March 2014 has been managing the HSO. The renegotiated contract returns overall management responsibilities to HSO administrative staff, retaining some support services with the Bushnell. Steve Collins, the orchestra’s director of artistic operations and administration, is the HSO’s new executive director, succeeding David Fay, who continues as president and CEO of the Bushnell. The Cleveland Orchestra has a new musicians contract through 2017-18 that includes annual increases in compensation and retirement benefits, plus higher shared healthcare premiums. For fiscal 2015, the orchestra reported a surplus of $72,000 and a 12 percent increase in audience members through its “Under 18s Free” and Student Advantage programs. Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony in Texas agreed to a temporary contract extension through July; at press time negotiations for a new contract were ongoing. The Las Vegas Philharmonic has a new musicians contract through June 30, 2018; included are increases in base pay and fringe benefits. For its most recent fiscal year, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra reported a surplus of $900,000, on a budget of $22.9 million. The ISO also reported a 24 percent increase in subscriptions; fundraising income dipped to $9.25 million from $9.73 million the previous year. Musicians and management of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra have signed a new one-year contract through August 31; the orchestra ended its 2015 fiscal year ended with a surplus of $41,000 and an increase of $340,000 in 2014-15 ticket sales. At the San Antonio Symphony in Texas, musicians and Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing agreed in March to a three-week furlough for the 2016-17 season to balance the orchestra’s budget. The furlough would cut the season from 30 weeks to 27 and does not reopen the musicians’ contract. If fundraising can make up the budget gap of $314,000, the three weeks might be reinstated. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra reported a balanced budget for its 2015 fiscal year, with a surplus of $17,155. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra ended its 2015 fiscal year with a surplus of $135,781, with fundraising revenues increasing by $1.5 million versus the previous season. Boston Classical Orchestra, a chamber orchestra founded in 1980 that performs at Faneuil Hall, has filed for bankruptcy and canceled its April and May concerts. BCO Music Director Steven Lipsitt has announced a successor group called the Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Society, which will perform BCO’s remaining 2016 concerts, with most of BCO’s musicians. Also planned for the new group is a five-concert season in 2016-17. In February, New York’s Long Island Philharmonic announced it was ceasing operations immediately, after it was unable to renegotiate terms of a bank loan. The Long Island Philharmonic was founded in 1979 by conductor Christopher Keene and singer Harry Chapin.

League Seminar on Maximizing Board Fundraising and Engagement Board officers and development-committee members, executive directors, and senior development officers are invited to join the League of American Orchestras on Friday, May 13 for Boards on Fire! Maximizing Board Fundraising and Engagement, a stimulating full-day seminar in Chicago led by Susan Howlett, an award-winning expert on nonprofits who understands the world of orchestras. Howlett will provide concrete, practical solutions—ones that don’t cost any money, and don’t require more time—for engaging board members as strategic leaders, compelling ambassadors, and powerful fundraisers. The informative and inspiring seminar takes place at Symphony Center, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Learn more and register in the Conferences and Meetings section of americanorchestras.org. symphony

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Fisher Career Grants Awarded March 22

Stephanie Berger

Sheep at the Armory They’ve done it again. In March, another Park Avenue Armory spectacle had people talking with performances of De Materie (“Matter”), an almost unclassifiable four-part symphonic work by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. Subject matter spanned Marie Curie, 17th-century atomic theorist Gorlaeus, and painter Piet Mondrian; music ranged from Renaissance and Baroque to jazz and modern styles. Led by conductor Peter Rundel, performers included the International Contemporary Ensemble, the vocal ensemble ChorWerk Ruhr, more than 30 actors and dancers—and a flock of 100 sheep. Heiner Goebbels directed the staging, which premiered at Germany’s Ruhrtriennale in 2014. In 2012 at the Armory, the New York Philharmonic performed Stockhausen’s mammoth Gruppen, featuring three separate orchestras and three conductors; in 2015 pianist Hélène Grimaud performed a water-themed program in the flooded Drill Hall. What next?

Heather Noonan, the League’s vice president for advocacy, delivers a statement in support of access to the arts at Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A cellist, a pianist, and three violinists were honored with Avery Fisher Career Grants at a March 22 ceremony in New York’s Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. Recipients of the $25,000 award, each of whom performed at the event, were cellist Jay Campbell, pianist George Li, and violinists Alexi Kenney, Tessa Lark, and Sean Lee. The annual career grants, established by the Avery Fisher Artist Program in 1976, provide recognition and professional assistance to young instrumentalists and chamber ensembles deemed to have great potential for major careers. This year’s ceremony was recorded by New York classical station WQXR for live webstream and radio broadcast, with replays scheduled for April 30 and May 4.

Steve J. Sherman

Louis Andriessen’s De Materie at the Park Avenue Armory in New York involved the International Contemporary Ensemble and a flock of sheep.

The 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant winners: pianist George Li; violinists Sean Lee, Tessa Lark, Alexi Kenney; cellist Jay Campbell

League Urges Support for the Arts in All Schools

Narric Rome

At a public meeting at U.S. Department of Education headquarters on January 11, League of American Orchestras Vice President for Advocacy Heather Noonan urged the Department to close gaps in access to music and arts education in high-poverty schools as it administers the Every Student Succeeds Act. Alongside representatives from organizations including the Council of Chief State School Officers, Dignity in Schools Campaign, and the National Education Association, Noonan spoke to top administrators and the public as the Department frames guidance for state and local education policy makers under the new law. The League’s statement emphasizes that orchestras and other community-based organizations partner with parents, educators, and school systems to seek improved opportunities for all students to receive the full benefits of an arts education, and urges the Department to address serious gaps in access to arts education in our nation’s highest-poverty schools. americanorchestras.org

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Training by the TON in NYC

The students in Bard College’s new Master of Music Program in Curatorial, Critical, and Performance Studies are aiming for orchestral careers, and their three-year curriculum combines an intensive schedule of rehearsals and concerts with education and community-engagement activities, exercises in program curation, and independent study in such areas as managing ensembles and exploring social topics through music. Their performance laboratory is The Orchestra Now (TON), which under conductor and Bard College President Leon Botstein has played in numerous New York-area venues since its debut last fall, both in formal settings like Carnegie Hall and in audience-interactive formats such as a “Sight and Sound” series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met concert pictured above featured Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony paired with a discussion of Louis-Léopold Boilly’s 1810 painting The Public Viewing David’s “Coronation” at the Louvre.

Orchestras by the Numbers: Education and Community Engagement

League of American Orchestras Knowledge Center

As today’s orchestras strive to strengthen their engagement with the cities and communities they serve, their education and community engagement (EdCE) programming is taking center stage. An upcoming report from the League of American Orchestras demonstrates the impressive scale of this work: the 85 professional orchestras surveyed provided over 18,000 EdCE sessions to over 2 million participants during the 2013-14 season alone. The scale of this work is matched by an ever-increasing breadth of programming, with only one in four EdCE sessions now taking the form of a traditional concert, and a wide range of other, handson learning opportunities. The report details many other essential Breakdown of venues for education and community insights, including a racial/ethnic engagement activities of 85 professional U.S. orchestras, breakdown of the estimated 2013-14. 37 percent of EdCE program participants engaged from under-represented communities. It is available for free from the Knowledge Center at americanorchestras.org.

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Jacqueline Rocamora

From Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring to Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the bassoon is blessed with some of symphonic music’s most memorable melodies. But when it comes to solo opportunities in front of the orchestra, bassoonists are not a common sight. Two recent exceptions were with California orchestras that featured their principal bassoonists in concertos written by composers two centuries apart. In January, Nicolasa Kuster (above) performed Peter Schickele’s Bassoon Concerto with the Stockton Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Peter Jaffe. Less than a month later, Stephen Paulson (right) served as soloist in the Mozart Bassoon Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony, led by Masaaki Suzuki in his SFS conducting debut. Mozart’s is by far the most frequently performed concerto for bassoon, but players of that instrument would be happy to point out that there are also concertos by Weber, Hertel, Hummel—and multiple concertos by the ever-prolific Vivaldi—just waiting in the wings. Jeanette Yu/San Francisco Symphony

David DeNee

Western Bassoons

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Under Bernard Labadie, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and choristers performed the Mozart Requiem in January with (from left) soprano Lydia Teuscher, tenor Frédéric Antoun, bass-baritone Philippe Sly, and mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy.

CLASSICAL

MUSIC

M E E TS

Birthday Requiem

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

CLASSIC

COMEDY

Though timed for the birth month of its eponymous composer, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart@260 Festival culminated with a masterpiece associated with the composer’s death in 1791, not his birth in 1756: the sold-out festival, held January 15-23, climaxed in semi-staged performances of the Mozart Requiem. Bernard Labadie led the Toronto Symphony, choral groups, and vocal soloists. The production featured stage direction by Joel Ivany and lighting by Kevin Lamotte.

“A magical evening...unforgettable... THE BEST SHOW!!!!”

Canton Brews a Series For Ohio’s Canton Symphony Orchestra, the enthusiastic response to last year’s “Rock the 5th Pub Crawl” signalled that orchestral musicians would be a hit with patrons of the downtown area’s bars, restaurants, and galleries. This winter at George’s Lounge, a local hot spot, the CSO launched a Downtown Classics series that features small ensembles from the CSO in a laid-back setting. This performance, on January 28, featured (from left) violinists Linda Nagy Johnson and Saki Kurose, violist Thomas G. Pleban, and cellist Michael G. Koscso in music ranging from Mozart to John Lennon. Rounding out the inaugural season: appearances at a brewing company, restaurant, and wine shop.

Conductors Guild: 40 Years of Service

This year marks the Conductors Guild’s 40th year of service to the art and profession of conducting. The Conductors Guild was founded in 1975 at a League of American Orchestras Conference and continued for a decade as a subsidiary. In 1985 it became an independent organization and has grown to include members from 50 states and over 30 countries. The Guild has hosted 40 conferences, served more than 1,500 conductors through 127 workshops, and presented more than 40 awards. Thousands of members have taken advantage of the Guild’s one-on-one mentoring, job bulletins, journal, and website, www.conductorsguild.org. On the slate for the organization in 2017 is a conference in Philadelphia as well as workshops and symposia. Even as times change, the Conductors Guild continues to give conductors access to resources, training, and colleagues. americanorchestras.org

Canton Symphony Orchestra

— satisfied West Virginia Symphony patron

Charlie Chaplin at the Symphony is an unusual pops evening that begins with a hilarious parody of a classical concert (Dan as The Classical Clown) and ends with two restored Chaplin classics from 1917, with brilliant contemporary scores by Grant Cooper. Two full hours of comedy and music.

Catch the buzz at

www.dankamin.com

Dan Kamin

Comecdeyrtos Con (412)563-0468 dan2@dankamin.com 11

Lori Stahl

Dvořák in South Dakota

In March, the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra looked to state roots for a program putting Dvořák—specifically his “New World” Symphony—in the context of local history. The first half of the program featured Lakota Scholar Ronnie Theisz, Lakota Elder Chris Eagle Hawk, and the Creekside Singers, a Lakota drumming group, performing a symphonic composition by Native American composer Brent Michael Davids. The second half featured a complete performance of Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony (“From the New World”), led by SDSO Music Director Delta David Gier. The presentation was part of “Dvořák in America,” a multimedia project sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and designed by musicologist Joseph Horowitz, exploring

The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, with (left to right) concertmaster Netanel Draiblate, vocalist Kavita Krishnamurthi Subramaniam, and Music Director Stephen Gunzenhauser

Bollywood Comes to Lancaster

For many in the audience at the Lancaster Symphony’s “From Bollywood to Concerto” concerts in February, it may have been their first chance to hear music by violinist/composer Lakshminarayana Subramaniam. In addition to his film scores (including Salaam Bombay and Mississippi Masala), Subramaniam is one of the best-known violinists and composers of Indian classical music. At Lancaster’s Fulton Opera House, Music Director Stephen Gunzenhauser led the Lancaster Symphony in Subramaniam’s Jo Tum, Turbulence Symphony, and Global Symphony, and the U.S. premiere of his Isabella Violin Concerto with the composer as soloist. Performers included vocalist Kavita Krishnamurthi Subramaniam, Subramaniam’s wife, and violinist/pianist Ambi Subramaniam, his son. Samplings of Indian food were offered before the concert and during intermission.

The Creekside Singers of Pine Creek Reservation in performance

Fascinating Rhythm

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topics in American history. The SDSO concerts also included audience discussions about issues addressed in the program. It was the second time the SDSO has featured Native-American performers onstage with the orchestra as part of the Lakota Music Project, an initiative by the SDSO and leaders of the Lakota community to increase cultural understanding through music collaboration.

Angela Sterling

George Gershwin’s An American in Paris has been an orchestra staple practically since its premiere in 1928. The jazzy, evocative score inspired the beloved 1951 Hollywood musical, which starred Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron and included songs by George Gershwin and his lyricist brother, Ira. Now An American in Paris is a Broadway musical. The show follows the romance of a young American soldier and a beautiful French dancer in postwar Paris; Bob Crowley’s dazzling sets make the city itself a character. The musical score is adapted, arranged, and supervised by Rob Fisher, who wove together not just hits like “I Got Rhythm,” “ ’S Wonderful,” and “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” but also echoes of orchestral pieces including the Concerto in F and Cuban Overture. The Gershwin estate gave Fisher full access to the Gershwin catalog, and he worked with director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon to choose songs and A scene from the instrumental pieces that would Broadway production best serve the creative team’s of An American vision. The whole thing climaxes in Paris, based with a ballet to Gershwin’s symon Gershwin’s phonic poem. Who could ask for symphonic poem anything more?

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Young composers dream of hearing their works performed live by an orchestra, and the thirteenth annual Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, co-presented by the American Composers Forum, provided just that opportunity. In January, seven emerging composers from around the nation attended the five-day professional training program in Minneapolis, which culminated in the orchestra’s Jan. 29 concert spotlighting their works. Pictured above, left to right, are composers Kirsten Broberg, Nick DiBerardino, Emily Cooley, Matthew Browne, Joshua Cerdenia, Anthony Vine, and Michael Gilbertson; Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Director Kevin Puts; and Music Director Osmo Vänskä. Prior to the “Future Classics” concert—which comprised Broberg’s Celestial Drawing, Browne’s Barnstorming Season, Cerdenia’s Magayon, Cooley’s Scroll of the Air, Diberardino’s Asphodel, Gilbertson’s Sinfonia After Vivaldi, and Vine’s Transmission—the composers attended seminars on writing for orchestral instruments led by musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra. Institute attendees also met with Norman Ryan, vice president of Schott Music, and received individual coachings from composer and Institute Director Kevin Puts and feedback from the orchestra’s music director, Osmo Vänskä.

Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview The League of American Orchestras has announced the five conductors selected for the 2016 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview: Conner Gray Covington, Roderick Cox, Paul Ghun Kim, Rebecca Miller, and Stefan Sanders. On May 11, they will lead sessions with the Nashville Symphony and receive guidance and mentoring from Nashville Symphony Music Director Giancarlo

Guerrero, himself a Preview alum. The League’s showcase spotlights talented conductors poised for music directorships and staff conducting positions at America’s orchestras, bringing them to the attention of search committees, orchestra administrators, and artist managers. Visit americanorchestras.org for the conductors’ bios and more about the Preview.

SYMPHONIC POPS CONSORTIUM

NOW BOOKING FOR THE 16/17 SEASON!

BROADWAY DIVAS Broadway leading ladies deliver a show stopping performance of songs from Wicked, Chicago, Dream Girls, Cabaret, The Sound of Music and more.

CLASSIC FM Five Decades of radio hits in one concert including: Graceland, I Will Survive, Happy, Can’t Buy Me Love, Tiny Dancer, Sweet Caroline and others.

www.PeterThrom.com peterthrom@me.com americanorchestras.org

| |

734.277.1008 (office/mobile/text) 2040 Tibbitts Court, Ann Arbor, MI 48105

Greg Helgeson

Emerging Voices

QUESTIONS

CRITICAL

What’s Next for the League?

Chris Lee

The League’s new strategic plan, “Creativity, Engagement, Impact: 2016-2020,” offers a roadmap for the future.

Introduction By Jesse Rosen

This plan was developed in a moment of great possibility. It builds on the momentum generated by orchestras and the League following the last strategic plan. Today, orchestras are embracing the opportunities presented by the current environment with vigor and ingenuity. The rate of experimentation is at an all-time high. As audiences, current and prospective, reveal increasingly new and varied preferences, the experience of orchestral music, its very nature and access to it, is evolving rapidly. Parallel to these changes, orchestra missions are also in play, shifting from an inward focus, on their own attributes, to an outward one: the public impact they make. The old tensions between “protect and preserve” versus “embrace the future” are giving way to a more holistic view that fuses excellence and engagement, that defines purpose as both fostering creativity and creating community value, and that understands repertoire as a continuum of new and old, and as a moving point on a spectrum of genres. With nearly 1,400 orchestras across the country, America is brimming with extraordinary musicians, live concerts, and orchestras as unique as the communities they serve. Orchestral music and the

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ensembles that bring it to life at ever increasing standards of virtuosity and quality, continue to demonstrate resilience and to hold a firm position among Americans’ most treasured genres. For many orchestras, the current period of economic recovery is providing the fuel for change. But the Great Recession, still fresh in our memories, has left some important lessons: the frailty of both capital structures and organizational cultures inhibits effective response to inevitable downturns. We have also been witnessing

To support and lead the work of orchestras, the League will: advance the orchestral experience; develop the field; better serve members; strengthen the League’s business model; and grow the League’s capacity. the ripening of the public value challenge. As the Federal government continues to seek new revenues, nonprofits of all kinds have been challenged to defend tax incentives for charitable giving. State legislatures are similarly considering curtailing deductions for charitable gifts, reviving taxes on ticket sales and instituting, for orchestras and other nonprofits, payments in lieu of taxes. The debate centers around

Jesse Rosen, President and CEO, League of American Orchestras

public benefit: what is the value to the public that merits our tax-exempt status? Income streams are further threatened by changes in philanthropic priorities as wealth is transferred to many next-generation philanthropists for whom classical music commands less interest. And as America races toward a majority minority population, orchestras, despite decades of local and national efforts, are still a long way from reflecting the composition of the communities they serve. Meanwhile, as digital natives reach maturity, the idea that live performance has some innate superiority is no longer taken for granted. At the same time, the appetite for classical music endures, evidenced by recent data revealing that, other than a broad category encompassing “popular music,” classical music was the musical genre most watched or listened to on TV, radio, or the Internet. The long-form live symphonic performance has to find a place alongside the digitally-enhanced, multi-layered, and often short experience that is the norm. The demands on staff, board, musicians, and volunteer leaders to navigate change have never been greater. As is the case across the entire nonprofit sector, the leadership pipeline for orchestras is insufficient in both supply and preparedness to symphony

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current environment. It must help orchestras develop their capacity to become increasingly relevant to their communities. New practices in engagement are being tested, and the League must help to capture the experience and lessons and ensure that local successes yield field-wide

Cover photo: Courtesy of New World Symphony. Photographer: Rui Dias-Aidos

lead and thrive in this environment. These conditions have triggered fresh thinking about the new work of orchestras, their practices and priorities, and the knowledge, skills, and talent they will need to meet these challenges. As orchestras now pivot and ask “how to change,” rather than “should we change,” the need for the League’s leadership and partnership is greater than ever. How, then, must the League of American Orchestras focus its work in the years ahead? Looking from 30,000 feet at the evolution taking place, we observe that orchestras are adding to their transactional role—i.e., the production of high-quality concerts—a relational role. In their relational roles, orchestras continue to strive for excellence in performance, but now bring equal attention to the nature of the orchestral experience itself: the interplay with different audiences; synergistic and authentic engagement with communities; expanding roles of musicians, composers, and conductors as ambassadors, advocates, and educators; and increasing activity in lifelong learning and civic participation. The League then needs to support orchestras in realizing more fully their role in this period of broad social, demographic, and technological change. It must embrace its role both in supporting orchestras and in promoting public understanding of their role in civic and community life. It must lead its members in collectively advancing, articulating, and advocating for the essential experience that only orchestras can provide. To capture the dynamic role of orchestras in this environment, the League has developed a refreshed mission: To advance the experience of orchestral music, support the people and organizations that create it, and champion the contributions they make to the health and vibrancy of communities. What must the League of American Orchestras do now to realize this mission? The League must fuel the work already underway in orchestras to adapt to the americanorchestras.org

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For complete information about the League’s new Strategic Plan, visit http:// americanorchestras.org/strategy.

impact. And as orchestras take on increasingly central civic roles, the League must tell this new story to policymakers and other key stakeholders so that public perception matches the progress orchestras are making in their communities. To embrace the scope of the talentdevelopment challenge, the League will have to scale up this work, bringing new partners to the table and promoting best practices among our member orchestras. Diversity, and in particular the place of race and ethnicity, is an urgent national issue, and the League must seize its role to focus attention and help orchestras find pathways, individually and collectively, to take action. Diversity is just one of a number of difficult conversations for orchestras; the

League must create the space for candid dialogue with many stakeholders around the table about the tough issues ahead. Now is the time for orchestras to do the essential work of building healthier cultures and stable finances, not when the next economic downturn occurs, and the League must help with the necessary tools and practices. And even more fundamental, governance practice will have to improve so that orchestras can advance institutionally; the League’s Noteboom Governance Center will have to rise to this challenge. What is required of the League to do this work? Nothing short of organizational reinvention. Just like its members, the League must confront the external changes impacting its work. Digital technology has transformed the ways people associate, access information, generate knowledge, and learn. The demand for instant, easily accessible, and customizable information grows exponentially. And no association in this exploding information age can continue to claim an exclusive on the relevant information. As Independent Sector writes in its “Nine Key Trends Affecting the Charitable Sector,” Technology innovation will continue to require organizations to adopt a stance of continuous learning and experimentation, as new tools change the way that individual teams and society itself can organize… As our communication tools evolve into ever more powerful forms, it will be even harder to win a person’s attention but easier to sustain relationships in spite of distance and infrequent in-person contact. As the experience of online engagement becomes increasingly close to that of face-to-face meeting…learning will be fast, as-needed, and frequently in groups. Gathering in person will increasingly occur only when in-person connection is critically important. And, the role of an association will increasingly shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to something more customized, providing a lightweight structure for fostering a variety of peer-to-peer connections and enabling participatory leadership.

To embrace its role as a primary source

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American life. What follows is a fuller description of the strategies we believe will help the League and our members realize the many opportunities ahead.

Executive Summary

To capture the dynamic role of orchestras in this environment, the League has developed a refreshed mission and vision:

Mission

To advance the experience of orchestral music, support the people and organizations that create it, and champion the contributions they make to the health and vibrancy of communities.

Vision

The orchestral experience is shared by all and supported by artistically vibrant, robust, and civically engaged organizations; and the League is an indispensable leader, resource, and voice for the orchestra community and its value to the public.

• Gathering and disseminating

stories and practices that reflect the breadth, scope, and impact of orchestral experiences in America, including more numerous and less-publicized stories communicating the impact of youth, small-budget, and adventurous emerging orchestras • Supporting the creation of orchestral music and performance at the highest level of inspiration and quality, assisting orchestras in connecting with their communities, and convening stakeholders to explore the current landscape of civic and artistic challenges • Representing the orchestra field in public policy, government relations, media relations, and national and global cultural and civic conversations, implementing strategies that no single orchestra can achieve on its own Priority: Develop the Field

Strategy

Amarillo Symphony Photo: Ralph Duke Photography

To support and lead the work of orchestras in this exciting time, the League will focus on five strategic priorities in the next five years. Priority: Advance the Orchestral Experience

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Photo: Antoine Saito

of accessible knowledge and information in this new age, the League will have to invest heavily in its technology and knowledge-management capacity. To fulfill the opportunities to help members connect in the groups they create and to access the information members need, the League needs up-to-date digital platforms for peer communication and digital learning. And it will require the human resources to develop and implement this work. In short, the League must prioritize its commitment to 21st-century technology as a core programmatic commitment. The many changes impacting associations require the League to test and hone its value proposition with members continually. To meet this need, the League must devote more human and technology resources to serve its members, understanding and responding to needs and forecasting opportunities. New positions for a chief technology officer and a fully dedicated member engagement director are called for in the plan. This repositioning of the League will require investment in staff development to ensure alignment, learning of new competencies, and professional development, modeling best practice in human resources management. The League too must plan for its longterm future and seek protection from uncertainties ahead. Now is the time to build on its strong balance sheet and stable operating funds and grow its reserves, risk capital, and annual funds. And it must address the risks of rapidly accelerating occupancy costs in its current Manhattan headquarters. We are exploring the option of purchasing space in New York City to mitigate escalating rent expenses, sustain our management team, and build out necessary distance learning and conferencing capabilities. These and structural improvements in the League’s capitalization are essential to long-term delivery on mission. While the challenges ahead can seem daunting, the collective power of orchestras working together is great. The League is uniquely positioned to help support, focus, and advocate for the new work that is bringing the experience of orchestral music increasingly into the stream of

Increase orchestras’ capacity to be relevant and responsive to the civic and artistic needs of their diverse communities by: • Fostering the development and adoption of new community engagement practices • Identifying new pathways for orchestras to be more diverse and to serve audiences that are more reflective and inclusive of their communities

Help orchestras develop inspiring and effective leadership, healthy cultures, and robust and sustainable business models by: • Expanding and improving digital learning experiences that reach more members • Promoting and communicating the elements and practices of good governance in the orchestra community • Building partnerships with national associations devoted to identifying African-American and Hispanic talent • Collecting and sharing best practice on organizational culture, drawing from the broader literature and expertise available in outside fields • Building on the League’s longstanding role in supporting artistic excellence by helping identify emerging symphony

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League of American Orchestras Conference Photo: Greg Helgeson

Priority: Better Serve Members

Become a stewardship-focused and knowledge-driven organization by: • Improving and integrating the League’s relationship-management infrastructure • Helping members connect according to affinity, topic, and geography for programs and communications, while maintaining activities focused on budget size where appropriate and relevant • Fully dedicating a staff person to member stewardship and engagement

League of American Orchestras Conference Photo: Jeff Roffman

Priority: Strengthen the League’s Business Model

Build the capital structure and revenue base to support the League’s mission delivery by: • Developing and implementing earned income generating strategies, based on analysis of trends and testing of new opportunities such as a broadbased individual membership program • Developing a National Advisory americanorchestras.org

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Council with the goals of providing visibility and anchoring fundraising in target markets • Strengthening the League’s approach to fundraising and sales in target markets through strategic presence, timing, activities, and content that cultivate a national donor base • Growing operating reserves and increasing the risk capital fund Priority: Grow the League’s Capacity

How We Did It The League’s new strategic plan is the result of a process undertaken by a Strategic Planning Task Force of the League’s Board of Directors chaired by Director Steve Parrish, along with Vice Chairs Jim Hasler, Anne Parsons, Henry Peyrebrune, and League Board Chair Patricia Richards. Other members of the Task Force included Steve Alter, Alberta Arthurs,

Courtesy of San Francisco Symphony.

conducting and compositional talent, developing ways to help orchestras meet the opportunities for artistic growth and advancement in the current environment

Develop staff structures, expertise, organizational culture, and technology to ensure excellence in management and operations by: • Developing and implementing an Information Services and Technology Plan that includes necessary personnel, effective maintenance, periodic evaluation, and upgrades to essential systems • Forging strategic partnerships with national arts databases to access the most robust data and to facilitate efficient collection and analysis • Identifying and understanding gaps in human resource needs, and securing access to professional human resource support • Investing in personnel for departments that require additional capacity to execute the strategic plan, including the creation of a Chief Technology / Information Officer position • Revamping the League’s online platforms to design systems and resources that connect League members and external stakeholders with the knowledge, information, products, and services they need

Brent Assink, Malcolm Brown, Marian Godfrey, Hugh Long, Alan McIntyre, Lowell Noteboom, Robert Peiser, Barry Sanders, Cynthia Sargent, Helen Shaffer, and Wendy Young. The process, facilitated by AEA Consulting, involved research, including a survey of all the League’s members (summarized in the full plan); consultation with dozens of members of the League community, including interviews with representative stakeholders such as musicians, funders, and external partners steeped in the rapid artistic, financial, and cultural changes taking place in the world around us (listed in the full plan); a series of working-group meetings in which key issues and strategic priorities were discussed and agreed upon; and work with League staff on detailing the financial and organizational implications of the Plan. Essential support for the planning process was provided by Connie Steensma and Rick Prins, Steve Parrish, Pat Richards, David Roth, Alan McIntyre, and Jesse Rosen, whose generosity and commitment to the League’s success are deeply appreciated.

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2016 CONFERENCE

PREVIEW

The Richness of Difference At the League’s 2016 Conference, delegates, speakers, and leading experts will examine orchestras’ evolving relationship to our increasingly diverse communities through multiple lenses: artistic, civic, audience-building, fundraising, mission, and more. by Ken Cole

he League of American Orchestras National Conference is the premier event for orchestra professionals, trustees, and volunteers across the U.S. A forum for emerging practices and innovation, the Conference offers opportunities to learn about emerging ideas, solve problems, acquire new skills, and build and strengthen networks. More than 1,000 people attend each year: staff, musicians, board members, business partners, volunteers, and top thought leaders from the orchestra field and beyond. As major demographic changes shape our country’s cultures and communities, this year’s Conference explores “The Richness of Difference.” Hosted by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which is deeply committed to increased diversity and inclusion, this year’s Conference will consider the rich potential of engaging those who are different from us, how doing so can strengthen orchestras on many fronts, and why this work should be prioritized. We’ll also examine past diversity initiatives, several that are underway, and others from fields that parallel our own. The Conference takes place June 9-11 in Baltimore. For complete information and to register, visit americanorchestras.org/ conference2016. Leaders from orchestras of all sizes will come away from the Conference with

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strategies and tactics that will allow them to reflect and respond to their communities, increase their value to the public, connect with new audiences, and invigorate their artistry.

Orchestras of all sizes will emerge from the Conference with strategies to help them respond to their communities, increase their public value, connect with new audiences, and invigorate their artistry.

Martha Graham choreography performed by the young dancers of Baltimore School for the Arts, plus contemporary composer Thomas Adès’s Polaris and Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe Suite 2. The concert will open with the world premiere of James Lee III’s Thurgood Rhapsody, one of ten short celebratory works commissioned to mark the BSO’s centennial. The Conference begins with music, too: at our opening session at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Thursday, June 9, the Baltimore Youth Symphony Orchestra will join forces with members of the Baltimore Symphony’s renowned OrchKids to launch the Conference with an ebullient performance demonstrating music’s power to bridge divides and build community. Events during our time in Baltimore include pre-Conference seminars, plenary sessions, elective sessions, constituency

Let Baltimore Charm You

Set at Baltimore’s scenic Inner Harbor, our Conference hotel, the Marriott Waterfront, offers an unsurpassed location from which to explore Charm City. Superbly situated in the Harbor East district, the hotel provides easy access to the city’s best dining and nightlife, including attractions like the Baltimore Aquarium, Camden Yards, Fort McHenry, and the American Visionary Art Museum. From here, it’s easy to visit vibrant waterside eateries for feasting on Maryland’s blue crabs and Chesapeake Bay oysters. Live orchestral music will be front and center at this year’s Conference. On Friday evening, June 10, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will offer a program led by Music Director Marin Alsop and featuring Appalachian Spring with its original

Among the many sessions devoted to diversity and inclusion at the Conference, marketing expert Donna Walker-Kuhne will lead Engaging Diverse Audiences —Tactics, Challenges, Success, about forging relationships with underrepresented communities.

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Richard Anderson

At the Conference, there will be many offerings on the diversity front that will provide strategies and practical tips for involving talented people from underrepresented communities in multiple facets of your orchestra.

Led by Music Director Marin Alsop, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs on Friday, June 10 during the League of American Orchestras’ Conference in Baltimore. Repertoire includes work by Copland, Adès, Ravel, and a world premiere by James Lee III.

istrators, and board members on how to facilitate productive negotiations and effective labor/management relationships during the entire contract cycle. Participants will gain skills in all stages of the collective bargaining relationship: preparation for negotiations, methods at the bargaining table, and post-negotiation relationship building. Getting Your Board on Board with Donor Development and Fundraising, for trustees, CEOs, and development officers, focuses on engaging all board members in donor development and fundraising as ambassadors, advocates, and/or askers. Board development expert Kay Sprinkel Grace

group meetings, networking events, an expo featuring the companies and businesses that are vital to orchestras, and the aforementioned concerts. In-Depth Learning Opportunities

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Insights, Perspectives, Strategies

Many Conference sessions will focus on promising practices that orchestras can pursue to thrive in a rapidly changing world. We’ll hear from award-winning musicians who are breaking new ground with high-impact community service programs, and from composers working with orchestras through the League and New Music USA Music Alive program to engage audiences though the creation

At the League’s annual Conference, delegates learn not only from nationally recognized experts, but from peers and colleagues who share their strategies and successes.

Jeff Roffman Photography

The Conference will be preceded by PreConference Seminars that delve deeply into critical issues under the guidance of expert faculty. We’ll offer five this year: Developing Donors for the Ages, led by Karen Alexander, vice president of development at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, explores donor-centric strategies and tactics to engage donors and prospects in order to maximize contributed revenue, with an eye toward optimizing the different giving behaviors and engagement preferences that distinguish Millennials, Gen-Xers, Baby Boomers, and older generations. Digital Strategy and Planning for Impact will address audience expectations and behaviors in regards to digital engagement. We’ll break down the components of digital strategy into basic building blocks and develop manageable strategies that can be delivered with minimal cost and high return by orchestras of every shape and size. Foundations of Collective Bargaining, offered in partnership with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, is a three-day seminar for musicians, admin-

will share a tested, trusted approach and provide tools for implementation back home. Our Seminar for New Executive Directors covers the myriad relationships—with staff, trustees, volunteers, musicians, conductors, and more—and the management and leadership functions for which executive directors are responsible. We’ll investigate how orchestras are structured and how they function, and we’ll explore practices that contribute to organizational success.

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Howard Korn

Members of the Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids program (in photo) will perform with the Baltimore Youth Symphony Orchestra at the opening session of the Conference on June 9. A Pre-Conference convening the previous day will focus on diversity in education and community engagement, to take place at an OrchKids site.

and performance of dynamic new works. Brilliant young conductors will work with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a masterclass led by Music Director Marin Alsop on June 11. On the audience-building front, market research expert Bob Harlow will address how orchestras of all sizes can use research to grow new audiences and strengthen bonds with existing audiences. And marketing expert Donna Walker-Kuhne will lead a session on engaging, marketing to, and sustaining relationships with underrepresented communities. Fundraising electives include a session on building dynamic individual-giving programs that engage donors in more creative ways, respond to changing donor

On the audience-building front, market research expert Bob Harlow will address how orchestras of all sizes can use research to grow new audiences and strengthen bonds with existing audiences. behaviors and trends, and utilize the most effective fundraising techniques to maximize results, as well as a panel with institutional funders about how to resource diversity work. Digital technology’s current and potential impact on our field will be addressed in two elective sessions. Electronic

Richard Anderson

A musician of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras with his instrument. The BSOY will perform with members of OrchKids at the opening session of the League Conference on June 9.

Media Strategy and Implementation in an Age of Continuous Change will explore critical strategic questions for orchestras of all sizes, unpack the Integrated Media Agreement, and provide insights into current and evolving implementation models. And in The Future of American Orchestras, noted futurist Amy Webb will share a useful digital toolkit for harnessing technology to engage larger audiences, solve endemic budget and cash-flow problems, and nurture the next generation of artists and audiences. Interested in business insights that can help you improve your orchestra’s financial stability? We’ll be unveiling Orchestra Facts, a new annual report from the League on five- and ten-year trends in orchestra income, expenditure, and audiences, with facts and figures you can use for decision making as well as in your media, advocacy, and fundraising campaigns. And, after all the talk about reimagining subscription models, we’ll consider the business-model implications in Capitalizing a Reimagined Subscription Model, with Susan Nelson of TDC. Building a Healthy Organizational Culture to Attract and Retain Talent will help you find and keep good people on your staff, board, and volunteer council. And Inclusive Leadership will help you unlock the potential of diverse teams to catalyze success. There will be many offerings on the diversity front: Developing Your Diversity Plan, Engaging Diverse Audiences, and Diversifying Your Board of Directors will provide strategies and practical tips for involving talented people from underrepresented communities in multiple facets of your organization. Those interested in education and community engagement work are encouraged to visit a BSO OrchKids site on Wednesday afternoon, June 8, during the Education and Community Engagement Pre-Conference convening. Participants will meet with students, teachers, parents, teaching artists, community partners, and other stakeholders to consider critical questions relating to how best to design and sustain music education programs for today’s youth. We’re particularly symphony

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Adriane White

Fundraising electives include a session on building dynamic individual-giving programs that engage donors in more creative ways, respond to changing donor behaviors and trends, and utilize the most effective fundraising techniques.

On Saturday, June 11, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop will give a masterclass for emerging conductors.

excited that Ayanna Hudson, the National Endowment for the Arts’ director of arts education, will join us for this event.

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This is all just the tip of the iceberg. I haven’t mentioned the Tune Up Party; the Next: Young Professionals Event; and all the networking and social encounters that make Conference both productive and fun. Nor have I shared that Earl Lewis, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Marin Alsop,

Phoenix Symphony Principal Clarinetist Alex Laing, and ArtPlace Executive Director Jamie Bennett will speak at our opening session, or the names of the brilliant guests slated for our closing session. There’s not enough space here to describe all of the constituency group meetings that provide an opportunity to delve deeply into topics of mutual interest with your peers from across the country. But you can find details on all this and more on our Conference website at www. americanorchestras/conference2016. Take a look, register, and I’ll see you in Baltimore! KEN COLE is the vice president for Learning and Leadership Development at the League of American Orchestras.

The League of American Orchestras’ 2016 Conference takes place June 9-11 in Baltimore and is hosted by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. For complete information and to register, visit americanorchestras.org/conference2016.

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BOARD ROOM

Effective Orchestra Governance: A Guide for Boards What are the essential responsibilities of orchestra boards and board members, and how do boards create a culture that stimulates disciplined engagement in governance? The League’s forthcoming handbook for board members, Effective Orchestra Governance: A Guide for Boards, will offer the latest thinking.

his summer, the League and the Noteboom Governance Center will publish Effective Orchestra Governance: A Guide for Boards, which focuses on understanding and accomplishing the work of the board. As a resource and educational tool, the handbook helps equip board members with the knowledge and skills to be effective, and indicates ways to create a culture of accountability, transparency, and sound decision-making. Effective Orchestra Governance: A Guide for Boards was written by Ellen Hirzy, and the League is grateful to Lowell Noteboom and David Nygren for their expertise in developing and refining the content of the guide. Look for further announcements from the League about Effective Orchestra Governance: A Guide for Boards in the coming months. Here’s an excerpt from first chapter, which introduces the dynamic and changing context for orchestras and their boards.

The Context for Orchestra Governance Governing boards of nonprofit organizations in this country serve a uniquely American function: they ensure citizen participation at policy and leadership levels in groups that provide a service to a diverse public. A nonprofit organization—whether it is an orchestra, a social service agency, or a museum—must have a clearly defined mission, sustainable financial resources, strong staff leadership, and positive engagement with its community. The organization must also be accountable for the results of its efforts, using metrics that show how well it is accomplishing its mission and goals. Today’s orchestras inhabit a changing world. With a severe recession not yet a distant memory, a new movement is gaining momentum that recognizes the opportunities in shifting public interests, developing technologies, and changing demographics. Challenging their traditional boundaries, orchestras are demon-

strating the ways they engage with diverse communities and address public needs, within and beyond the concert hall. More than ever, they need strong governance from boards that have the creativity and will to move outside their comfort zones, envision what is possible, and match the robust pursuit of mission with financial health. To understand the context for orchestras and where they fit in, boards should consider the following three questions. Why Do Orchestras Matter?

People who are deeply involved in orchestras have an instinctive feeling for why orchestras matter. Orchestras represent artistic excellence and provide lifelong musical experiences and participation in the creative process. They contribute to community health by fueling local economies, attracting business development, educating young people, and—through the power of music—uniting individuals and cultures. They expand access to music for people of all ages who might not have a natural comfort with cultural institutions. And they are in demand as part of the solution to the decline in arts education in schools. The intrinsic value of orchestras and the music they play was for many generations self-evident. Yet audiences for nonprofit performing arts and cultural institutions, including orchestras, have diminished over the past 30 years, even though interest in creating and sharing art is on the rise. In

Effective Orchestra Governance: A Guide for Boards is a publication of the League of American Orchestras’ Noteboom Governance Center, which offers a comprehensive range of support, strategies, and programs designed to strengthen governance practice in orchestras. The 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. The Center is supported by leadership gifts from Richard and Kay Fredericks Cisek, The Clinton Family Fund, Marcia and John Goldman, and the Sargent Family Foundation. Additional support is provided by generous grants from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Hearst Foundation, Inc., 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. For more information, go to http://americanorchestras.org/Noteboom.

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recent years the competition for support and an increasing focus on aligning philanthropy with civic priorities have required orchestras to justify themselves in additional ways. While the intrinsic value remains central to orchestras, our case-making must address how orchestras’ artistic endeavors are deployed in service to community priorities. For an orchestra, public value is not solely described or measured in terms of audience size, artistic excellence, or scope of repertoire, but also includes consideration of the difference it makes in people’s lives and whether or not that difference lasts. Every board must determine its orchestra’s value in the context of its environment. • Orchestras make a difference in these and other ways: • They present time-honored masterworks and new music. New work reflects our time and can be a catalyst for important conversations. • Through programs tied to specific cultures, they connect diverse groups to an art form that resonates with people of all backgrounds. • Their collaborations with community-service, educational, and artistic organizations create relationships with youth, seniors, and underserved populations. • Musicians, staff, and volunteers contribute creative capital to their communities. • Orchestras are a proven magnet for business, investment, and tourism. • They infuse love for music in children. Studies show that creating, performing, and responding to music improves students’ success. • They foster discipline, teamwork, joy, and individual expression in amateur musicians from preschoolers to seniors. What Issues and Trends Affect Orchestras?

Today’s realities require orchestras to rethink their values, priorities, and practices and to find contemporary solutions related to audience, community engagement, americanorchestras.org

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finance and fundraising, and governance and leadership. Audience • Declining audiences for many performing arts and cultural institutions • Generational shifts in leisure-time preferences that affect concert attendance • A desire for concert experiences that are more participatory • Changing consumption and ticketbuying preferences that make traditional subscription models less viable • Decline of music education in grades K–12, resulting in a generation who lack exposure to music Community Engagement • A lingering public perception of orchestras as exclusive rather than inclusive • Slow adoption of community engagement as a vital organizational value • A lack of diversity and inclusion among boards, musicians, staff, and audiences Finance and Fundraising • Steady fixed costs in an era of changing audience patterns • A need for sustainable revenue sources to secure long-term stability • Generational changes in giving • Increased focus on racial equity in arts philanthropy • The need to develop business models that support financial sustainability Governance and Leadership • A need for more adaptive, collaborative leadership skills in board members • Motivating and educating board members • Supporting the work of board committees • Supporting and developing professional staff • A changing labor relations climate What Kind of Governance Do Orchestras Need?

As orchestras explore their external context, they also need to take an internal look at their values, practices, and struc-

tures. Orchestras need boards that support these commitments: Rigorous board practices. Boards have high expectations for their own performance, including motivation to serve, selfassessment, strategic thinking, teamwork, and full participation in giving. Diversity is a priority in board recruitment: it brings new perspectives to the boardroom and signals the orchestra’s commitment to engaging a diverse constituency. Community engagement. The board leads the orchestra in pursuing community engagement, believing that connections with audiences and participants advance the orchestra’s mission and enrich community life. Board members understand that engagement is an organizational commitment to build sustainable relationships with diverse audiences. Financial accountability. The board sees long-term financial health as a central imperative and commits to capacity building and planning that strengthen the orchestra. Board members look beyond the operating budget to focus on building a strong balance sheet and robust capital structure. Diversity. The board’s dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion is reflected in its recruitment of new members. The board believes that bringing multiple perspectives to the boardroom is an investment in the orchestra’s viability as an artistic institution and a community citizen. Artistic health. The board carries on a conversation about music that encompasses the orchestra’s performance standards, artistic innovation, social context, the community’s composition and interests, the audience’s preferences, and the musicians’ perspectives. They are willing to invest resources in experimentation and to be comfortable with risk. Constructive staff and musician relationships. The board chair, music director, and executive director form a strong leadership team grounded in trust and dialogue. Boundaries among board, musicians, and staff are flexible, and musicians feel a part of orchestra planning and decision-making.

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Kevin Kennedy

Jeff Roffman/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

“I really enjoyed being surrounded by a like-minded set of people who were all living the same experience,” says Keanu Mitanga, an alumnus in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program.

FORWARDSTE

by Steven Brown

oon after Peter Landgren began his freshman year at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati’s Music Hall became practically his second home. As he got to know the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, he noticed exactly one African-American face among its musicians. Thirty-six years later, in 2011, Landgren’s alma mater brought him back as its dean, and he promptly returned to his old concertgoing haunt. “Looking at the orchestra, I saw one African-American musician,” Landgren recalls. “And it was the same person.” Although the Cincinnati Symphony employed musicians of color in the years between Landgren’s visits, and currently employs several Latino musicians, his anecdote illustrates a stark reality: despite the best intentions, U.S. orchestras are behind the times. With the nation’s crossover to a majority-minority population less than 30 years away, Latinos make up 3 percent of orchestras’ members, according to 2014 figures from the League of American Orchestras. African-Americans comprise 2 percent. The orchestra business has a lot of catching up to do, Landgren says, and the Cincinnati Symphony and the College-Conservatory are doing their part. This fall, five young musicians will enter the new CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Program, working toward gradu-

ate degrees from CCM as they gain playing experience with the Cincinnati Symphony. So the two-year CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Program will offer potential graduate students $26,210 a year in tuition and fee waivers; a university stipend of $10,000 a year; $9,000 a season in payment for playing in the orchestra; a onetime Graduate School Dean’s Excellence Award of $3,000; and an array of enrichment sessions in addition to their classes. The lead funding is a $900,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which also recently pledged $50,000 to help the Memphis Symphony Orchestra plan its own diversity fellowships. The Cincinnati initiative joins a burgeoning list of projects aimed at helping U.S. symphony

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Orchestras are working to broaden musician diversity with talent-development projects, fellowships, and mentoring programs for everyone from the youngest students to musicians starting their professional careers.

orchestras better mirror the society around them. From nurturing talented youngsters in Nashville to cultivating conductors and administrators in Chicago, orchestras are thinking both long-term and short. “In Cincinnati, we talk a lot about the pipeline,” Landgren says. “You can’t have a diverse group of high school seniors auditioning for college—or college seniors auditioning for graduate school—if they haven’t started, like everyone else in the creative arts, before they’re ten years old. If we sit here at the professional level waiting for communities like Detroit or Cincinnati or Baltimore or Los Angeles to suddenly start producing talented musicians who are going to get into those orchestras, but we have not fed that pipeline, we will americanorchestras.org

never change the face of the American symphony orchestra.” Developing Talent

The Nashville Symphony starts supplying the pipeline in September, when it welcomes the first set of fourth-graders into its new Accelerando program. Over the next few years, Accelerando will become a community of 24 gifted fourth- through twelfth-graders from underrepresented groups. Picked from the ranks of students whose talents have begun to stand out, they’ll study with Nashville Symphony members and teaching artists, play in ensembles, and attend camps and workshops—all for free. Accelerando’s goal: prepare the budding

Brian Surguine

EPS

The Detroit-based Sphinx Organization has been helping black and Latino musicians gain orchestral experience since 1996 with groups like its Sphinx Virtuosi.

At SphinxCon 2016, presented by the Sphinx Organization, Trey Devey, president of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Peter Landgren, dean of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, discuss diversity fellowships for musicians. The Cincinnati Symphony and CollegeConservatory of Music recently launched the CSO/ CCM Diversity Fellowship Program.

Costa Rica native Giancarlo Guerrero, is musicians to win college auditions and proof that once-neglected groups indeed go on to become professionals. “We want have a place in classical music. to find the very best students and enable Accelerando’s leaders patterned it after them to do their best,” says Walter Bitner, the Atlanta Symphony Orthe Nashville Symphony’s chestra’s decades-old Talent director of education and “Of course Development Program. The community engagement. “I envision that a generation we need to perform Atlanta program not only music at the gives its 25 participants lesfrom now, students who highest level. That sons, playing experience, and have gone through the Acwill always be core mentoring, but supplies free celerando program will to what we do. But tickets to Atlanta Symphony have graduated from major the relationship concerts and helps pay for conservatories and will be we have with summer music camps and playing in major orchestras our community college audition trips. Each around the United States.” enables everything semester, the students play A $900,000, six-year else to happen,” juries to demonstrate their grant from the Andrew says Cincinnati progress; the program’s leadW. Mellon Foundation is Symphony ers meet with the families to launching the program, but President Trey map out what the youngsters Accelerando can draw on Devey. need to do next. And the less-tangible assets, too, Bitaspiring musicians motivate ner says. The Nashville Symone another. phony’s hometown, which “Once they become part of the program, bills itself as Music City USA—embracall of a sudden they have a peer group of ing the Grammy-winning orchestra and students who are interested in the same the Grand Ole Opry, pop and country things they are,” Talent Development Prostars, recording studios, and publishing gram Manager Adrienne Thompson says. companies—embodies music’s array of “They’re all in different places in their mucareer options. The fact that the Nashville sical journey. So the newer students get a Symphony has a Hispanic music director,

Chris Ocken

Through the Dallas Symphony’s Young Strings program, students at St. Philips School and Community Center take weekly lessons. In a group class are, left to right, Jala McDade, 10; Alexandria Belcher, 11; Megan Manning, 10; and Alayna Dixon-Dennis, 9. Their teacher, right, is Amela Koci.

Sylvia Elzafon

Chicago Sinfonietta Project Inclusion Orchestral Fellows (left to right) Renaudo Robinson, Sandra Bailey, Sarah Martin, Elizabeth Diaz, and Victor Sotelo before a Sinfonietta concert at Orchestra Hall in Chicago

chance to see others who are interested. Those who are closest to [college] audition time get a bird’s-eye view of what goes into that preparation. What we end up with is a group of students and families who are all striving to reach the same goal.” Founded in the 1990s to help AfricanAmerican and Latino children study music for enjoyment and enrichment, the Atlanta Symphony’s program grew from ten students a year to 25. And as graduates began landing in top music schools, the program raised its sights: beginning about 2008, students who wanted to stay in the program beyond tenth grade had to promise to shoot for becoming college music majors. The 77 students who have stayed through high school have all gone on to college, landing at institutions including the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, Rice University, and UCLA. “I really enjoyed being surrounded by a like-minded set of people who were all living the same experience, namely that of being a black classical musician,” says violinist Keanu Mitanga, who just finished his sophomore year in Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. A 2014

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graduate of Atlanta International School, he took part in the Atlanta Symphony’s Talent Development Program from grades four through twelve. Studying with orchestra members and seeing them perform onstage—doing what he hoped to do— was a powerful motivator, he adds. “Most other students play in youth orchestras, but few receive the kind of meaningful time with their mentors that the

League Resources

iversity is a key component of the League of American Orchestras’ activities. As the League’s new strategic plan states, “Diversity, and in particular the place of race and ethnicity, is an urgent national issue, and the League must seize its role to focus attention and help orchestras find pathways, individually and collectively, to take action.” The focus of this year’s League Conference, June 9-11 at the Baltimore Marriot Waterfront, is “The Richness of Difference,” and attendees will examine the diverse nature of our communities through multiple lenses: artistic, civic, audience-building, fundraising, mission, and more. Among sessions at the Conference is “Opening the Door to Diversity: Lessons Learned from 30 Years of Orchestra Fellowship Programs”; it will draw on the latest League research to analyze past and current orchestra fellowship programs and the opportunities they offer to young musicians of color. Visit americanorchestras.org/conference2016 for more information and to register.

“You almost become a secondary parent to the students,” says Dallas Symphony Orchestra bass player Dwight Shambley, who co-founded the orchestra’s Young Strings program in 1992.

For resources on diversifying your orchestra and organization, go to the League’s online Diversity & Inclusion Resource Center at americanorchestras.org/learningleadership-development. Find more on the League’s new strategic plan at americanorchestras.org/strategy.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Talent Development Program provides. I also don’t know of any other program that holds students to their own commitments,” Mitanga says. “The annual jury performance evaluations to track performance and the annual planning sessions with program staff were invaluable to figuring out my long-term plan and helping me stick to it.”

americanorchestras.org

Music—and Beyond

The teachers’ roles in these programs reach far beyond musical instruction, says Dwight Shambley, who co-founded the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Young Strings in 1992. Unlike the Atlanta and Nashville programs, Young Strings starts with beginners, reaching out to second-graders in five elementary schools with largely minoritystudent populations. Budding musicians citywide can apply to a second division, aimed at later grades. Since Young Strings’ founding, about 2,000 students have taken part. Shambley teaches bass players. “Most of the students are shy at first,” says Shambley, who has played bass in the Dallas Symphony since 1972. “They’re very introverted. They almost strike me as afraid and distant. I try to get a little knowledge about who they are and what makes them tick. They gradually open up. The time I spend with them in lessons often ends up being more about mentoring them and finding out what’s going on in their lives, helping them figure out what to do with this issue or that issue. It becomes much

more than, ‘What finger goes here?’ or ‘How much bow speed do you use there?’ You almost become a secondary parent to them.” Especially in the elementary-school program, called Overture, some youngsters leave as other interests attract them, says Jamie Allen, the Dallas Symphony’s director of education. Even the students in the advanced program, Finale, which focuses on gifted students, don’t have to commit to becoming college music majors. But the program pushes them to apply for music scholarships and to play in their college orchestras. Some, Allen says, become the first in their families with a university education. “Rather than a basketball or a football, they have a violin in their hands, and that helps them get into college,” Allen says. Ninety-eight percent of students in the Finale program have gone on to college, he says, compared to 52 percent of graduates from the Dallas Independent School District. Those who have gone into musical careers include members of regional orchestras, freelancers, and music teachers. Carnegie Hall and Purchase College begin working toward orchestras’ diversity this summer through NYO2, an offshoot of Carnegie’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. Focusing on underrepresented groups, NYO2 enables 14- through 17-year-olds to work with Philadelphia Orchestra members and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, culminating in a side-by-side concert July 2.

Even if the graduates of these programs pursue other careers, Dallas’s Shambley points out, they still can nourish the music world. “I don’t expect most of them to become professional musicians. That’s just not a reasonable expectation,” Shambley says. “But I do expect that they will become familiar with the genre, the music. Quite often, they really love this music, and even if they become doctors or lawyers or whatever, they are willing to support it.” Getting Started

Nashville Symphony

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Students who do earn music degrees need help breaking into an extremely challenging profession. The Detroit-based Sphinx The Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra’s Nouveau Chamber Players, comprising Organization and its Sphinx Virtuosi African-American middle- and high-school string students, perform onstage with the chamber ensemble have helped black and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at a Classical Roots concert. Latino musicians gain orchestral experience since 1996. And for the Chicago Sinstruments. What school doesn’t necessarily fonietta, inclusiveness—in musicians and provide is how to survive as a working murepertoire—has been its mission ever since sician and to be your own entrepreneur.” African-American conductor Paul Freeman Now bassoonist Bailey is putting the co-founded it in 1987. lessons into action. “Many of the Chicago The Sinfonietta’s new principal basSinfonietta musicians play different genres, soonist is Sandra Bailey, who won the are actors and even published authors, and position after two years as a fellow in the it was nice to get access to their outlook on group’s Project Inclusion, which Sinfonietta the profession,” she says. “Most importantlaunched in 2008. The project’s main inily, the fellowship gave me tiative, its Orchestral Felthe courage to know I can lowship, brings in four to six become an orchestral musimusicians for a season or two “The real efficacy cian and introduced me to a of performing and learning. of diversity and In September 2016, the Nashville Symphony professional community who Bailey juggled her Sinfonietinclusion is that will launch its Accelerando program, for fourthta work with graduate studies we are far stronger supported my goals.” through twelfth-graders from underrepresented groups. Walter Bitner, the orchestra’s director The world of the full-time at Northwestern University. when everyone is of education and community engagement orchestra beckons in other “The Project Inclusion expeencouraged and (at right in photo), states, “A generation from cities. The Pittsburgh Symrience brought me something allowed to make now, students who have gone through the school couldn’t give, and their contributions,” phony’s Orchestra Training Accelerando program will be playing with Program for African Amerithat’s real playing experience orchestras around the United States.” says Chicago can Musicians, launched in with professional musicians,” Sinfonietta 2007, hosts one fellow for Bailey says. Executive Director The Cincinnati Symphony/Collegetwo years of coaching, occaFellows receive feedback Jim Hirsch. Conservatory Diversity Fellowship Prosional performances with the and mentoring from the gram will expand the definition of incluorchestra, and preparation group’s core musicians. And siveness by looking beyond ethnicity: it’s for orchestral auditions. The San Antonio they learn about the nitty-gritty of profesalso open, for instance, to students who Symphony has hired two of the program’s sional life: the Sinfonietta is not a fulltime were the first in their families to attend participants. In the Houston Symphony’s group, so its players depend on additional college, regardless of their race. The proCommunity-Embedded Musicians prowork to help them make a living. The vetgram attracted 70 applications—marking a gram, which just completed its first season, erans point the way, says Dave Belden, four young professionals play occasionally Project Inclusion’s manager and a Sinfosea change in the diversity of CCM’s gradwith the orchestra in the midst of appearnietta violinist. “They might talk about uate applicants, CCM Dean Peter Landances in schools, nursing homes, and comhow you get gigs, how you network, how gren says. “College is expensive. You can munity centers. The orchestra hopes to draw you do your taxes. That’s a unique thing to see, purely from an economic standpoint, in minority musicians as the program degigging musicians—dealing with all those why people would question whether they velops, says Houston Symphony Executive [federal tax form] 1099s,” Belden says. “All can even enter an undergraduate school, Director and CEO Mark Hanson. of these fellows know how to play their inmuch less go on to six or eight years of col-

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lege education. But if we can keep more people in the pre-professional pipeline of musicians…” The orchestral field consists of more than musicians, of course. The comprehensive diversity plan that led the Pittsburgh Symphony to start its training program also called for making its board and staff more inclusive, says Suzanne Perrino, senior vice president of education and strategic implementation, leading to greater diversity onstage and off. At Chicago Sinfonietta, a new branch of Project Inclusion similarly aims to help diversify the field. In the just-completed first season of the Sinfonietta’s Administrative Fellowships, two participants gained hands-on experience of marketing, fundraising, and other skills. “We believe that the most beautiful sounds are made when all voices are lifted together,” says Sinfonietta Executive Director Jim Hirsch. “The real efficacy of diversity and inclusion is that we are far stronger when everyone is encouraged and allowed to make their contributions.” What about the podium? The Houston Symphony—whose first Hispanic music director, Colombia native Andrés OrozcoEstrada, took over in 2014—last season hired another Colombian, Carlos Andrés Botero, as its first Musical Ambassador to one of the nation’s most diverse cities. Botero, trained as a violist and conductor, is also the orchestra’s assistant conductor, covering classical subscription programs and leading pre-concert talks. He has led the orchestra’s Lunada concert, an annual evening sponsored by the Mexican Institute of Greater Houston that recalls events held in small towns and pueblos in Mexico, at which community members come together to share music, poetry, and stories. The Chicago Sinfonietta’s Conducting Fellowship program, begun in 2013, invites four to six participants a season to conduct, observe, and take part in seminars about the intricacies of leading orchestras. For one assignment, Project Inclusion Manager Dave Belden says, the fellows had to sketch out the program for their imaginary first concert as the Sinfonietta’s music director. It was a reality check. “One of the fellows suggested that for the second half, he wanted to do an 80-minute opera,” Belden recalls. “We said, ‘Well, you need to scale that back.’ ” americanorchestras.org

Trey Devey, the Cincinnati Symphony’s president, says orchestras have been discussing shortfalls in diversity ever since he entered the field in the 1990s. But he sees a new urgency today. “Of course we need to perform music at the highest level,” Devey says. “That will always be core to what we do. But the relationship we have with our community enables everything else to happen. We bring beauty into the world at a

time where you see ugliness around the world in so many ways. We allow people to dream bigger and aspire for greater things. And that should involve as many people as possible.” STEVEN BROWN is a Houston writer specializing in classical music. He is the former classical music critic of the Orlando Sentinel, Charlotte Observer, and Houston Chronicle.

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MELINDA DOOLITTLE

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MIKE FARRIS

Todd Rosenberg

Cynthia Yeh, principal percussion of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, performs James McMillan’s percussion concerto, Veni Veni Emmanuel, December 2014.

by Heidi Waleson

INSTRUMENTAL

Change

s Karin Bliznik, 31, remembers it, all the flute players in her high school band in Brockton, Mass. were girls. Bliznik, however, anchored the mostly male trumpet section. She began playing that instrument in elementary school (it was her second choice, after percussion); today, she is principal trumpet of the St. Louis Symphony. And while female principal trumpet players are rare in major American orchestras, Bliznik’s appointment in 2013 was no novelty to St. Louis. Her predecessor in the chair, Susan Slaughter, held the post for nearly 40 years. That juxtaposition—the rows of female flutists and the occasional principal female trumpet player—illustrates a paradox in contemporary musical life. According to recent scholarly studies, old gender stereotypes still persist when elementary and middle-school children select instruments: girls choose flutes and harps and violins; boys pick trumpets and drums. The tradition of the occasional woman in a sea of brass players or bassists in the orchestra goes way back. In 1941, Helen Kotas was hired as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s principal French horn, making her the first woman hired as the principal of any section other than harp in a major American symphony orchestra. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra bassist Jane Little,

The male-tofemale ratio of musicians at U.S. orchestras is close to 50/50, but women are much more likely to be found playing violin or flute than trumpet or double bass. Why?

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Courtney Perry

Kristen Bruya, principal bass of the Minnesota Orchestra

Carol Jantsch, principal tuba of the Philadelphia Orchestra

americanorchestras.org

Jessica Griffin

Rosentha l Archive s, Chicago

Symphon y Orches tra

87, recently celebrated her 71st season with that orchestra. (Fun side note: Warren Little, her husband for 41 years, was the ASO’s principal flute, a section typically dominated by women.) Orin O’Brien has played double bass in the New York Philharmonic since 1966. Kotas, Little, and O’Brien are outliers who stand out for their rarity. Today, American orchestras are beginning to see cracks in this tradition of “masculine” and “feminine” instruments. There are appointments like Helen Kota s, pri Bliznik’s, or that of Carol Jantsch, Symphony Orc ncipal horn of the C hestra fr hicago om 1941 who won the tuba chair at the Philato 1947 delphia Orchestra in 2006, when she was 21 and still working on her bachelor of music whole, the picture is one of gradual positive at the University of Michigan. Cynthia Yeh change at orchestras. The passage of Title IX has been the principal percussionist of the in 1972, prohibiting discrimination on the Chicago Symphony since 2007, and Krisbasis of sex in any federally funded educaten Bruya was named principal double bass tion program or activity—and the advent of of the Minnesota Orchestra in 2015. And the screened (blind) audition in the 1970s— there are others. launched a vast shift in gender representaIt’s a separate issue from that of female tion in American orchestras. In 1978, wommusic directors, which has received the bulk en represented 38 percent of musicians in of recent press coverage; that’s a topic for a U.S. orchestras. By 2013, female musicians different article. The disparity exists despite had nearly reached numerical parity with the fact that for female instrumentalists as a male musicians in U.S. orchestras, represent-

Orin O’Brien, longtime double bassist in the New York Philharmonic

Chris Lee

ing 46 percent. The numbers come from the League of American Orchestras’ 1978 and 2013 Orchestra Statistical Reports, which represent data reported annually by League member orchestras. We’ve come a long way since the 1980s, when the trombonist Abbie Conant underwent a decade of humiliating tribulations at the Munich Philharmonic, where she was denied the seat she had won and the pay to which she was entitled, among other ill-treatments, solely because she was female. That scenario is unthinkable today. Still, gendered instruments prevail. In February 2016, a quick examination of current musician rosters Leelanee Sterrett, at fifteen orchestras of difhorn player in the New ferent sizes from around the York Philharmonic U.S. revealed that on average 14.8 percent of double bassists were female, and that the percussion section came in at 10.9 percent. In the brass section, another traditionally male section of the orchestra, 5.45 percent of trumpet players were female, and the figure was 10.6 percent for trombonists. French horn fared higher at 31.9 percent female. A November 2014 survey of 1,833 orchestral The study found little change over 30 years: musicians by Suby Raman, a Michigangirls still picked flute, violin, and clarinet; based composer, conductor, sound engineer, boys still chose drums, trumpet, and tromprogrammer, and researcher, revealed similar bone. In 2014, a study of middle-school findings. band students by Elizabeth R. Wrape et al. Why the discrepancy? Peer pressure and in the journal Applications for Research in a lack of role models have been suggested as Music Education concluded that “instrument one factor. A 1981 Rutgers University study gender stereotypes remain entrenched and by Philip Griswold and Denise Chroback pose a persisting problem.” asked college students to rate the names of The International Women’s Brass Conferseventeen musical instruments on a scale ence was founded in 1991 by Susan Slaughfrom the most feminine to the most master, former longtime principal trumpet of the culine. The harp, flute, and piccolo had St. Louis Symphony. Trombonist Maureen high feminine ratings; the trumpet, string Horgan, its current president, points out that bass, and tuba had high masculine ratings. women playing less traditionally female inA 2009 study by Hal Abeles, a professor of struments share similar challenges to wommusic education at Columbia University, en entering any nontraditional field such as looked at statistics in 1978, 1993, and 2007.

science, technology, engineering, and math. These include unconscious attitudes and stereotypes, and the need for a critical mass of women in an environment to counter those stereotypes. And at professional orchestras, the slow pace of change is also a product of the tight job market and infrequent job turnover, making the overall odds of winning a job “extremely challenging,” as Kristen Bruya puts it. For this article, Bruya and others spoke about how they chose instruments like tuba, trumpet, and percussion, what it’s like being the one female musician in their orchestra section, and how the previous generation of female musicians helped pave the way for them. The experience of women who have succeeded—spectacularly—with “male” instruments suggests that if they can get past those early barriers, the academic and professional arenas are far more open to them today than they once were. The Importance of Mentors

“No one ever told me that I should not be playing this instrument because I am female,” says Karin Bliznik, principal trumpet in the St. Louis Symphony. It is a constant refrain among musicians interviewed for this article: if they knew what they wanted, no one discouraged them. Carol Jantsch, who started on piano, had to pick a second instrument at summer camp when she was nine. Because she liked to be different, she symphony

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Georgia College

chose the euphonium, and Did They Really Say That? switched to tuba at age twelve They sound insulting today, but these comments reflecting male opinion about suitable activities for because “it was even bigger and women, centering around appearance, femininity, and a woman’s proper role, express stereotypes weirder.” Cynthia Yeh, who says whose remnants haven’t entirely disappeared. she grew up as a “typical pianist” in Taiwan, wanted to join 1904: Gustave Kerker writes in the Musical Standard that women lack the lip and lung power to her high school band when her play brass and wind instruments in tune. “Women cannot possibly play brass instruments and look family moved to Canada. The pretty, and why should they spoil their good looks?” band director suggested per1962: An American String Teacher article comments, “Both the harp and cello are decorative cussion, because she could read instruments whose curves and grace lend themselves to the same attributes of the women who music better than the boys. play them.... You get to the trumpets and trombones and tubas, however, and the image of Orin O’Brien, who joined femininity declines in direct proportion to the stridency and volume of sound produced…. It just the New York Philharmonic as isn’t a romantic sight to see a girl blowing through the mouthpiece of a trumpet or trombone and its first tenured woman in 1966, making a blasting sound.” had a similar experience back in the 1950s. Her high-school or1970: Conductor Zubin Mehta, quoted in the New York Times: “I just don’t think women should be chestra in California didn’t need in an orchestra. They become men.” another pianist, but the conductor noted that she was tall, and male bass player friends, of course. of competitive,” she says. “I was fourteen, he needed a bass player. Indeed, her gender Teachers tended to be male, with some and I thought, those people are so much seemed to work in her favor: after a few years important exceptions. Karin Bliznik studolder [that gender discrepancy] belongs to a of study, O’Brien asked her teacher, Milton ied at a summer festival with trumpeter different generation. I thought it was someKestenbaum (former principal bass of the Judith Saxton (currently chair of brass and thing that would gradually change.” Leyla Pittsburgh Symphony under Fritz Reiner), if percussion at the University of North CaroZamora, contrabassoonist in the San Diego she could make it as a professional. She relina School of the Arts). “She changed my Symphony since 2005, says that there were calls that he said, “Well, if you were a young embouchure, and I thank her every time I always lots of girls playing bassoon when man, I would advise no. It’s hard to raise a see her,” says Bliznik. Barbara Butler taught she was growing up in Costa Rica. Her first family on the salary of a musician, since the Bliznik in graduate school at Northwestexperience of being the only woman was at orchestras are not full time. But for a single ern University and is another key figure for the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, girl, it might work out.” O’Brien won a her. “Talk about someone who inspires you where she spent two years on a Fulbright half-scholarship to the Juilliard School, and to your core,” says Bliznik. “There’s never a grant. moved east. She still plays with Women playing question—you can absolutely do everything. Kristen Bruya recalls that the New York Philharmonic, less traditionally And that’s irreplaceable.” Even if they did there were girls playing evand is still its only female bass female not have female teachers, the existence of an ery instrument in her school player. instruments share earlier generation of women playing these orchestras; when she went Throughout their student similar challenges instruments was important. Carol Jantsch to Interlochen for summer years, these female musicians to women says, “I’m incredibly grateful to the generacamp and for her senior year were usually in the minority, entering any of high school there were sevbut they were seldom alone. tion before me, just for existing, and maknontraditional field eral other female bass players, ing it seem less weird for me to do what I Leelanee Sterrett, 29, who such as science, including Ju-Fang Liu, who joined the New York Philhardo. There’s Susan Slaughter. Gail Williams, technology, became the principal bass of monic as third horn in 2013, the horn player in Chicago, a great player engineering, the Indianapolis Symphony took up the instrument at ten and teacher. Velvet Brown, a tuba player and math, says Orchestra in 2003. There to play in her public-school who teaches at Penn State—a recording she Maureen Horgan, were three other female bass band. “My mom wanted me made gave me real girl power.” president of the players at the University of to play the horn,” she says. “I The professional world plunged these International Michigan as well, and more liked the challenge and the women into a predominantly male environWomen’s Brass in her graduate programs at sound of it. I didn’t think of it ment. Still, the competitive arena of the auConference. the University of Cincinas being a boy or girl instrudition was just one more welcome challenge nati College-Conservatory of ment.” It was only when she for Cynthia Yeh. “I grew up as a tomboy. Music and Rice University’s started high school, and saw I’m very comfortable being the only girl,” Shepherd School of Music. professional orchestras on she says. “I guess I’ve always thought, any“A lot of my close female television and in photographs, thing you can do, I can do better. I’m not friends are other bass playthat she realized that there sure how male percussionists feel about this ers, which makes sense, since were many more men in those little girl beating them out. I’m sure a lot of those are the people of your brass sections. She was unconthem don’t think it’s cool, but you know, that formative years.” She also has cerned. “I’d always been kind means I won. I’m not going to apologize for americanorchestras.org

J.D. Scott

Jane Little has played double bass in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 1947.

out, “Once a person gets a job in an orchestra, they are usually there until they retire or die.” And, she adds, “There aren’t a lot of jobs to begin with.” Of course, the odds improve when there are more women in the pool: in the final round of the Minnesota Orchestra audition that Bruya won, for example, two of the five players were women. Sterrett says, “I was the first person to be given tenure in the Philharmonic horn section in about 20 years. A lot of the brass players came in the 1980s and the 1990s, so we’re starting to see the next wave. It’s timing, not gender.” Maureen Horgan, the president of the International Women’s Brass Conference, takes a somewhat less rosy view. “Women still do not have a level playing field,” she says, noting that in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields, it takes a symphony

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Dilip Vishwanat

Karin Bliznik, principal trumpet of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Thomas R. Russo

it.” Yeh remembers that about 100 percussionists auditioned for the Chicago chair, and she was the only woman who advanced. “One benefit of being a woman at auditions—the boys all puff their chests out in the warm-up room, showing off. Instead of being intimidated, I go to the women’s bathroom, where it’s always quiet. I get my own private space, and I don’t have to deal with any of that bullshit!” Yeh is equally undisturbed by the residual sexism she has encountered. “I’ve had feedback from auditions—we didn’t think you could play loud enough,” she says. Her response to that is, “Then ask me!” Women have repeatedly demonstrated that they can fit in musically with male-dominated sections. Sterrett, who was the first tenured Ju-Fang Liu, woman in the New York Philharmonic brass principal bassist section, says, “I would characterize myself of the Indianapolis as tough. It’s a tough brass section as well; a Symphony Orchestra definite musical culture that you have to get in with. The standard for how we play is very high; we have a specific style, and not everying with them in the New York City Ballet one has been successful in adopting it. We Orchestra, for example. “They knew I was play with a lot more weight of sound and a professional, would carry my share of the a lot more forward momentum than some burden,” she says. “It’s a community: some brass sections do, because of our hall.” Sterpeople you get along with, others you stay rett showcases a different side of her personaway from.” In those early days, there was ality in her side project, Ghengis Barbie, an no women’s locker room, so she changed in all-female horn quartet that plays arrangethe restroom. And she adapted. “One of the ments of popular songs. “We love pretendother bass players saw that I was a little awking to be pop stars,” she says with a laugh. ward on the first tour, where Based on my conversations the men were dressing in with female musicians, get- “There’s no front of the wardrobe trunks. ting along with other musi- reason everyone He said, ‘Close your eyes, I’ll cians within a section does shouldn’t play take your hand and guide you not seem to pose gender- the instrument to your trunk, so you can get related problems, either. The they want. You your stuff and I’ll guide you oddest part of joining the should just be back.’ ” Philadelphia Orchestra for good at it,” says Those practical conditions Jantsch related to age: she Carol Jantsch, have improved, with the prowent directly from a student principal tuba of vision of appropriate dressing environment into one where the Philadelphia rooms and the like. And prothe other players were mostly Orchestra. fessional female musicians are older, and at much different starting to see more women represented in stages in their lives and careers. Bliznik the next generation of players. “I’m going to loves her section of “cool guys,” who be teaching a master class in LA, and two helped her learn the ways of the orchestra women are already signed up,” says Zamora, from the outset and welcomed her as its the San Diego Symphony contrabassoonist. leader. The section is tight-knit and they socialize regularly. “On tour—of course I’m going to hang out with these guys!” Gradual Change Orin O’Brien, the female pioneer of the While the number of women playing “male” New York Philharmonic, insists that even instruments is going up, the change at proin the 1960s, the men treated her well. She fessional orchestras tends to be slow because knew some of them already, from playof infrequent job turnover. As Bruya points

critical mass of women in an environment to counteract negative stereotyping and enable them to do well. Women are especially poorly represented in the tech sector, as reported in a Huffington Post article published on March 27, 2015. The story cited a study by the American Association of University Women finding that the percentage of women in computer and math occupations actually went down between 1990 and 2013. At Google, women represented 30 percent of the overall workforce but only 17 percent of its tech jobs. In Horgan’s view, when women enter non-traditional fields, first there is the pipeline problem—choosing an instrument and sticking with it—which only the strongwilled and well-supported survive. (The women interviewed for this story are certainly evidence of those traits and circumstances.) Next, in the audition process, unconscious, implicit attitudes and stereotypes can still inform decision-making once women emerge from behind the screen. “Thus we end up with a tiny percent of female brass players at the top levels,” Horgan says. The solution, for Horgan, includes both recognition of the barriers and demonstration of women’s competence on these instruments. In the latter category, the achievements of musicians such as Karin Bliznik, Cynthia Yeh, and others suggest that meritocracy may eventually trump other considerations. Carol Jantsch is sure of it. “I want to believe we have the potential to head towards true gender equality in our culture,” she says. “There’s no reason everyone shouldn’t play the instrument they want. You should just be good at it. All those non-supportive reasons for not doing it, like ‘You’re not big enough to play that’ or ‘That’s a guy’s instrument’ or little kids making fun of each other—are all bullshit. I have lungs, so I can play the tuba. I’m not as big as a six-foottall dude, but I’ve got enough. Cases have wheels. You can get a backpack. Kids bully each other all the time—it comes from insecurity, and not having the confidence to claim identity at that age. If you are passionate about something, you should own it. Why perpetuate a stereotype that has no foundation in reality? I hope to prove it wrong just by my existence.” HEIDI WALESON writes about the performing arts and is the opera critic for The Wall Street Journal. americanorchestras.org

Brass players from the San Diego Youth Symphony’s Community Opus Project perform in their spring concert, May 2015.

by Chester Lane

GROWTH

Christopher J. Reicks

SPURT Natalie Hall coaches a student at Roxhill Elementary School as part of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra’s SYSO in the Schools program, May 2015.

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outh orchestras in the United States are not only alive and well, but are bringing a hands-on experience of classical music and collaborative art to an increasingly large and diverse segment of the youthful population, at multiple ages and levels of intensity. That’s the picture that emerges from Youth Orchestra Profile 2015, a new report prepared by the League of American Orchestras’ Knowledge Center summarizing results from its recent survey of League member youth orchestras (read the report at americanorchestras.org/youth). symphony

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Among the report’s salient findings:

❏ At least 38 percent of the student musicians identified as members of an ethnic minority group. In contrast, 14 percent of musicians in adult orchestras identified as minorities.

❏ On average, youth orchestra programs ran four other ensembles in addition to the primary orchestra. The scale of their programming allowed the 54 youth orchestras in the League’s survey to serve some 15,000 young people across the U.S.

❏ More than 4,500 schools had students in these 54 youth orchestras. The majority of participants came from public schools, suggesting that youth orchestras serve students from a wide range of economic backgrounds.

❏ 94 percent of the reporting youth orchestras offered scholarships, of which 92 percent were based on financial need. Collectively, these youth orchestras gave out scholarships worth more than $3.6 million in the 2015 fiscal year, or an average of $76,000 per orchestra. ❏ Student and tuition fees accounted for just 30 percent of total revenue. Aggregate expenses, at about $30 million for the 54 reporting orchestras, were almost identical to revenue, suggesting that the average youth orchestra spent within its means. americanorchestras.org

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San Diego Youth Symphony & Conservatory

Youth orchestras in the U.S. are touching more lives than ever before. A new report from the League highlights the field’s complexity and variety, and the ways youth orchestras are expanding access to their art form and the experience of group music-making.

Youth orchestras are vital to the health of the orchestra field, not only as gateways to professional performing careers but in providing young people with in-depth exposure to an art form that will greatly increase the likelihood of their becoming future supporters of orchestral music—as concertgoers, donors, board members, and arts managers. Heather Noonan, the League’s vice president for advocacy, notes that the most recent Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2012, “found that the number one indicator for participation in the arts as an adult was whether one had learned an art form as a child. That indicator was stronger than one’s economic background or ethnicity. And when I talk to people who are not familiar with the youth-orchestra field, one thing I point out is that there are more of these groups than one might think: many students in this country have a deep interest in the art form and in large-ensemble music-making. That really bodes well for the future of orchestral music.” Equally important is the fact that youth orchestras benefit young people in ways that go well beyond the music itself. There’s a demonstrably strong correlation between participation in a youth orchestra, high academic achievement in high school, and future success in professional fields outside of music. Louis Scaglione, music director and president of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and a former chair of the League’s Youth Orchestra Division, undoubtedly speaks for many in the field when he says, “The social skills and life skills that we teach through music are really the important part. If students have the aptitude and desire and drive to become professional musicians down the road, we’ll help them with that. But primarily we are training these young people to be tomorrow’s leaders and contributors to their neighborhoods and communities in a very positive manner.” Not only do youth orchestras provide vital exposure to an art form, they do so without being elite clubs accessible only to the affluent. “These are 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that rely to a great extent on private contributions,” Noonan says. Even without the scholarships that most youth orchestras provide, “participation is heavily subsidized by private giving. No student is paying the full cost of what it takes to produce this kind of experience. That level of

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the West moreland Symphony Orchestra. The League has been gathering data on youth orchestras since 1952, and these organizations have formed an important membership constituency since 1975, when the League formally established its Youth Orchestra Division.

Kidznotes

Growth in Numbers, Diversity, Accessibility

The Kidznotes Mozart Orchestra, comprising students in grades K-2, perform their winter 2013 concert at Holton Career and Resource Center in Durham, North Carolina.

dedicated support—from families, friends, the community as a whole—is a testament to the public value of these programs for young people.” The full Youth Orchestra Survey Report, based on data from the orchestras’ 201415 seasons, was sent this winter to the 54 participating organizations. Culled from responses to a newly redesigned and simplified survey, Youth Orchestra Profile 2015 updates youth-orchestra data last collected by the League for the 2009-10 season. The

report benchmarks the field in a host of areas, including gender and ethnic breakdown, finances, number of ensembles, commissioning activity, and collaborations with outside artists and organizations. Survey respondents varied widely in geography, size, and institutional structure. Along with many independent groups, they included youth-orchestra programs sponsored by professional orchestras, in cities ranging from San Francisco, Cincinnati, and Cleveland to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, home of

Youth Orchestra Profile 2015 reveals that half of the musicians served by the reporting orchestras were high-school students— typically the backbone of a youth-orchestra program’s most advanced ensemble—with middle schools accounting for another 29 percent of the total, and elementary schools for one fifth. The rate of participation by those younger students points to a steadily building trend in the youth-orchestra world: the establishment of training programs and feeder ensembles that provide earlier exposure to group music-making while simultaneously enriching the pool of musicians skilled enough to qualify for the organization’s more advanced ensembles. As a snapshot of current activity rather than a longitudinal study of the youth-or-

Gender breakdown

Racial breakdown

Youth Orchestras

●

Unknown 17.81% ●

●

Male 44.93%

American Indian 0.43% ●

Asian 22.61% ●

Black or African American 5.93% ●

Source: Youth Orchestra Survey 2014-15 Report, League of American Orchestras

●

Female 55.07%

Hispanic or Latino 9.29% White 43.92%

Adult Orchestras

● ●

● ● ●

Other 0.78%

●

Male 52.63%

American Indian or Alaskan Native 0.1% Asian or Pacific Islander 9.1% African American 1.77%

●

Female 47.37%

Hispanic or Latino 2.49% ●

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Caucasian or White 85.76%

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americanorchestras.org

pp 36-41 Growth Spurt.indd 39

Mark Garvin

chestra movement, the new survey does not reference the recent growth in numbers of young people served or in the variety of ensembles offered by the reporting organizations. But there is ample evidence of both, and the proliferation of training activities for younger students has been explosive, especially in metropolitan areas. Some bigcity organizations, notably the DC Youth Orchestra Program, have had musical instruction and feeder orchestras in place for decades. Many others have come along more recently and are now poised for further expansion. A prime example of this is the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. The PYO’s Scaglione says that when he joined the organization in 1997 it had only two ensembles: the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, for advanced students, and the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, serving intermediate musicians. “Over the last fifteen years, and especially in the last seven, PYO as an organization has grown exponentially,” says Scaglione. “We added Bravo Brass, our large brass ensemble, then the PRYSM Orchestra for string players. And we had enough students at the beginning level of PRSYM that we later added the PRYSM Young Artists Orchestra.” PRYSM, or Philadelphia Region Youth String Music, was cofounded by two Philadelphia Orchestra musicians—cellist Gloria dePasquale and Co-Concertmaster William dePasquale, her late husband—and is now directed by Gloria dePasquale. PRYSM Young Artists Orchestra, for the less experienced string players, is directed by violinist Jessica Villante, a former student of William dePasquale. The PYO continues to grow under Scaglione’s direction. In 2010 it started Tune Up Philly, a program of free after-school instruction inspired, like many similar initiatives, by Venezuela’s El Sistema. Scaglione says that the PYO’s challenge is “how to take the best [El Sistema] practices and implement them in a dynamic, ethnically and culturally diverse city. Philadelphia is divided into so many different neighborhoods, and each has its own character. We now have seven sites, or nuclei: five charter schools, one private school, and one community center. Most of the programs run three days a week, two hours a day. The curriculum is inspired by El Sistema, but has to be flexible and fit into the needs of the

Students in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s PRYSM string orchestra work with program director Gloria dePasquale.

particular school or community center—we work with their constituency. Many of these schools have no music teacher of their own, but Tune Up Philly students do not need to have had prior instrumental instruction. All they need is the desire and commitment to do the program.” And with free instruction currently taking place in strings, flute, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone, Tune Up Philly has now spawned another ensemble. “This spring,” Scaglione says, “we’re starting a mini-youth orchestra program on a Saturday afternoon, where we bring the more advanced students from each of the different sites to one central location for large-group instruction and a beginning orchestra.” Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras, arguably the nation’s largest youth-orchestra program, operates year-round, serving about 1,670 students with its eleven ensembles (including four full orchestras) and extensive in-school activities. At the pre-professional level, it provides musicians 14 to 25 years old with two weeks of intensive training and performance opportunities each summer through its Marrowstone Music Festival in Bellingham, Washington. Closer to home, the SYSO’s more recently established summer program called Marrowstone-inthe-City offers two-week day camps at high schools in Seattle and suburban Redmond, geared for students aged 7 to 14. For many years SYSO has provided individualized in-school instruction through an Endangered Instruments Program (EIP) introducing students in middle school to such less-studied instruments as viola, string bass, bassoon, oboe, French horn, trombone, and tuba. About six years ago, SYSO ramped up its in-school activities by using a Wallace Foundation grant to launch the Southwest Seattle Strings Project, an

instructional program that is now in place at six elementary schools and one middle school. With additional foundation and corporate support, SYSO has established the comprehensive program known as SYSO in the Schools, which includes both EIP and Seattle Strings as well as a mentoring project designed to help public-school teachers improve their skills in orchestral instruction. Daniel Petersen, SYSO’s executive director and currently chair of the League’s Youth Orchestra Division, says that the idea behind the SYSO in the Schools program was to “go earlier and have a bigger impact: have the students start music in elementary school, continue in middle school, and go on with it in high school. So we worked with the public schools to figure out which parts of the city to do this with. We’ve created a vertically integrated program, with elementary schools feeding into a middle

League Resources

he League’s Youth Orchestra Division provides significant resources to youth orchestras by offering specific training, support, information, advice, and networking opportunities. Find out more under Youth Orchestras at americanorchestras.org. The new Youth Orchestra Profile 2015 includes statistics to support youth orchestras’ advocacy, development, and business/ strategic planning work. Among other topics, it reports on the racial and ethnic diversity of youth-orchestra musicians as well as their reach and accessibility, and it provides essential benchmarking information for the field. Learn more at americanorchestras.org/youth.

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●

Source: Youth Orchestra Survey 2014-15 Report, League of American Orchestras

Scholarships

is “definitely El Sistemainspired,” says SDYS Executive Director Dal● ouge Smith. “We started Do not offer scholarships 5.56% with after-school music, and have used that to help the Chula Vista School District re-build its own music and arts education. We chose to go to that district and that community because ● Offer scholarships 94.44% they had such low representation in our conservatory program. And ● there were no full-time credentialed teachers in ● music, theater, dance, viMerit/Talent based only 7.84% sual arts, or media arts.” ● In addition to the ● Both 35.29% after-school instruction provided through Com● munity Opus, Smith Financial need based only 56.86% says, “we taught in a few schools during the school day on a contract basis, because we school that feeds into a high school.” The wanted those schools to see what it looked program now operates in 26 schools, across like to have music. This year, after five years five different school districts. “What we reof partnership and slow build, the district ally like is that it’s building capacity for muhas hired more than 70 credentialed teachsic teachers in the schools,” Petersen says. ers in the arts disciplines. Thirty schools are “The more students get involved, the more now offering music on campus to children Full-Time Equivalent credits the teachers from K-6 as part of the regular school day. get. That lets the school district support the We’ve continued to have an after-school position.” program, but as more and more kids are Further south on the Pacific Coast is angetting music during the day it’s taking on other multi-layered and education-intensive a higher level of intensity, because the kids organization, the San Diego Youth Symaren’t coming in with absolutely no musical phony and Conservatory. In addition to background. And about 45 kids from the serving some 600 students with what it calls Community Opus Project have become inits conservatory program—eleven performvolved in our conservatory program.” ing groups including full-size and chamber orchestras, wind orchestras, and a saxophone ensemble—SDYS runs a program Community Focus of Debut Classes that provide entry-level Youth orchestras known to the League— group instruction in all instruments of the more than 500 in number, including indeorchestra family. Its five-year-old Commupendent organizations and groups operating nity Opus Project is run in partnership with under the umbrella of a professional orchesthe Chula Vista School District just east of tra—can be found in cities large and small the city. And this season, in collaboration throughout the 50 states and the District with La Jolla Music Society, a nearby conof Columbia (see map). Their musicians recert presenter, SDYS launched the LMS/ hearse and perform in schools, community SDYS Music Institute to provide area centers, and major concert halls, in ensemteenagers with intensive training and perbles appropriate to their age, instrument, formance opportunities as they prepare for and skill level, tackling repertoire ranging careers in music. from the simplest arrangements to major Like the PYO’s Tune Up Philly program, works of the classical canon. A significant the Community Opus Project in San Diego number of youth orchestras undertake for-

pp 36-41 Growth Spurt.indd 40

eign tours, serving as cultural diplomats abroad. Advanced ensembles frequently collaborate with soloists, both professional artists and competition winners from their own communities. And some youth orchestras commission new music. Two of them—Omaha Area Youth Orchestras and the Louisville Youth Orchestra—are part of the New Music for America consortium that aims to bring Christopher Theofanidis’s Dreamtime Ancestors to all 50 states this season and next; the other ensembles in the network are adult and professional orchestras. A pacesetter for the youth-orchestra field in its commitment to new music is the New York Youth Symphony, which performs seven commissioned world premieres each season—three with its single large orchestra at Carnegie Hall, three with its jazz band, and one in its chamber music program. Many of the nation’s youth orchestras have been around since the mid-20th century or earlier—some outlasting the professional orchestra that founded them—and many others have come along in recent decades. In New York, a city that has long had both a high-level youth orchestra (the New York Youth Symphony) and a school-based independent group (InterSchool Orchestras of New York), a youth orchestra was established three years ago by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s: an after-school venture run in partnership with the Police Athletic League and the public schools. In Durham and Raleigh, North Carolina, an El Sistema-inspired youth-orchestra program called Kidznotes started up in 2010. Youth Orchestra LA, another group based on the El Sistema model, was launched in 2007 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic—which makes sense, given that Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil’s Venezuela-born music director, is El Sistema’s most celebrated alumnus. YOLA, as it is popularly known, reached a huge national audience this winter as one of the ensembles featured in the halftime show at Super Bowl 50. Several U.S.-based youth orchestras now operate at the national or international level. YOA Orchestra of the Americas, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, outside the nation’s capital, was founded in 2001 as a seasonal touring orchestra made up of advanced students aged eighteen to thirty from throughout the Western Hemisphere. (This year’s tour runs from April symphony

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The exceptionally talented musicians on the Astral roster will engage your listeners, making classical music both accessible and relevant.

Map design by Najean Lee, League of American Orchestras.

Consider partnering with Astral to enhance your performances and excite your audiences.

Youth orchestras: all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Represented by dots on this map are the more than 500 organizations in a youth-orchestra database maintained by the League of American Orchestras.

24 to August 2, with concerts in the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.) Carnegie Hall established its Youth Orchestra of the United States of America in 2013. And that program is now expanding, with a group called NYO2 poised to begin this summer: comprising fourteen- to seventeen-year-old musicians from around the country, NYO2 is an intensive training program with a stated goal of “attracting talented young musicians from communities underserved by and underrepresented in the classical orchestral field.” And that’s a mission that youth orchestras are taking under their wing at the local level. One measure of the significant role they now play in this area is the most recent list of Education and Community Investment Grants from the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. Of the sixteen Getty grants awarded for in-school and after-school partnerships, twelve went to projects sponsored by professional orchestras—including formally constituted youth orchestras—and four to independent youth-orchestra organizations. Included in the latter group were Empire State Youth Orchestras in Schenectady, New York; North Carolina’s Kidznotes; Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras; and the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory. americanorchestras.org

pp 36-41 Growth Spurt.indd 41

That link between education and community investment, manifest in the Getty grants, is now gaining strength in the youth-orchestra world, as organizations dedicated to fostering young talent reach beyond their traditional middle-class constituency and their conservatory-bound students to populations not otherwise acquainted with the orchestral art form. The Seattle Youth Symphony’s Dan Petersen says that SYSO in the Schools serves students who are up to 85 percent—and, at two schools, even more—in a Title I free and reduced-cost lunch program, and that a “very high” percentage are from the African American and Latino communities. On a budget of $2 million, Petersen says, the SYSO offers about $225,000 in financial aid, “not counting the free stuff we do in the schools. For the elementary schools, we translate what we’re offering into Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Somali. There are lots of immigrant communities here, a very interesting mix of different backgrounds and cultures, and it’s a thrill to offer this western classical music at the beginning level. Youth orchestras in general reflect the population to a great degree. And I’m really encouraged by the number of young people who want to learn about this great music.” CHESTER LANE is senior editor of Symphony.

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REMEMBERING

PIERRE BOULEZ 1925-2016

pp 42-49 Remembering Pierre Boulez.indd 42

Below: Pierre Boulez with Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst backstage during the orchestra’s celebration of Boulez’s 85th birthday in 2010

Roger Mastroianni

Pierre Boulez loomed large in twentieth-century music—as composer, conductor, philosophe, champion of the new, and allaround cultural force. The Frenchborn artist worked on a global scale, but a huge part of his career was in the U.S. Here, people who worked with Boulez over many years consider his influence on American orchestras.

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In 2014, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra saluted Pierre Boulez, its conductor emeritus, with “A Pierre Dream,” a multimedia concert. In addition to music by members of the CSO and others, “A Pierre Dream” featured stage elements by Frank Gehry, video projections by Mike Tutaj, and artistic supervision by Gerard McBurney, creative director of the CSO’s “Beyond the Score” series.

Todd Rosenberg Photography

Below: An undated photo of Cleveland Orchestra Music Director George Szell with Pierre Boulez in front of Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra

New York Philharmonic Archives

While music director of the New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez experimented with performance formats including “rug concerts” in the mid 1970s, at which seats on the orchestra level were removed and replaced with carpets and cushions.

by Martha Gilmer

Illuminating the Music

P Don Hunstein

ierre Boulez worked with many American orchestras. Of course notably he was the music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1971 to 1977, and during that time he not only put his familiar stamp on the programming but worked to change the concert experience itself. His “rug concerts” there, with audience members seated casually on the floor of Philharmonic Hall, broke ground by eliminating the formality of the concert and making the entire experience a moment of deep engagement. His relationship with the Cleveland Orchestra—as principal guest conductor, musical advisor, and frequent conductor—was long and productive, and we have many wonderful recordings that memorialize his work there in key works of the twentieth century. The Los Angeles Philharmonic was his West Coast home, and his professional relationship with longtime Los Angeles Philharmonic Executive Director Ernest Fleischmann was a turning point for both men. Their abiding respect and friendship was the subject of many of my conversations with Pierre. It was through those trips to Los Angeles, and his many friendships in California, that he became a regular artistic

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presence at the Ojai Festival. The work that continues at Ojai to this day is a result of many people, but Pierre Boulez infused it with his ideas about progressive, egalitarian programming. His work with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was the last addition to his American orchestra relationships, and it had a lasting impact on the history of the CSO and on Pierre himself. It all began when Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Paris-based contemporar ymusic group he founded in 1972, came to Chicago for two concerts in February 1986 as part of their U.S. tour. Following those performances, Pierre agreed to come to the CSO as a guest conductor, and he came virtually every year beginning in 1987 through his last performances with the orchestra in 2010. Even after he was unable to conduct the orchestra, he spent long periods of time in Chicago,

/ Eric M arinitsch

Handwritten manuscript score by Pierre Boulez for his Tombeau for soprano and orchestra, No. 5 from “Pli selon pli.”

Todd Rosenberg

and attended every possible performance of the orchestra, of theater, and the opera. Each of Boulez’s early concerts at the CSO was preceded by a lecture. Prior to that time, the only information shared with audiences about a concert was in the form of traditional program notes, which usually included scored musical excerpts. It was assumed that as a member of the audience, you came into the hall with a fair amount of knowledge about what you were going to hear, and a passion for the art form that arose from years of listening. Boulez did not have that as his first requirement. His stated goal when presenting a concert was to create an atmosphere “that does not intimidate people nor make them feel like imbeciles.” I still remember those very first Boulez concerts with the CSO in the late 1980s—there were lines across the lobby of young people who came to hear his provocative programs and were eager to learn about this new or unfamiliar repertoire, some of which had been written in the earliest days of the twentieth century. I credit Pierre Boulez for instilling in us the desire to communicate in new ways with audiences to make the music come alive, to provide the context in which it was composed, and to illuminate the music in a way that is engaging and everchanging. Pierre’s music itself showed his curiosity for the new, and for new ways of looking at the world and at a wide range of music. Whether it was Noh drama, Expressionist poet-

In 2010, Martha Gilmer, then the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s vice president for artistic planning and audience development, spoke onstage at Symphony Center with CSO Principal Guest Conductor Laureate Pierre Boulez during a musical celebration of his 85th birthday.

ry, or the Japanese court gagaku ensemble, he found inspiration in and connection to what he experienced. He was open to such a rich variety of music, while certainly having an opinion on all of it. His work with French theater director and actor JeanLouis Barrault defined his understanding of the drama of music. His friendship with rock musician Frank Zappa influenced his view on the American musical voice. Wherever he went he was open to being shaped—although his strong aesthetic always prevailed. Pierre was brilliant in creating provocative and engaging programs. To spend an afternoon watching him shape and create a series of programs for Chicago was so enlightening, and I feel privileged to have been able to work with him in my capacity as the CSO’s vice president for artistic planning and audience development for all of his Chicago concerts from 1986 onward. Pierre taught me many things, but two overarching principles stay with me: the first is his perspective on the texture of a concert and of a season. Pierre was always interested in contrast. Whether a single program or an entire season, he was focused on interplay and the tension of one piece to another. symphony

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MARTHA GILMER is chief executive officer of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. She worked at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for over three decades, where she served as the Richard and Mary L. Gray vice president for artistic planning and audience development. americanorchestras.org

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Bert Bial

American composers gathered at Avery Fisher Hall for the farewell performance of Pierre Boulez (far right foreground) as music director of the New York Philharmonic in 1977. Top row (standing): Charles Wuorinen, Carman Moore, Sidney Hodkinson, David Del Tredici, Earle Brown, Steve Reich, Stanley Silverman, John Cage, Elliott Carter. Second row from back: Donald Martino, Donald Harris, Daniel Plante, Morton Gould, Vincent Persichetti, Roy Harris. Third row from back: Assistant Conductor David Gilbert, Stephen Jablonski, Jacob Druckman, Roger Sessions, William Schuman, Aaron Copland. Front row: Milton Babbitt, Lucia Dlugoszewski, Ulysses Kay, George Rochberg, Mario Davidovsky.

COMMENTS FROM OTHERS JON DEAK

ierre Boulez came to us as music director in 1971. I had been in the New York Philharmonic less than two years at that time, and he wanted all the probationary members to re-audition for him. Rather than a scary experience, it turned out rather well. He discovered that I was a professional composer as well as a bassist, and it started a relationship where he mentored me in my compositions, even premiering one of my works, and helped me so much as a performer of new music. (There were not many men in the orchestra who liked contemporary music at all in those days!) Pierre was a conducting protégé of George Szell, who immediately preceded him at the NY Phil. So I think the Philharmonic men—there were only two women then—expected him to be technically severe, as Szell had been. In rehearsals Pierre could be quite relentless and had high standards, often rehearsing one measure eight, nine, ten times until he was

Michael DiVito

The last concert programs that we made together were a perfect example. From the full orchestra score of Debussy’s Jeux to the solo clarinet of Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo, he constructed two weeks of musical miniatures juxtaposed with full orchestral works. He was very specific about the groupings, and also about how the players should be seated, and the choreography of moving without applause from one piece to the next. Unfortunately he was unable to conduct these programs, or to come to Chicago to hear them. They were such a tribute to his genius, and I have the original piece of paper with these programs in his handwriting to remind me of his immense creative force. The other thing that remains for me about Pierre is his insistence that we keep trying new things and taking risks. When I first went to him about the idea that would become the CSO’s multimedia Beyond the Score productions, he read the concept piece and gave it his blessing. Later, he would conduct one of the very first Beyond the Score projects, focusing on Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin. He was completely engaged in the process, insisting on adding several new dimensions to Gerard McBurney’s already complex script in order to bring in additional influences on Bartók. He believed in our work, and was present for an additional two Beyond the Score productions in Chicago. If Pierre were still with us he would be encouraging us to never stop trying to connect the power of music, its mystery and its history, to the audience and to the performers. He believed deeply in the importance of how music is placed in context, in space, and in time. Although Pierre is no longer physically with us, his wisdom and his spirit will always guide those of us who were lucky enough to know and learn from him. I will always feel his presence and his encouragement to keep evolving, to take risks, to imagine what comes next. About our work together, Pierre once said to me, “You must be faithful.” To you, Pierre, I could be nothing but.

satisfied. But he was a consummate gentleman, never insulting. The results were often crystalline in their effect. I remember a recording we did of the famous Daphnis and Chloe Second Suite. The opening scene, describing the dawn, where the upper woodwinds have a shimmering cloud of 32nd-notes, is usually regarded as an “effect” and passed over in

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first knew Pierre Boulez in 1969, when he was the Cleveland Orchestra’s principal guest conductor. I had just graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and I remember being frightened of him, because he was sort of the bad boy of music, very outspoken. As a conductor, he was extremely demanding— he wanted everything exact, precise. And yet he was always so respectful to everyone when making his demands. He never ever talked down to you. We gave the first

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KENT NAGANO

was greatly inspired by Pierre Boulez as a composition major in school, and I would go to his concerts when he came to California. We got to know each other when I won a conductor’s award that allowed the recipients to choose people with whom to work. I was able to have a very unusual situation, where I worked with Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein simultaneously. That corresponded with the time when I was working intensively with Boulez at his Ensemble Intercontemporain. We became quite close. He was absolutely brilliant in terms of his abilities as a visionary and his skills as a communicator. He was very courageous in terms of his pioneering concepts of what our musical institutions were and what they could be—they should be oriented towards the future. He was a great inventor, a great composer. He influenced me immensely. And the list of his influences on the music world is far too much to even think about. He thoroughly influenced the ways that we think about music and especially the roles

Caroline Bergeron

JOELA JONES

performances in Cleveland of many, many pieces with him, and those are pieces that we play all the time now. He greatly expanded our repertoire. Yet the precision and simplicity of his beat, his minimal gestures, helped you as a performer to play these difficult works for the first time without any hysteria. I learned so much from him over the years. His brain and musicianship were phenomenal. Sometimes in rehearsal, we would have a seemingly cacophonous chord in the orchestra, because there were maybe eleven out of the twelve notes being played. And he would be able to say, “Third bassoon, or fourth French horn—it’s an Eflat, not an E-natural.” We all looked at each other, like, how can he hear that with everything that’s going on? He was just incredible. When we did the Elliott Carter Concerto for Orchestra, which is fiendishly difficult, he would have sectional rehearsals—one rehearsal for strings, another for winds, and so on. Everyone practiced like mad, because you would be very exposed in these rehearsals. But Pierre was calm and patient. He would just keep on until you got it. And he was so reliable. If he told you with these difficult meters that he was going to beat it a certain way, you knew that he would. Preparing the Concerto for Orchestra, I remember saying to him, “I’m not sure how I can do this one section.” He was conducting in five, and I had to play thirteen notes in the measure in my right hand, and eleven or nine in my left hand. And he said, “No, Joela, it is simple. See, like this.” And with his right hand he did thirteen beats, with his left hand he did nine beats, and he was counting five. It blew my mind. He did it a couple of times with me playing, and I had it. He was right, it was simple if you really put your mind to it. Boulez was so detailed, both

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rhythmically and with sound, pitch, articulation. I learned a tremendous amount being in the orchestra with him. I think he’s the only conductor who, when he would return to the Cleveland Orchestra every year, when he walked onstage for the first rehearsal, the orchestra would burst into applause. He was all about the music, there was no ego, no show. He was the most genuine, honest person that I think I have ever met. JOELA JONES is principal keyboard of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Roger Mastroianni

rehearsal as if the exact notes did not matter. Well! Boulez proceeded to Tune. Each. Note. Precisely. Jaws dropped. Columbia Records held their breath—how much was this going to cost in recording time? But the result was revelatory. It was as if you could envision each ray of the sun coming up over the ocean as the light dawned. If only Ravel could have heard this! He took his musical directorship seriously. As a measure of his character, he—a leading composer of his generation—refused to program a single work of his own on any subscription concert during his tenure. Pierre’s two great innovations at the Phil were the Rug Concerts and the Prospective Encounters. These were both daring departures from the traditional concert format and both series took down that awful wall dividing the stage and the people of New York City. For the Rug Concerts, the immediate results were twofold: the audience was more intimately involved in the performance (you could see it in their faces) and the acoustic was marvelous, airy, clear! The other innovative series, the Prospective Encounters, was held at Cooper Union. And here we had Pierre Boulez at his best, and most open. His reputation as a bad boy and rebel of new music in the early post-War era was certainly deserved. But here we saw a different side of the enfant terrible: a Boulez relaxed, charming, willing to try anything once—and still with the highest standards of precision, balance, and clarity. He was truly in his element, and we were with him. JON DEAK was a member of the New York Philharmonic’s bass section from 1973 to 2009, and currently holds the position of Young Composers Advocate at the orchestra.

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NYP_Bou

Pierre Boulez was a towering and influential “musical figure whose Philharmonic leadership implicitly laid down a challenge of innovation and invention that continues to inspire us to this day. I will miss his musicianship, kindness, and wisdom.

”− New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert

In Memoriam

PIERRE BOULEZ TRAILBLAZING COMPOSER, CONDUCTOR, AND THINKER New York Philharmonic Music Director, 1971–1977

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PIERRE BOULEZ ZZZZZZZZZ

SCHOTT | EAM celebrates the life and legacy of

Pierre Boulez SCHOTT MUSIC CORPORATION & EUROPEAN AMERICAN MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS COMPANY ZZ4 West 3Zst Street · ZZth Fl · New York NY ZZZZZ USA schottZmusic.com · eamdc.com · psnymusic.com

DAVID ROBERTSON

held Pierre Boulez in incredibly high esteem, and when I studied in London during my college years, I not only got to hear concerts that he conducted, I was able to watch him rehearse over several days. And it was just magnificent. What was funny is to fast-forward eight years, when I was conducting a piece in Paris by one of the composers whose work he supported, Philippe Manoury. There is a part in the piece where the only way you can make it happen is to put down your baton, which I tend to use, and do a Boulez imitation, where each hand is completely independent and making very definite gestures to different parts of the orchestra that are playing at slightly different speeds. I did my Boulez impersonation, and everybody thought that it was good. Imagine my surprise when, after the concert, he shows up in my dressing room. And I thought, oh, no, now I’ve done it. But he was very complimentary, and that was the beginning of the relationship that led, six months later, to him asking me if I would be music director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain. I expected he would try to steer me in specific aesthetic directions, but he left me completely independent. I was able to change the repertoire the ensemble played and open it to a larger group of composers. He was entirely supportive in this. His whole being was animated by the idea of very high quality. There was consummate preparation on his part. And he very rarely, if ever, made a mistake—it was almost beyond what we think of as human. And yet, it’s precisely what you might like in a surgeon or a NASA engineer. That is the kind of standard that Pierre set for himself, and by extension you rose to it. It seemed a natural thing, and that’s why he commanded such respect with musicians. What people don’t often get is that he was extremely charming, extremely witty, and had a marvelous sense of culture and art. Pierre came of age as a young musician at a time in which expectations with regard to art music were set in stone. He tried to take the music out of a particular socioeconomic context, and allow it to express the many different things that a complex piece of music can express, whether it’s Mozart or Maderna. He was fighting the trappings of what we think of as classical art, rather than the music itself. Pierre was a visionary in almost every regard. To have the package that Pierre had, you would need Robert Schumann with regard to his abilities as an educator and disseminator of musical prose. You would need Wagner in terms of his ability to recast musical ideas in a radical new form. You would need Mahler in terms of his knowledge of the orchestra and his abilities as a conductor. And you would still need a few others to get the skill set that Pierre Boulez brought to the table. DAVID ROBERTSON is music director of the St. Louis Symphony. Jay Fram

that music should play today—its social role, its community role, its inspirational role, and, of course, its purely musical role. Working with Pierre Boulez, one was obliged to become fluent in great literature, great poetry, and the visual arts. For Maestro Boulez, there wasn’t a simple categorization of these art forms. One of the funniest things for me was when I conducted his Improvisations sur Mallarmé—wonderful masterpieces—with the Ensemble Intercontemporain. Boulez visited me backstage after the performance and said, “Yes, well, that was very good. Of course you’ve read the works of Stéphane Mallarmé.” I hesitated and said, “Well, a little bit, in the English translation.” And Maestro Boulez said, “You’ve never read them in French?” And I said, “No, I’ve never had the chance.” He didn’t respond. At the second concert, he came backstage and said, “Yes, very good. I’d like to give you a present.” He took out an enormous, very heavy box and presented it to me. It was the complete works of Stéphane Mallarmé. His expectation was that I would not only read it but would be able to converse about it with him. This was a profound learning experience: if you’re conducting a work based on the aesthetics, the rhythms, the structures of Mallarmé, then you should pursue in-depth study of Mallarmé. His real lesson was that you must ask yourself the right questions before you dare to step onto the podium. I feel very strongly that Boulez will go on like other great conductor-composers—Gustav Mahler, Mozart—and that his music will far outlast those of us who remember him personally. KENT NAGANO is music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

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“PIERRE BOULEZ’S LEGACY WILL RESONATE THROUGH TIME.”

Pierre Boulez had a powerful inﬂuence on the classical music world. He will be deeply missed.

– David Robertson

Schiedmayer Celesta GmbH Elianne Schiedmayer / CEO

“Music is a labyrinth with no beginning and no end, full of new paths to discover, where mystery remains eternal.”

PIERRE BOULEZ (1925-2016)

MARTHA A. GILMER, CEO

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Finding Your

BLISS How do summer music festivals build their brands? Given the wide-ranging musical appetites of today’s audiences, more and more festivals are doing it with specific themes—even if that theme is “don’t mess with success.” 50

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Arts and Nature

he great outdoors is at the heart of the summer festival experience, as anyone knows who has sat beneath the stars listening to an orchestra. But two festivals from opposite sides of the country are taking an unusually active approach to incorporating nature into the musical fabric: the Britt Festival in Oregon and Artosphere in Arkansas. These festivals put nature front and center. The Britt Festival started in 1963 with two weeks of performances by the Britt Orchestra. Today, the orchestra, guest artists, and partners perform for three weeks at a hillside amphitheater in Jacksonville, a historic Gold Rush town. Artosphere: Arkansas’ Arts and

Nature Festival was launched in 2010 by the Fayetteville-based Walton Arts Center with the goal of “celebrating artists influenced by nature, who inspire us to live more sustainable lives.” In addition to Artosphere Festival Orchestra concerts led by Music Director Corrado Rovaris, the festival comprises art exhibitions, a Bike-itecture Tour, and “Trail Mix” outdoor celebrations along the Razorback Regional Greenway and the Frisco Trail. Britt Festival Music Director Teddy Abrams says he loves coming to Oregon each summer because Britt “has this openness to creative projects. My goal has been to activate those projects and think of the big ideas. One big neighbor arts institution is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival— symphony

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Courtesy Britt Festival

At the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon, the Britt Orchestra performs at a hillside amphitheater.

Artosphere Festival Orchestra musicians perform at the festival’s free Trail Mix Concert Tour, with audiences moving along trails in northwest Arkansas.

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we’re very excited about this summer’s new ‘Shakespeare and Song’ collaboration. People have become used to a balance between things like Mahler symphonies and Mussorgsky Pictures, juxtaposed with bigidea pieces like this summer’s Anthology of Fantastic Zoology by Mason Bates. For Michael Gordon’s new Crater Lake Project, we want to create something that feels like it is growing right out of the grounds of Crater Lake National Park. We’re putting together a mega-choir of singers, plus percussion from the Klamath Tribe and students from Southern Oregon University.” Jason Howell Smith, general manager of the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, says the festival’s goal is to allow “audiences to experience the intersection of art and na-

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City Scene

ack before the days of widespread air conditioning, the words “city” and “summer music festival” didn’t tend to get used in the same sentence. The arrival of summer meant city dwellers fled the heat and headed to Tanglewood, Ravinia, Blossom, and so on. So it was a game-changing moment in 1966 when New York’s Lincoln Center launched the Mostly Mozart Festival. This year Mostly Mozart turns 50, having recently reinvented itself. In Chicago, the Grant Park Music Festival offers ten weeks of outdoor concerts in Millennium Park, featuring the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. Created in the 1930s in response to the Great Depression, it offers all of its concerts free, and they are among the city’s most popular summer events. One of the nation’s newest urban summer festivals is the Soluna International Music & Arts Festival, launched in 2015 by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Soluna is a concentrated three weeks of music, dance, and visual art, in the Dallas Arts District and other city venues. Collaborators range from Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the Dallas Museum of Art to the Nasher Sculpture Center, Orchestra of New Spain, and Young Strings. When Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts launched Midsummer Serenades: A Mozart Festival in 1966, the notion of an indoor music festival during the hottest time of the year was a bold innovation. Back then, summer was when culture shut

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Stephanie Berger

ture. We want to create a festival to present high-quality artists influenced by nature who would then inspire those in the community to live more sustainable lives. Audiences have responded well to Artosphere. The Northwest Arkansas region is rich with natural resources and attractions, and there has been a lot of recent investment in developing recreational opportunities. The Trail Mix Concert Tour has become the most visible part of the festival for many people—it is free and takes place outdoors. Audiences walk, hike, or bike between stages. Artosphere Festival Orchestra musicians also perform pop-up concerts in and around Northwest Arkansas, wearing their signature green Artosphere T-shirts.”

The 2016 Mostly Mozart Festival closes with the Mark Morris Dance Group performing Mozart Dances with Music Director Louis Langrée, the Festival Orchestra, and piano soloists Garrick Ohlsson and Inon Barnatan.

down. But Lincoln Center leaders thought that great classical music in a more casual atmosphere with accessible ticket prices might prove a potent draw. They were right. Fifty years and more than 2,000 performances later, the Mostly Mozart Festival (and let’s face it, air conditioning) has made the case for indoor summer music festivals and cities as home to classical music year-round. Mostly Mozart can be said to have inspired analogous events around the country, and even caused a brief vogue for alliterative festivals like Basically Bach, although there has not been a Seriously Serial or Totally Takemitsu festival—yet. Eventually, Mostly Mozart’s successful format—the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra exploring the music of Mozart and his peers—needed updating. The festival reinvented itself over recent summers while retaining what Lincoln Center Artistic Director Jane Moss calls “that founding DNA.” Commissions and premieres have been added to the mix. Contemporary dance, performed to classical and Baroque music, plays an important role. Intimate recitals happen late at night in a penthouse with drinks. Sprawling new works are performed outdoors, free of charge. In the 50th-anniversary edition of Mostly Mozart, there’s a world premiere by David Lang that invites professional and amateur singers to form a 1,000-voice choir for an outdoor performance. There’s Richard Goode, who first appeared at Mostly Mozart in 1971, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 with Music Director Louis Langrée and the Festival Orchestra. And there’s International Contemporary Ensemble, the festival’s artists

in residence, which will perform 50 new works, many of them in free outdoor micro-concerts. Location, location, location. That’s the real-estate mantra about what makes a place great, and Grant Park Music Festival makes its home in one of the alltime spectacular locations: a verdant park between the skyscrapers of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Grant Park Music Festival puts classical music at the heart of its hometown, and has done so since its founding in 1935. And it’s truly music for everyone: all concerts are free. Repertoire this summer ranges widely. Led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar, canonic masterworks by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mahler, Dvořák sit beside works such as The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, a world premiere commissioned by the Festival Grant Park Music Festival connects with Chicago communities via Project Inclusion, a collaboration with Chicago Sinfonietta that aims to increase diversity among orchestral ensembles. Here, Project Inclusion Fellow Deanna Said mentors young musicians in the Festival’s Classical Campers program.

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Sylvia Elzafon

Singer/songwriter St. Vincent (Annie Clark) performs with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the inaugural Soluna International Music and Arts Festival in 2015.

“Dallas has an impressive roster of cultural institutions, and many are neighbors in the Dallas Arts District,” says Jonathan Martin, president and CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. “While each is well respected on its own, there hasn’t been an ongoing structure to work together across genres to present something new. Soluna International Music & Arts Festival is a way to do that. The inaugural Soluna in 2015 presented more than 45 collaborative performances and 40 national and international partner artists and organizations. We drew diverse audiences, many of whom had not attended arts events outside of their regularly supported arts organization. This year we are premiering Rules of the Game, a collaborative project between three artists—visual artist Daniel Arsham, choreographer Jonah Bokaer, and composer Pharrell Williams. We want americanorchestras.org

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ome classical-music festivals are so successful—their orchestras so accomplished, their settings so iconic, their customs so comforting—that they seem to have always existed. Though the tried and true are part of their formula, they balance innovation against tradition. Some of the nation’s largest and longest festivals take place in scenic outdoor venues that are within driving distance of major metropolitan areas and derive much of their brand identity—as well as audience draw—from the nearby city’s year-round orchestra, which takes up residence at the festival after its regular season. Most prominent of these festivals are the ones that are summer homes to the principal orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, and Los Angeles. Each of these festivals, in addition to providing a major professional orchestra with a summer home outside the city, boasts substantial in-house artistic or educational resources, among them the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra, made up of aspiring high-school musicians, marking its 50th year this season. Tanglewood Music Festival, in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, is an integral part of the Boston Symphony Orchestra organization. Tanglewood reliably attracts many of the same patrons who attend concerts by the BSO and Boston Pops during their seasons at Symphony Hall, while also drawing large audiences from the surrounding resorts and New York metro area. Tanglewood Music Center’s main venue is the famous Koussevitzy Music Shed, a covered structure without walls that opens to a vast, picnicand family-friendly lawn. A more recent addition to the TMC campus is Seiji Ozawa Hall, a 1,200-seat venue that is home to many of the festival’s small-ensemble and solo concerts. Like the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Ozawa Hall is named for a

Patrons on the sun-drenched lawn outside Tanglewood’s Koussevitzy Music Shed

former BSO music director and is open to al fresco audiences, who take seats on the lawn outside its rear “barn door”—proving that if you find a design solution that works, stay with it. Concertgoers loyal to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra can depend on hearing their orchestra each summer at Ravinia Festival, situated in a wooded area of Highland Park, Illinois, about twenty miles north of downtown Chicago and easily accessible by train. Ravinia has presented the CSO since 1936; this year it marks the 80th anniversary of the residency with Chicago-area premieres, the U.S. premiere of a violin concerto by Wynton Marsalis, four film evenings, and first-time appearances by 46 guest soloists. With its Blossom Music Festival, the Cleveland Orchestra presents a summerlong schedule of weekend concerts at Blossom Music Center, 25 miles south Located just twenty miles north of downtown Chicago, the Ravinia Festival draws audiences from the city and nearby suburbs.

Ravinia Festival

Don’t Mess with Success

Stu Rosner

Soluna to help us build interactions with audiences beyond our traditional classical music lovers, and we believe it can do the same for other artistic organizations in town. It gives us a way to share ideas and projects that may not fit into one genre. It offers the entire community a wider artistic palette.”

from Michael Gandolfi; the Midwest premiere of Martinů’s seldom-heard 1955 oratorio The Epic of Gilgamesh; and Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust. And Grant Park knows pops—this summer, chanteuse Storm Large will sing favorites from the American songbook, and there’s a Cole Porter evening. The festival now ventures throughout Chicago with free chamber and choral performances as part of the city’s Night Out in the Parks series, and Classical Campers, a half-day music-immersion program for kids ages 6-12, in collaboration with the Chicago Parks District. Through Project Inclusion, Grant Park has been partnering with Chicago Sinfonietta for the past four years on a summer fellowship program for musicians, with a goal of increasing diversity among orchestral ensembles.

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David Bazemore Goldfarb Weber Creative Media

The Blossom Music Center is surrounded by Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

West Side Story by the LA Phil and soloists under Music Director Gustavo Dudamel; opening night with Steely Dan and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra led by its principal conductor, Thomas Wilkins; an evening of movie music conducted by film composers John Williams and David Newman to accompany clips on the Bowl’s large screen; and a salute to the late New Orleans singer-songwriter Allen Toussaint.

of Cleveland in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The orchestra’s summer home since 1968, Blossom sits on 800 acres of rolling countryside surrounded by Cuyahoga Valley National Park, providing a bucolic getaway. In addition to classical programs by the Cleveland Orchestra, Blossom includes an extensive menu of jazz, country, and rock. The orchestra’s July 17 concert, featuring music of Copland, Gershwin, and Ravel, is a joint celebration, with Cuyahoga Valley National Park, of the centennial of the National Park Service. The Hollywood Bowl, owned by Los Angeles County and operated by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, has been the LA Phil’s summer home since the venue opened in 1922. The current Hollywood Bowl facility, constructed in 2004 but modeled on the 1929 shell, is located in the natural amphitheater of Bolton Canyon, eight miles from Walt Disney Concert Hall, the orchestra’s downtown venue. Highlights this summer include concert performances of Tosca and

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to a Santa Barbara champion. Compeers show up to master classes, have informal gatherings with the fellows, and show them around Santa Barbara. The artists that really make an impact on an audience member are the ones that communicate something. And what we’ve learned is that you have to practice that. Our new partnership with the New York Philharmonic started when we

ummer is synonymous with “school’s out,” but for student and young professional musicians, it can offer a concentrated music-making experience in settings of exceptional beauty. And there are concertgoers for whom the most attractive aspect of a music festival is the chance to hear musicians at the cusps of their careers. Summer festivals with a strong educational component can be intimate, such as the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, which typically serves around 140 students, or quite large, such as Colorado’s Aspen Festival and School, which draws close to 650 students, more than 30 faculty members, 100 guest artists, and 25 guest conductors. “We have a weekly masterclass, available to the public, in every single instrument,” says Scott Reed, president and CEO of Music Academy of the West. “It is very common that our Monday piano classes will have 300 audience members, or at a double bass master class in the afternoon, there’ll be fifteen audience members. Our audiences are there for the artist. We’ve got a terrific program called the Compeer program that matches each of our fellows

Michele Cardamone

Education

An orchestral concert at Hollywood Bowl. Video screens capture the musicians in closeups.

Music Academy of the West Faculty Artist Glenn Dicterow works with Fellow Hwi-Eun Kim during a public 2013 masterclass at Lehmann Hall.

The lawn at Benedict Music Tent at the Aspen Music Festival and School

were looking at adding a more robust quality to our orchestral program. I reached out to the New York Philharmonic, which was looking at new strategies to expand their musicians’ teaching profile. Every January, ten of our performers go to New York City perform with them. They join the union, go to a full subscription-series week of resymphony

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brillo Festival Orchestra in honor of Alsop; hearsals, and perform four concerts with Anna Clyne’s symphonic ballet RIFT, with the New York Philharmonic.” the Hysterica Dance Company; and an un“Here, you’ll really get a sense of the protitled work by Michael Kropf. fession; it’s a picture of what careers may Since the Cabrillo Festival was founded, be like,” says Alan Fletcher, president and says Alsop, “Contemporary music has draCEO of the Aspen Music Festival and matically changed, as has the tradition of School. “We’ve been working on having attending live symphonic concerts. Conthe school be at the heart of the festival, where the presence of students really strengthens the festival. Our audiences say, ‘We love the orchestras in our home town, we come to Aspen for the summer, and we love the excitement of seeing a sixteen-year-old playing Mahler 5 for the very first time.’ And knowing that that sixteen-year-old is likely to go on to a big career makes it different. We are putting a real focus on socioeconomic and racial diversity in classical music. We have partnered with the Sphinx Organization since its founding, and we are able to offer financial support to essentially all of their finalists. In our local communities, we serve many hundreds of schoolchil- Marin Alsop with composer John Adams after a performance of his Doctor Atomic Symphony in 2008 at the dren through year-round teachCabrillo Festival. ing programs. We’ve had partners in the schools for fifteen years or so, temporary music brings an immediacy but in the past three we’ve really ramped up and relevancy that can be very compelling. our presence.” Often the youngest listeners have the fewest preconceptions. I remember my days in New York, rehearsing in lofts on the BowNew Music ery and gigs at ‘The Kitchen’—the freeany festivals commisdom, the sense of danger and rebellion, the sion and perform new weirdness, the grooviness, the acceptance, orchestral music as part the lack of judgment, the challenge, the exof a mix of symphonic citement … maybe those are qualities that standards and new pieces. Cabrillo unknowingly embraced!” For a more concentrated immersion into “In the early 1990s we started programcontemporary music, there are festivals that ming the works of living composers extake new music as their central mission, clusively, and inviting those composers to offering the music of living composers, ofparticipate in the preparation, performance, ten with the composers in residence. One and discussion of their work,” says Cabrillo of the best-known of these is the Cabrillo Executive Director Ellen Primack. “That Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa was a turning point. We have commisCruz, California, founded in 1963. Orsioned more than 24 works since. Santa chestral commissions are the main draw at Cruz is a very special place to visit with the Cabrillo, which encompasses open rehearsocean, redwood forests, boardwalk, and hip als, pre-rehearsal talks, and a conductors/ downtown. The musicians have a tradition composers workshop. This season marks of tailgate parties in the parking lot after Marin Alsop’s 25th and final season as concerts. It’s become their special time to music director and will feature three world hang out with one another and with the premieres: John Adams’s Spider Dance, composers.” commissioned by the musicians of the Ca-

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SUMMER FESTIVALS

Antoine Saito

2016 The Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Kent Nagano with the MSO Chorus at the orchestra’s 2015 Classical Spree

Alaska

Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Fairbanks, AK July 17 to July 31 A unique and multi-disciplinary study-performance festival offers workshops and performances with inspiring guest artists. Festival includes orchestra, string professionals and amateurs, chamber music, composer premieres, opera workshop, and full orchestra with chorus. Artistic Direction: Terese Kaptur Festival Conductor: Robert Franz Festival Artists: Paul Sharpe, bass; George Rydlinski, bassoon; Charley Akert, cello; Kay DeCorso, Ted DeCorso, clarinet; Stephen Lias, composer; Katie Cox, flute; Marcia Dickstein, harp; David Ahmad Byrd-Marrow, Susan Hurley-Glowa, Richard Tremarello, horn; Sharman Piper, Candy Rydlinski, Mary Tesch, oboe; Karen Horton, organ; Owen Weaver, Jacob Ransom, percussion; Lorna Eder, Teresa Harbaugh, Ian Scarfe, piano; Bob Baca, Jim Kowalsky, trumpet; Jennifer Drake, Maureen Heflinger, viola; Joseph Genauldi, Bryan Hall, Kathryn Hoffer, Lisa Ibias, Andie Springer, violin; Jaunelle Celaire, Timothy Cheek, Rebecca Grimes, Chris Meeridink, voices Featured Group: FSAF New Music Ensemble Orchestra Affiliation: FSAF Orchestra For Information: Terese Kaptur, director Post Office Box 82510 Fairbanks, AK 99708 907 474 8869 info@fsaf.org fsaf.org

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Sitka Summer Music Festival Sitka, AK May 31 to June 26 Since 1972, the Sitka Summer Music Festival has presented the world’s finest chamber music in beautiful Sitka, Alaska. The 2016 season includes 28 concerts and special events. Artistic Direction: Zuill Bailey Festival Artists: Zuill Bailey, Jeffrey Solow, cello; Christian Colberg, viola; Terence Tam, violin; Awadagin Pratt, Doris Stevenson, piano Featured Group: Cypress String Quartet For Information: Kayla Boettcher, executive director Post Office Box 3333 Sitka, AK 99835 907 747 6774 info@sitkamusicfestival.org AlaskaClassics.org

Arkans as

Artosphere: Arkansas’ Arts and Nature Festival Fayetteville, AR May 11 to May 27 Featuring performing and visual arts, education, community outreach, and sustainability elements, Artosphere provides access to high-quality artistic experiences for students, families, and community members. The Artosphere Festival Orchestra features musicians from around the world performing orchestral and chamber works. Festival Conductor: Corrado Rovaris Featured Groups: Dover Quartet, Paula Fuga & Friends, Okee Dokee Brothers For Information: Jason Howell Smith

Post Office Box 3547 Fayetteville, AR 72702 479 571 2731 jsmith@waltonartscenter.org waltonartscenter.org/artosphere

California

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Santa Cruz, CA July 31 to August 13 2016 marks Marin Alsop’s 25th anniversary and final season as music director and conductor of the Cabrillo Festival. The season will be a pull-out-allthe-stops, no-holds-barred celebration, featuring multiple world premieres and works for orchestra and ballet, chorus, and multi-media. Artistic Direction: Marin Alsop Festival Conductors: Marin Alsop, Alexandra Arrieche Featured Composers: John Adams, Mason Bates, Anna Clyne, John Corigliano, Osvaldo Golijov, Jennifer Higdon, Michael Kropf, James MacMillan, Alexander Miller, Marlos Nobre, Kevin Puts, Christopher Rouse, Greg Smith Guest Artists: Mason Bates, electronica; Greg Smith, narrator; Katherine Needleman, oboe; Justin Bruns, violin; Clarice Assad, voice Featured Groups: Attacca String Quartet, The Choral Project, Hysteria Dance Company Orchestra Affiliation: Cabrillo Festival Orchestra For Information: Ellen M. Primack, executive director 147 South River Street, Suite 232 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831 426 6966 831 426 6968 (fax) info@cabrillomusic.org cabrillomusic.org

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Antoine Saito

Festival Mozaic San Luis Obispo, CA July 13 to July 24 Festival Mozaic presents chamber music, orchestra, and crossover concerts and events in a variety of venues large and small. The music ranges from classical to contemporary to experimental, with an emphasis on education. Festival Conductor: Scott Yoo Festival Artists: Jonah Kim, cello; Robert Walters, English horn; Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, oboe; John Novacek, piano; Steven Copes, Emily Daggett Smith, Kristin Lee, violin Featured Group: PROJECT Trio For Information: Bettina Swigger, executive director Post Office Box 311 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 805 781 3011 (fax) 805 781 3009 bettina@festivalmozaic.com FestivalMozaic.com FOOSA Festival/Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy Fresno, CA June 12 to June 26 An intensive orchestral immersion program, FOOSA offers side-by-side training for college and high school pre-professional musicians. Concerto competition (winner performs with orchestra), master classes, solo recitals, and daily private lessons. Artistic Direction: Thomas Loewenheim Festival Conductor: Thomas Loewenheim Festival Artists: Catherine Marchese, bassoon; Leo Kim, Thomas Landschoot, Thomas Loewenheim, Brian Schuldt, cello; Guy Yehuda, clarinet; Bruce Bransby, double bass; Mihoko Watanabe, flute; Rong-Huey Liu, oboe; Matthew Darling, percussion; Luis Fred, trombone; Edmund Cord, trumpet; Francisco Cabán, Rebecca Hang, Yulee Seo, Limor Toren-Immerman, violin Orchestra Affiliation: Youth Orchestras of Fresno For Information: Julia Copeland, executive director 444 West Shaw Avenue Fresno, CA 93704 559 275 6694 office@youthorchestrasfresno.org foosamusic.org Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA June 18 to September 25 One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922. Artistic Direction: Gustavo Dudamel Festival Conductors: Gustavo Dudamel, Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, Cristian Măcelaru, Andrew Manze, Nicholas McGegan, Bramwell Tovey, Thomas Wilkins, others TBA. Festival Artists: Nicola Benedetti, Susan Graham, Lang Lang, Garrick Ohlsson, Francesco Piemontesi, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yuja Wang and more TBA. Orchestra Affiliation: Los Angeles Philharmonic For Information: americanorchestras.org

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Gail Samuel, executive director 2301 North Highland Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90068 323 850 2000 info@laphil.org hollywoodbowl.com Music Academy of the West Summer Festival Santa Barbara, CA June 13 to August 6 Music Academy of the West’s Summer Festival features 140 talented fellows and more than 60 outstanding faculty. Guest artists include Alan Gilbert, Thomas Hampson, Emmanuel Pahud, and the Takács Quartet. Guest Conductors: Matthew Aucoin, James Gaffigan, Alan Gilbert, Larry Rachleff, Case Scaglione Faculty Artists: Strings: Nico Abondolo, double bass; David Geber, cello and chamber music; Alan Stepansky, cello and orchestral studies; Peter Salaff, chamber music; Jorja Fleezanis, violin and orchestral studies; Glenn Dicterow, violin and string leadership; Kathleen Winkler, violin and chamber music; Richard O’Neill, Cynthia Phelps, viola; Karen Dreyfus, viola, orchestral studies, and chamber music; Woodwinds: Benjamin Kamins, Dennis Michel, bassoon; Richie Hawley, clarinet; Timothy Day, Jim Walker, flute; Eugene Izotov, Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, oboe; Brass: Julie Landsman, horn; Bill Williams, performance coach; Ralph Sauer, trombone; Mark H. Lawrence, trombone and tuba; Barbara Butler, Charlie Geyer, Paul Merkelo, trumpet; Ted Atkatz, Michael Werner, timpani and percussion; JoAnn Turovsky, harp; Jerome Lowenthal, Conor Hanick, solo piano; Collaborative Piano: Jonathan Feldman, director; Hiromi Fukuda; Natasha Kislenko; Margaret McDonald; Voice and Vocal Piano: Mary Blackwood Collier, French coach; Heinz Blankenburg, german coach; Giuseppe Mentuccia, Italian coach; David Paul, opera director; Victoria Crutchfield, Second Nature Director; John Fisher, Tamara Sanikidze, vocal coach; John Churchwell, vocal coach and assistant conductor; Martin Katz, vocal piano; Warren Jones, vocal piano and interpretation; Fred Carama, vocal technique and performance; Marilyn Horne, voice program director Faculty Emeritus: Donald McInnes, viola Visiting Artists: Robert deMaine, cello and orchestral studies; Jeremy Denk, Leon Fleisher, piano; Takács Quartet, String Quartet Seminar; Robert Walters, oboe and English horn Mosher Guest Artists: Thomas Hampson, baritone; Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano For Information: Caleb Landon, community access manager 1070 Fairway Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108 805 969 0686 (fax) 805 969 4726 festival@musicacademy.org musicacademy.org Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute July 15 to August 6 Atherton, CA

Founded by cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, Music@Menlo features unique immersive programming, a roster of world-class artists, and a Chamber Music Institute for emerging and preprofessional musicians. Festival Artists: Nikolay Borchev, baritone; Scott Pingel, bass; Dmitri Atapine, Nicholas Canellakis, David Finckel, Clive Greensmith, Keith Robinson, Paul Watkins, cello; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Alessio Bax, Michael Brown*, Gloria Chien, Lucille Chung, Alon Goldstein*, Gilbert Kalish, Hyeyeon Park, Wu Han, Wu Qian*, piano; Dina Kuznetsova, soprano; Matthew Lipman*, Paul Neubauer, viola; Ivan Chan, Nicolas Dautricourt, Paul Huang*, Katie Hyun*, Ani Kavafian, Jessica Lee*, Sean Lee, Elmar Oliveira, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Arnaud Sussmann, Kyoko Takezawa*, violin *denotes Music@Menlo debut Featured Group: Calidore String Quartet For Information: Claire Graham, communications director 50 Valparaiso Avenue Atherton, CA 94027 650 330 2030 650 330 2016 (fax) info@musicatmenlo.org musicatmenlo.org Ojai Music Festival Ojai, CA June 9 to June 12 Acclaimed director Peter Sellars pays tribute to a defining hallmark of Ojai — reimagining each year by affording the music director creative freedom to explore their artistic interests. Sellars’s vision honors Ojai’s long-held spirit of challenging audiences musically and intellectually with new music, and new ideas. Artistic Direction: Thomas W. Morris Festival Conductors: Joana Carneiro, Eric Dudley Festival Artists: Dina El Wedidi, Egyptian singer; Aruna Sairam, Indian Carnatic singer; Tyshawn Sorey, percussion; Julia Bullock, soprano; Phyllis Chen, toy piano; Carla Kihlstedt, violin and voice Featured Groups: Calder Quartet, Roomful of Teeth, Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA), International Contemporary Ensemble For Information: Jamie Bennett, president Post Office Box 185 Ojai, CA 93024 805 646 2094 ggutierrez@ojaifestival.org ojaifestival.org

Colorado

Aspen Music Festival and School Aspen, CO June 30 to August 21 America’s premier music festival, presenting more than 300 musical events during its eight-week season. The institution draws top classical musicians from around the world for unparalleled performances and education. New this summer is a postfestival residency by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, with maestro Manfred Honeck leading three concerts on August 23-25 with violinist Pinchas Zukerman and PSO principal clarinetist and AMFS artist-faculty member Michael Rusinek as soloists.

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Artistic Direction: Robert Spano, music director; Alan Fletcher, president and CEO Festival Conductors: Christian Arming, Leon Botstein, Johannes Debus, James Gaffigan, Jane Glover, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, George Jackson, Hannu Lintu, Jun Märkl, Cristian Măcelaru, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, Tomáš Netopil, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Vasily Petrenko, David Robertson, Patrick Summers, Osmo Vänskä, Hugh Wolff, Long Yu Festival Artists: Edgar Meyer, Christian McBride, bass; Alisa Weilerstein, David Finckel, cello; Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Sharon Isbin, guitar; Behzod Abduraimov, Inon Barnatan, Jonathan Biss, Yefim Bronfman, Jeremy Denk, Mischa and Cipa Dichter, Yeol Eum Son, Vladimir Feltsman, Marc-André Hamelin, Wu Han, Stephen Hough, Vadym Kholodenko, Jan Lisiecki, Anton Nel, Philip Setzer, Daniil Trifonov, Orli Shaham, Arie Vardi, Joyce Yan, piano; Adele Anthony, Joshua Bell, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Sarah Chang, Ray Chen, Augustin Hadelich, William Hagen, Daniel Hope, Stefan Jackiw, Leila Josefowicz, Jennifer Koh, Robert McDuffie, Midori, Simone Porter, Gil Shaham, violin; Noel Bouley, Renée Fleming, Kate Lindsey, New York Virtuoso Singers, Kelley O’Connor, Susanna Phillips, Matthew Plenk, Amanda Woodbury, voice Featured Groups: American Brass Quintet, American String Quartet, Hectór del Curto Quintet, Pacifica Quartet, Takács Quartet For Information: Laura Smith, vice president for communications 225 Music School Road Aspen, CO 81611 970 205 5071 970 925 3802 (fax) jszabo@aspenmusic.org aspenmusicfestival.com Bravo! Vail Music Festival Vail, CO June 23 to August 6 For its 29th season, Bravo! Vail is proud to host the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and London’s Academy of St Martin in the Fields, plus world-renowned soloists and chamber musicians. Artistic Direction: Anne-Marie McDermott Festival Conductors: Timothy Brock, Alan Gilbert, Hans Graf, Lio Kuokman, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bramwell Tovey, Jeff Tyzik, Juraj Valčuha, Jaap van Zweden Festival Artists: Anne-Marie McDermott; Eric Owens, bass-baritone; Yefim Bronfman, Jeremy Denk, Kirill Gerstein, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Lisa Batiashvili, Joshua Bell, Augustin Hadelich, Leila Josefowicz, violin; Ellis Hall, voice and keyboard Featured Groups: Aeolus String Quartet, Dover String Quartet, Meehan/Perkins Duo, Opus One Piano Quartet, Qwinda Woodwind Quintet Orchestra Affiliation: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra For Information: Natalie Piontek, content and communications coordinator 2271 North Frontage Road West Vail, CO 81657

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970 827 5700 npiontek@bravovail.org bravovail.org Colorado College Summer Music Festival Colorado Springs, CO June 5 to June 25 The Colorado College Summer Music Festival is an intensive three-week chamber music and orchestra program for 52 advanced student musicians. Artistic Direction: Susan Grace Festival Conductor: Scott Yoo Festival Artists: Susan Cahill, bass; Michael Kroth, bassoon; Bion Tsang, David Ying, cello; Burt Hara, Jon Manasse, clarinet; Elizabeth Mann, flute; Michael Thornton, horn; Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, oboe; Jon Nakamatsu, John Novacek, William Wolfram, piano; John Kinzie, timpani/percussion; John Rojak, trombone; Kevin Cobb, trumpet; Toby Appel, Phillip Ying, viola; Steven Copes, Mark Fewer, Stefan Hersh, David Kim, Stephen Rose, violin For Information: Karin Henriksen, assistant director, College and Community Events 14 East Cache la Poudre Street Colorado Springs, CO 80903 719 389 6552 festival@coloradocollege.edu coloradocollege.edu/musicfestival Colorado Music Festival Lafayette, CO June 30 to August 7 The 2016 Colorado Music Festival offers concerts for music lovers of all ages. This season’s lineup includes artists Olga Kern, DJ Spooky, The Bad Plus, Joshua Roman and others. Artistic Direction: Jean-Marie Zeitouni Festival Conductor: Jean-Marie Zeitouni Festival Artists: Joshua Roman, cello; Hannah Lash, harp; Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano; Stephen Hough, Olga Kern, David Korevaar, Orion Weiss, piano; Richard Cox, tenor; Vadim Gluzman, Jennifer Koh, violin; DJ Spooky Featured Groups: The Bad Plus, Paper Bird, So Percussion For Information: Sharon Park, marketing and operations manager 200 East Baseline Road Layfayette, CO 80026 303 665 0599 park@comusic.org comusic.org Music in the Mountains Durango, CO July 8 to July 31 A classical music festival and conservatory, Music in the Mountains offers three weeks of world-class music in southwest Colorado, in a variety of unique venues at Purgatory Resort and around town in churches, parks, concert halls, and more. Artistic Direction: Gregory Hustis Festival Conductors: Karina Canellakis, Guillermo Figueroa, Andres Moran, Carl Topilow Festival Artists: Matt Albert, viola; Vadim Gluz-

man, violin; Fei-Fei Dong, Stephen Prutsman, Aviram Reichert, piano; Steve Lippia, voice Featured Groups: Cezanne Quartet, Harpeth Rising, Sybarite5 For Information: Angie Beach, executive director 1063 Main Avenue Durango, CO 81301 970 385 6820 abeach@musicinthemountains.com MusicintheMountains.com National Repertory Orchestra Breckenridge, CO June 11 to July 29 The National Repertory Orchestra performs two full-orchestra concerts each week in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado. This summer’s festival presents 88 talented young musicians from top music schools around the country. Artistic Direction: Carl Topilow Festival Conductors: Peter Oundjian, Michael Stern, Carl Topilow For Information: Doug Adams, CEO and chief operating officer Post Office Box 6336 111 South Main Street, #C7 Breckenridge, CO 80424 970 453 5825 julie@nromusic.com nromusic.com Strings Music Festival Steamboat Springs, CO June 23 to August 20 Nestled in the valley of a world-class ski resort, the 560-seat Strings Music Pavilion hosts more than 50 concerts in the summer season and features principal players and concertmasters from around the nation. Artistic Direction: Michael Sachs Festival Artists: William Short, bassoon; Martin Chalifour, Nurit Bar-Josef, Sheryl Staples, concertmasters; Richard Kaufman, conductor; Jennifer Montone, horn; Joanne Pearce Martin, keyboard; Ellie Dehn, soprano; Joseph Alessi, trombone; Thomas Rolfs, Michael Sachs, trumpet; Chee-Yun, violin Featured Groups: Anderson and Roe, Enso String Quartet, Lucia Micarelli, Joyce Yang Orchestra Affiliation: Strings Festival Orchestra For Information: Elissa Greene, executive director 900 Strings Road Post Office Box 774627 Steamboat Springs, CO 80477 970 879 7460 (fax) 970 879 5056 strings@stringsmusicfestival.com stringsmusicfestival.com

Florida

Sarasota Music Festival Sarasota, FL June 5 to June 26 The Sarasota Music Festival is a chamber music festival held on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Each June, 60 college-aged participants and 40 faculty artists converge for mentoring and public performances.

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Artistic Direction: Robert Levin Festival Conductors: Nicholas McGegan, Larry Rachleff, Hugh Wolff Festival Artists: Moran Katz, clarinet; Robert Levin, piano; Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin Orchestra Affiliation: Sarasota Orchestra For Information: RoseAnne McCabe, administrative director 709 North Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL 34236 941 953 4252 941 953 3059 (fax) RMccabe@SarasotaOrchestra.org SarasotaOrchestra.org/festival

Id a h o

Sun Valley Summer Symphony Sun Valley, ID July 24 to August 18 The Sun Valley Summer Symphony presents orchestra concerts, In Focus Series chamber concerts, Summer Music Workshops for students, and the year-round School of Music. Concerts are admission-free. Artistic Direction: Alasdair Neale Festival Conductors: Alasdair Neale, conductor; Ankush Kumar Bahl, assistant conductor; Michael Krajewski, guest conductor Festival Artists: Michelle DeYoung, mezzosoprano; Orli Shaham, Joyce Yang, piano; Augustin Hadelich, violin Featured Groups: Time for Three; Janni Younge, director, and performers from the Handspring Puppet Company in a staged performance of The Firebird For Information: Deanna Immel, operations director Post Office Box 1914 Sun Valley, ID 83353 208 622 5607 208 622 9149 (fax) info@svsummersymphony.org svsummersymphony.org

Il l i n oi s

Grant Park Music Festival Chicago, IL June 15 to August 20 Thirty spectacular concerts, outdoors in Chicago’s Millennium Park, featuring the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. Artistic Direction: Carlos Kalmar, artistic director and principal conductor; Christopher Bell, chorus director Festival Conductors: Marin Alsop, Andrés Franco, Kevin Stites, Michal Nesterowicz, Christoph Konig, Edwin Outwater, Thomas Wilkins Festival Artists: Christian Poltera, Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Kirill Gerstein, Stephen Hough, Anne-Marie McDermott, Juho Pohjonen, Andrew von Oeyen, piano; Regina Carter, Rachel Barton Pine, Christian Tetzlaff, violin Featured Groups: Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, National Youth Choir of Scotland, artists from Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center Orchestra Affiliation: Grant Park Orchestra For Information: Jill Hurwitz, director of marketing and media relations 205 East Randolph Street americanorchestras.org

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Chicago, IL 60601 312 742 7638 312 742 7662 (fax) patronservices@gpmf.org gpmf.org Maud Powell Music Festival Peru, IL June 25 to July 30 The Maud Powell Music Festival brings topquality performances and educational opportunities to the Midwest. Special events include a children’s music theater camp and a three-state recital tour by festival staff. Artistic Direction: Kevin McMahon Festival Conductors: David Leibowitz, Kevin McMahon, Shawn Weber McMahon Festival Artists: Tony Memmel, composer; Kevin McMahon, composer and violin; Li Shan Hung, Mary Schallhorn, piano; Carol Shamory, soprano; Dave Weber, voice and songwriter; Shawn Weber McMahon, voice and stage director Featured Groups: Maud Powell Children’s Chorus, Maud Powell Trio For Information: Kevin McMahon, artistic director Post Office Box 501 Peru, IL 61354 815 638 2495 mpmf@hughes.net powellfest.com Ravinia Festival Highland Park, IL June to September Ravinia continues its tradition of being the most programmatically diverse summer lineup in North America and celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s summer residency. The 2016 season includes three major premieres, four film evenings, and more than 46 artists making their Ravinia debuts. Artistic Direction: Welz Kauffman Festival Conductors: George Daugherty, Andrew Davis, Ben Gernon, Gustavo Gimeno, George Hanson, Jeffrey Kahane, Kirill Karabits, James Levine, Cristian Măcelaru, Itzhak Perlman, Vasily Petrenko, Bramwell Tovey, Ludwig Wicki, David Zinman Festival Artists: Ksenija Sidorova, accordion; Jack Gilpin, actor; Matthias Goerne, baritone; Stephen Bryant, bass-baritone; Adolfo Gutiérrez Arenas, Zuill Bailey, Amanda Forsyth, Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, Christoph Richter, Astrid Schween, Cecilia Tsan, Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Chanticleer, choir; Anthony McGill, David Shifrin, clarinet; Concert Dance Inc.; Grant Gershon, director; Roberto Koch, double bass; Reentko Dirks, Jason Vieaux, guitar; Yolanda Kondonassis, harp; Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano; David Cossin, Theresa Dimond, Itamar Doari, John Wakefield, percussion; Michael Abramovich, Jonathan Biss, Angela Cheng, Kevin Cole, Ran Dank, Lucas Debargue, Misha Dichter, Shani Diluka, Vladimir Feltsman, Richard Glazier, Julia Hsu, Paul Lewis, Dmitri Levkovich, George Li, Joseph Moog, Kevin Murphy, Jorge Federico Osorio, Natasha Paremski, Christopher Park, Menahem Pressler, Simon Savoy, Alexander Schmalcz,

Peter Serkin, Jean Yves Thibaudet, Daniil Trifonov, André Watts, Ingolf Wunder, piano; Danielle de Niese, Ying Fang, Delaram Kamareh, soprano; Matthew Polenzani, tenor; Chris Botti, trumpet; Atar Arad, Paul Biss, viola; Joshua Bell, Nicola Benedetti, Miriam Fried, Alejandro Loguercio, Midori, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, Benny Tseng, Shalini Vijayan, Pinchas Zukerman, violin; Klea Blackhurst, Sylvia McNair, Ryan VanDenBoom, voice Featured Groups: Ariel Quartet, Chiara String Quartet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Emerson String Quartet, Juilliard String Quartet, Joey Alexander Trio, Lincoln Trio, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Milwaukee Symhony Orchestra, Pacifica Quartet, Silk Road Ensemble, Takács String Quartet, The Singers Orchestra Affiliation: Chicago Symphony Orchestra For Information: Pedro de Jesus, manager of press and social media 200 Ravinia Road Highland Park, IL 60035 847 266 5018 tickets@ravinia.org ravinia.org Southern Illinois Music Festival Carbondale, IL June 1 to June 12 In its 12th season, SIFest 2016 presents Rossini’s final opera, William Tell, fully staged and uncut, set in 1776, in a unique production. The festival also includes orchestral and chamber music from 1776

William Tell in

1776

JUNE 1-12, 2016 www.SIFest.com

Unique performance of Rossini’s last opera, in French with English titles, fully staged, complete with ballet, plus chamber and orchestral music from 1776, all in scenic Southern Illinois.

4/7/16 8:57 PM

in a dozen venues throughout southern Illinois. Artistic Direction: Edward Benyas Festival Conductor: Edward Benyas Festival Artists: Wes Mason, baritone; Andrew Potter, bass; Josh Shaw, director; Bill Cernota, Eric Lenz, cello; William Davenport, tenor; Michael Barta, Kiril Laskarov, Josh Schlachter, violin Featured Groups: New Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Southern Illinois Festival Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet Orchestra Affiliation: Southern Illinois Symphony For Information: Edward Benyas, artistic director SIU School of Music MC 4302 Carbondale, IL 62901 618 536 8742 618 453 5808 (fax) benyas@siu.edu SIFest.com

In d i a n a

Marsh “Symphony on the Prairie” Fishers, IN June 17 to September 4 The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra presents its annual Marsh “Symphony on the Prairie” series, including a lineup of outdoor classical and pops concerts as well as special presentations. Artistic Direction: Zack French Orchestra Affiliation: Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra For Information: Jessica DiSanto, director of communications 13400 Allisonville Road Fishers, IN 46038 317 262 1100 iso@indianapolissymphony.org IndianapolisSymphony.org South Shore Summer Music Festival Munster, IN July 23 to August 27 Join us for our 10th annual festival offering free concerts in communities across Lake and Porter counties featuring a mix of patriotic, classical, and contemporary music, perfect for the whole family. Artistic Direction: Kirk Muspratt Festival Conductor: Kirk Muspratt Orchestra Affiliation: Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra For Information: Tammie Miller, marketing coordinator 1040 Ridge Road Munster, IN 46321 219 836 0525 info@nisorchestra.org nisorchestra.org

Lou i s i a na

Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestras Summer Music Festival New Orleans, LA June 6 to June 10 Two orchestras, ages 7-12 and 12-19, participate in this week-long collaboration with professional musicians at all rehearsals and a public performance. Location: Loyola University, Communication and Music Complex Festival Conductor: Dr. Jean Montes

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Festival Artists: Mark O’Connor Featured Groups: O’Connor Family Band For Information: Pamela Farrar, office manager 7100 St Charles Avenue, Suite 207 New Orleans, LA 70118 504 861 1806 (fax) 504 861 1801 gnoyo@gnoyo.org gnoyo.org

Maine

Bar Harbor Music Festival Bar Harbor, ME July 3 to July 31 Hailed as “Maine’s premier music festival,” Bar Harbor celebrates its 50th Golden Anniversary season in a spectacular setting. Highlights will include Mozart’s Don Giovanni; the 33rd annual New Composers concert, Summer Sounds; and there will be world premieres of Eric Ewazen’s Acadia and Edmund Cionek’s Songs of the Sky, inspired by Acadia National Park. Artistic Direction: Francis Fortier Festival Conductors: Francis Fortier, conductor, Bar Harbor Festival String Orchestra; Cara Chowning, music director, Bar Harbor Music Festival Opera Theatre Festival Artists: Bob Barta, banjo; Keith Harris, Jonathan Lasch, George Neptune, baritone; David Cushing, Christopher Job, bass; Robert Tennen, cello; John Clark, clarinet; Edmund Cionek, Eric Ewazen, Daria Semegen, Augusta Read Thomas, composers; Allison Kiger, flute; Gerard Reuter, oboe; Cara Chowning, Deborah Fortier, Christopher Johnson, Max Lifchitz, Antonio Galera López, Margaret Mills, Ross Petot, piano; Janinah Burnett, April Martin, Chloë Olivia Moore, soprano; Fenlon Lamb, stage director; Gregory Schmidt, tenor; Jeffrey Ellenberger, Mirna Reyes, Claudia Schaer, violin Featured Groups: Ardelia Trio, Bar Harbor Festival String Orchestra, Bar Harbor Music Festival Opera Theatre, Brass Venture, North/South Consonance Duo, Wolverine Jazz Band Orchestra Affiliation: Bar Harbor Festival String Orchestra For Information: Deborah Swanger Fortier Before June 13: 741 West End Avenue, Suite 4-B New York, NY 10025 212 222 1026 212 222 3269 (fax) After June 13: The Rodick Building 59 Cottage Street Bar Harbor, ME 04609 207 288 5744 207 288 5886 (fax) info@barharbormusicfestival.org barharbormusicfestival.org Bowdoin International Music Festival Brunswick, ME June 25 to August 6 Founded in 1964, the Bowdoin International Music Festival comprises seven concert series, intensive summer study, and service to Midcoast Maine and

the world of music. Artistic Direction: David Ying, Phillip Ying Festival Faculty: Steven Doane, Rosemary Elliott, Amir Eldan, Paul Katz, Daniel McDonough, David Requiro, Astrid Schween, David Ying, cello; Peter Basquin, Ahrim Kim, Emma Tahmiziàn, Keiko Ying, chamber music; Jon Manasse, clarinet; Kurt Muroki, double bass; Linda Chesis, flute; June Han, harp; Stewart Rose, horn; Luke Rinderknecht, percussion; Elinor Freer, Douglas Humpherys, Pei-Shan Lee, Tao Lin, Yong Hi Moon, Jon Nakamatsu, Matti Raekallio, Boris Slutsky, piano; Rebecca Albers, Liz Freivogel, Jeffrey Irvine, Michelle LaCourse, Carol Rodland, Ivo Van Der Werff, Phillip Ying, viola; Meg Freivogel, Frank Huang, Renée Jolles, Lewis Kaplan, Mikhail Kopelman, Nelson Lee, Ayano Ninomiya, Susie Park, Itzhak Rashkovsky, Kurt Sassmannshaus, Ani Schnarch, Sergiu Schwartz, Robin Scott, Janet Sung, Janet Ying, violin Featured Groups: Ariel Quartet, Jupiter Quartet, Shanghai Quartet, Ying Quartet For Information: Kippy Ruddy, director of development 6300 College Station 181 Park Row Brunswick, ME 04011 207 373 1441 (fax) 207 373 1400 info@bowdoinfestival.org bowdoinfestival.org

Mas s achus et ts

Boston Landmarks Orchestra at the DCR’s Hatch Memorial Shell Boston, MA July 13 to August 31 Boston Landmarks Orchestra offers free outdoor concerts at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Hatch Shell, frequently featuring collaborations with other performing, educational, and social service organizations. Festival Conductor: Christopher Wilkins Featured Groups: Back Bay Chorale, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, One City Choir, ZUMIX, and others. Orchestra Affiliation: Boston Landmarks Orchestra For Information: Jo Frances Meyer, executive director Hatch Memorial Shell 47 David Mugar Way Boston, MA 02108 617 987 2000 617 987 0195 (fax) info@landmarksorchestra.org landmarksorchestra.org Tanglewood Lenox, MA June 18 to September 3 The 2016 Tanglewood season offers a wide-ranging schedule of performances and events with some of the biggest names in the classical music world and beyond. Special events include John Williams’s Film Night and favorite programs “A Prairie Home Companion” and “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” live from the Koussevitzky Music Shed. Artistic Direction: Andris Nelsons Festival Conductor: Andris Nelsons Featured Conductors: David Afkham, Stefan Asbury,

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Art and Music under the Beartooth Mountains, just North of Yellowstone Park

INAUGURAL SEASON JUNE 17-AUGUST 20, 2016 Christopher O’Riley, Music Director www.tippetrise.org

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Ariel String Quartet Jenny Chen Elmer Churampi John-Henry Crawford Lucas Debargue Alessandro Deljavan Nikolai Demidenko Dover String Quartet Excelsis Percussion Quartet Caroline Goulding Emily Helenbrook Matt Haimovitz Stephen Hough Eunice Kim Konstantin Lifschitz George Li Anne-Marie McDermott Christopher O’Riley Svetlana Smolina Yevgeny Sudbin John Bruce Yeh

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Sir Andrew Davis, Stéphane Denève, Charles Dutoit, Gustavo Gimeno, Moritz Gnann, Giancarlo Guerrero, Richard Kaufman, Jacques Lacombe, Keith Lockhart, Juanjo Mena, Andris Nelsons, Seiji Ozawa, Michael Stern, Christoph von Dohnányi, John Williams, Pinchas Zukerman Featured Artists: Stephen Powell, Sanford Sylvan, baritone; Günther Groissböck, Morris Robinson, Kwangchul Youn, bass; Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Ruxandra Donose, Violeta Urmana, mezzo-soprano; François Leleux, oboe; Emanuel Ax, Jonathan Biss, Yefim Bronfman, Jeremy Denk, Jeremy Flower, Nelson Freire, Dejan Lazić, Igor Levit, Paul Lewis, Garrick Ohlsson, Menahem Pressler, Daniil Trifonov, Yuja Wang, piano; Renée Fleming, Raquel Lojendio, Kristine Opolais, Nadine Sierra, Dawn Upshaw, Rachel WillisSørensen, soprano; Andrea Carè, Joseph Kaiser, Jean-Francis Monvoisin, Alfred Nigro, tenor; Kim Kashkashian, viola; Lisa Batiashvili, Joshua Bell, Veronika Eberle, Augustin Hadelich, Gil Shaham, Pinchas Zukerman, violin Popular Artists: Chris Botti, Chick Corea Trio (featuring Christian McBride and Brian Blade), Warren Haynes, Garrison Keillor, Seth MacFarlane, James Taylor, Brian Wilson (with special guests Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin) Ensembles: Australian Chamber Orchestra (with Richard Tognetti, director and violin; Barry Humphries, conférencier; Meow Meow, cabaret artist, and Rodney Fisher, director), Bluecoats, Boston Crusaders, Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Chanticleer, Danish String Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Hespèrion XXI ( Jordi Savall, director and viola da gamba Tembembe Ensamble Continuo), Phantom Regiment, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (with Nicholas McGegan, conductor; Suzana Ograjenšek, soprano; Diana Moore, mezzo-soprano; Clint van der Linde, countertenor; Nicholas Phan, tenor; and Douglas Williams, baritone), Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland, Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, The Cadets, The Fromm Players, The Knights (with Alex Sopp, flute; Christina Courtin, voice; Gabriel Kahane, electric guitar, piano, and voice) Orchestra Affiliation: Boston Symphony Orchestra For Information: 297 West Street Lenox, MA 01240 888 266 1200 customerservice@bso.org tanglewood.org

M i n n es o ta

Minnesota Beethoven Festival Winona, MN June 25 to July 17 The tenth-anniversary season of the Minnesota Beethoven Festival, held in the beautiful bluff country of Winona, includes nine concerts showcasing orchestral, choral, and chamber music, performed by some of the great artists of our time. Artistic Direction: Ned Kirk Festival Conductors: Andrew Litton, Dale Warland Festival Artists: Lars Hannibal, guitar; Richard Goode, Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano; Michala Petri,

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recorder; Joshua Bell, violin Featured Groups: The King’s Singers, Minnesota Beethoven Festival Chorale, Minnesota Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Shanghai Quartet For Information: Caroline Kirk, marketing and public relations director Post Office Box 1143 Winona, MN 55987 507 474 9055 info@mnbeethovenfestival.org mnbeethovenfestival.org

Mont ana

Big Sky Classical Music Festival Big Sky, MT August 12 to August 14 Three nights of classical music in scenic Big Sky, Montana with the theme Beethoven Meets Rodrigo in the Mountains. Two venues – the indoor Warren Miller Performing Arts Center and outdoors at Center Stage in Town Center Park – provide a beautiful setting. Sunday culminates in a free outdoor performance of the Big Sky Festival Orchestra. Artistic Direction: Angella Ahn Festival Conductor: Peter Bay Festival Artists: Ana Vidovic, guitar; Angella Ahn, violin For Information: Brian Hurlbut, executive director Post Office Box 160308 Big Sky, MT 59716 406 995 2742 marketing@bigskyarts.org bigskyarts.org Festival Amadeus 2016 Kalispell, MT August 7 to August 14 Montana’s only weeklong classical music festival featuring classical, baroque and modern repertoire in two series of chamber and orchestra concerts performed by acclaimed guest soloists and the Festival Amadeus Orchestra. Artistic Direction: John Zoltek Festival Conductor: John Zoltek Festival Artists: Maksim Shtrykov, clarinet; Sooyun Kim, flute; Stephen Beus, Misuzu Tanaka, piano; Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet Featured Group: Fry Street Quartet Orchestra Affiliation: Glacier Symphony For Information: Alan Satterlee, executive director Post Office Box 2491 69 North Main Street Kalispell, MT 59903 406 407 7000 406 203 4753 (fax) alansatterlee@gscmusic.org gscmusic.org Tippet Rise Fishtail, MT June 17 to August 21 A brand-new cultural destination located under Montana’s Beartooth Mountains, Tippet Rise Art

Center presents its inaugural music season. Twenty concerts will be performed at sites throughout the picturesque ranch. Artistic Direction: Christopher O’Riley Festival Artists: Matt Haimovitz, John-Henry Crawford, cello; Jenny Chen, Lucas Debargue, Alessandro Deljavan, Nikolai Demidenko, Stephen Hough, George Li, Konstantin Lifschitz, Anne-Marie McDermott, Christopher O’Riley, Svetlana Smolina, Yevgeny Sudbin, piano; Emily Helenbrook, soprano; Elmer Churampi, trumpet; Caroline Goulding, Eunice Kim, violin Featured Groups: Ariel String Quartet, Dover String Quartet, Excelsis Percussion Quartet For Information: 96 South Grove Creek Road Fishtail, MT 59028 info@tippetrise.org tippetrise.org

N ew H amps hire

New Hampshire Music Festival Plymouth, NH July 5 to August 4 NHMF honors the tradition of classical music while exploring new artistic paths. We connect the community with musicians in an engaging, immersive experience of symphonic, choral, and chamber music. Festival Conductors: Paul Polivnick, conductor laureate; Dan Perkins, principal guest conductor and director of choral activities Festival Artists: Paul Max Tipton, baritone; Roman Mekinulov, cello; David Amram, piano and composer; Mary Kay Robinson, piccolo; George Lopez, piano; Tami Petty, soprano; In Mo Yang, violin Featured Group: New Hampshire Music Festival Brass Quintet For Information: Brad Dumont, artistic administrator 7 Main Street Plymouth, NH 03264 603 238 9007 info@nhmf.org nhmf.org

N ew Jers ey

Music House International Williamstown, NJ June 15 to July 1 A Program of The Philadelphia Intl Music Camp and Festival, Music House International offers extensive exposure to works regularly found on major orchestral auditions, including Strauss’s Don Juan; Shostakovich’s Symphony 5; Mozart’s Symphony 39; Beethoven’s Symphonies 1, 3, and 6; Brahms’s Symphonies 1 and 4; and Ravel’s Bolero. Artistic Direction: Kimberly Fisher, principal second violin, Philadelphia Orchestra Festival Conductor: Cristian Măcelaru, conductorin-residence, Philadelphia Orchestra Festival Artists: Mark Gigliotti, bassoon; John Koen, Hai-Ye Ni, cello; Jeffrey Lang, horn; Choong-Jin Chang, Kimberly Fisher, violin Orchestra Affiliation: The Philadelphia Orchestra For Information: Sandy Marcucci, president 2954 East Grant Avenue Williamstown, NJ 08094

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856 875 6816 609 939 0900 (fax) info@pimf.org MusicHouseInternational.org NJSO Edward T. Cone Composition Institute Princeton, NJ July 11 to July 16 Join the NJSO for dynamic new works by the composers of the NJSO Edward T. Cone Composition Institute, a multi-faceted program that promotes new music and emerging composers. Artistic Direction: Steven Mackey Festival Conductor: David Robertson Featured Group: New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: New Jersey Symphony Orchestra For Information: Alexandra Black, artistic operations coordinator 60 Park Place, 9th Floor Newark, NJ 07102 973 735 1740 973 624 2115 (fax) ablack@njsymphony.org njsymphony.org/institute

New M ex ico

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Santa Fe, NM July 17 to August 22 Set in the natural beauty of Santa Fe, amid the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the festival presents world-renowned musicians in 44 extraordinary concerts. Peter Serkin is 2016 artist-in-residence. Artistic Direction: Marc Neikrug, artistic director Festival Artists: Kelly Markgraf, baritone; Ted Soluri, bassoon; Mark Brandfonbrener, Nicholas Canellakis, Timothy Eddy, Clive Greensmith, Joseph Johnson, Eric Kim, Mark Kosower, Keith Robinson, Peter Stumpf, cello; Romie de Guise-Langlois, Todd Levy, clarinet; Leigh Mesh, Mark Tatum, double bass; Bart Feller, Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; David Starobin, guitar; Kathleen McIntosh, harpsichord; Sasha Cooke, mezzosoprano; Robert Ingliss, Liang Wang, oboe; David Tolen, percussion; Inon Barnatan, Alessio Bax, Julia Hsu, Marc Neikrug, Peter Serkin, Pei-Yao Wang, Orion Weiss, Shai Wosner, Haochen Zhang, piano; Sarah Shafer, soprano; Ben Bliss, tenor; Caleb Hudson, Christopher Stingle, trumpet; Kathleen Brauer, Harvey de Souza, Jennifer Frautsch, Jennifer Gilbert, L.P. How, Ida Kavafian, Benny Kim, Jennifer Koh, Julianne Lee, Cho-Liang Lin, Daniel Phillips, Alexandra Preucil, William Preucil, Kyoko Takezawa, violin; Choong-Jin Chang, Che-Yen Chen, Kimberly Fredenburgh, Ida Kavafian, Teng Li, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Manabu Suzuki, Steven Tenenbom, Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, viola Featured Groups: Dover Quartet, FLUX Quartet, Orion String Quartet, Pacifica Quartet For Information: Steven Ovitsky, executive director Post Office Box 2227 Santa Fe, NM 87504 505 983 2075 505 986 0251 (fax) sovitsky@sfcmf.org santafechambermusic.com

americanorchestras.org

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N ew York

New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer New York, NY June 15 to June 21 The New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks returns for its 51st season with free outdoor concerts in all five New York City boroughs, June 15-21, 2016. Festival Conductor: Alan Gilbert, music director Festival Artist: Anthony McGill, clarinet Orchestra Affiliation: New York Philharmonic For Information: 212 875 5656 212 875 5717 (fax) pr@nyphil.org nyphil.org Bard SummerScape Annandale-on-Hudson, NY July 1 to August 14 Seven weeks of opera, dance, music, drama and film themed to the 27th annual Bard Music Festival: Puccini and His World, exploring the life and times of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Festival Conductor: Leon Botstein For Information: Bard SummerScape and Bard Music Festival Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts Annandale on Hudson, NY 12504 845 758 7900 fishercenter@bard.edu fishercenter.bard.edu/summerscape Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival New York, NY July 31 to August 28 BCMF’s 34th season presents distinctive programs highlighting chamber music masterworks and exciting new repertoire, all performed by worldrenowned musicians. Concerts take place in the acoustically superb Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church and nearby venues. Artistic Direction: Marya Martin Festival Artists: Karl Doty, Donald Palma, bass; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Carter Brey, Clive Greensmith, Jakob Koranyi, Raman Ramakrishnan, Peter Stumpf, cello; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Marya Martin, Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord; Stewart Rose, horn; Kemp Jernigan, John Snow, oboe; Alessio Bax, Jon Kimura Parker, Gilles Vonsattel, Orion Weiss, piano; Brandon Ridenour, trumpet; Ettore Causa, Richard O’Neill, Cynthia Phelps, Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, viola; Frank Huang, Jennifer Frautschi, Ani Kavafian, Jessica Lee, Kristin Lee, Sean Lee, Yura Lee, Anthony Marwood, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin For Information: Michael Lawrence, executive director 850 Seventh Avenue, Suite 700 New York, NY 10019 212 741 9073 212 741 9403 (fax) info@bcmf.org bcmf.org

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts Katonah, NY June 18 to August 7 Summer at Caramoor spans 90 stunning acres and multiple venues; rediscovers a forgotten Rossini opera; premieres new works; and celebrates innovation across symphonic, chamber, American roots, and jazz. Festival Conductors: Will Crutchfield, Curt Ebersole, Rob Fisher, Pablo Heras-Casado, Joshua Weilerstein Festival Artists: Kristinn Sigmundsson, bass; Alfred Walker, bass-baritone; Edward Arron, David Finckel, Marcy Rosen, Peter Wiley, Alice Yoo, cello; Christian McBride, double bass; Brian Blade, drums; John Palatucci, euphonium; Meng Su, guitar; Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano; Jonathan Biss, Chick Corea, Jeremy Denk, Wu Han, Kuok-Wai Lio, Andrew Tyson, piano; Elza Van Den Heever, Georgia Jarmon, Kelli O’Hara, soprano; Paul Groves, Ryan Silverman, Andrew Owens, tenor; Bria Skonberg, trumpet; Mark Holloway, Hsin-Yun Huang, Ayane Kozasa, Matthew Lipman, Max Mandel, viola; Pamela Frank, Miriam Fried, Paul Huang, Tessa Lark, Jesse Mills, Philip Setzer, Gil Shaham, violin; Cécile McLorin Salvant, voice Featured Groups: Aizuri Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Caramoor’s Bel Canto Young Artists, Chick Corea Triio, Danish String Quartet, Etienne Charles and Creole Soul, Evan Sherman Big Band, Gotham Kings, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Ladies Sing the Brass Blues, Music from Copland House, Pacifica Quartet, Stamford Piano Trio, Westchester Symphonic Winds, yMusic Orchestra Affiliation: Orchestra of St. Luke’s For Information: Jeffrey P. Haydon, chief executive officer 149 Girdle Ridge Road Katonah, NY 10536 914 232 1252 boxoffice@caramoor.org caramoor.org Chautauqua Institution Chautauqua, NY June 30 to August 23 The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra opens its 2016 season with Augustin Hadelich on June 30 and closes with Wynton Marsalis on August 23. Chautauqua Institution is also home to opera, dance, theater, visual arts, and festival schools. Artistic Direction: Deborah Sunya Moore Festival Conductor: Rossen Milanov Festival Artists: Felix Fan, cello; Marina Piccinini, flute; Jason Vieaux, guitar; Alexander Gavrylyuk, Alexander Korsantia, Jon Nakamatsu, piano; Chris Botti, Wynton Marsalis, trumpet; Augustin Hadelich, Jennifer Koh, Joshua Bell, violin; Kathryn Henry, Nicole Paker, voice Featured Groups: The Avett Brothers, Calmus, Canadian Brass, Columbus Symphony Chorus, Harlem Quartet, Huey Lewis and The News, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Lysander Trio, So Percussion, Straight No Chase, The Temptations; The Four Tops Orchestra Affiliation: Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra For Information:

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Deborah Sunya Moore, vice president and director of programming Post Office Box 28 Chautauqua, NY 14722 716 357 6217 dsunyamoore@ciweb.org ciweb.org Lake Placid Sinfonietta Festival Lake Placid, NY July 6 to August 14 Celebrating its 99th season in the Adirondacks, this summer chamber orchestra of top musicians from around the country presents a six-week festival of concerts in a spectacular mountain setting. Artistic Direction: Ron Spigelman, music director; Navah Perlman, LPS Pro-Musica Chamber Music Festival Conductors: Ron Spigelman, music director; William Eddins, guest conductor Festival Artists: Gregory Quick, bassoon; Ann Alton, Amanda Brin, Jonathan Brin, cello; Daniel Szasz, concertmaster; Devin Howell, double bass; Anne Lindbloom Harrow, flute; Adam Pandolfi, David Pandolfi, horn; Tony Oliver, percussion; William Eddins, Andreas Klein, piano; David Greenhoe, trumpet; Denise Cridge, Julia DiGaetani, viola; Karl Braaten, Anna Gendler, Michael Nicholson, Anne Pandolfi, Marius Tabacila, violin Featured Group: Ariel String Quartet Orchestra Affiliation: Lake Placid Sinfonietta For Information: Deborah Fitts, executive director Post Office Box 1303

17 Algonquin Avenue Lake Placid, NY 12946 518 523 2051 info@LakePlacidSinfonietta.org LakePlacidSinfonietta.org Maverick Concerts Woodstock, NY June 25 to September 11 World-class chamber music all summer long at the country’s oldest summer chamber music festival. The rustic hall, with its superb acoustics, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Artistic Direction: Alexander Platt Festival Conductor: Alexander Platt Festival Artists: Emmanuel Feldman, cello; Steve Gorn, bansuri flute; Julian Lage, guitar; Frederic Chiu, Simone Dinnerstein, Fred Hersch, Matt Herskowitz, Vijay Iyer, Pedja Muzijevic, Arturo O’Farrill, Andrew Russo, Adam Tendler, Ilya Yakushev, piano; Jane Ira Bloom, soprano saxophone; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet; Lara St John, violin Featured Groups: Aurea Ensemble, Borromeo String Quartet, Danish String Quartet, Enso String Quartet, Escher String Quartet, Horszow ski Trio, Imani Winds, Jupiter String Quartet, Latitude 41 Piano Trio, Maverick Chamber Players, Pacifica String Quartet, Shanghai Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Trio Solisti, Two Rivers Ensemble

For Information: Alexander Platt, music director Post Office Box 9 Woodstock, NY 12498 845 679 8217 alexanderplatt@att.net maverickconcerts.org Mostly Mozart Festival New York, NY July 22 to August 27 Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, a summertime tradition in New York, turns 50 in 2016, and features concerts by the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, chamber and contemporary music, and late-night recitals. Artistic Direction: Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz artistic director; Louis Langrée, Renée and Robert Belfer music director Festival Conductors: Louis Langrée, Karina Canellakis, Matthew Halls, Simon Halsey, René Jacobs, Paavo Järvi, Jeffrey Kahane, Donald Nally, Andrés Orozco-Estrada Festival Artists: Christopher Maltman, Peter Mattei, baritone; Christian Van Horn, bass; Martin Fröst, clarinet; Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord; Sasha Cooke, Marianne Crebassa, mezzo-soprano; Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Richard Goode, Martin Helmchen, Jeffrey Kahane, Paul Lewis, Leif Ove Andsnes, piano; Kiera Duffy, Christine Goerke, Joélle Harvey, Ana María Martínez, soprano; Matthew Polenzani, Alek Shrader, tenor; Joshua Bell, violin Featured Groups: The Crossing, Emerson String Quartet, Frieburg Baroque Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Mark Morris Dance Group, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Quicksilver Orchestra Affiliation: Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra For Information: Eric Gewirtz, associate director, public relations 70 Lincoln Center Plaza New York, NY 10023 212 721 6500 mostlymozart.org The Philadelphia Orchestra Concert Series at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center Saratoga Springs, NY August 3 to August 20 The Philadelphia Orchestra performs three weeks of concerts in upstate New York, featuring renowned conductors and soloists. Festival Conductors: Stéphane Denève, Keith Lockhart, Cristian Măcelaru, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Steven Reineke Festival Artists: David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, André Watts, piano; Renée Fleming, soprano; Chris Botti, trumpet; Benjamin Beilman, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, violin Featured Groups: Albany Pro Musica, Janni Younge Productions Puppets, Morgan State University Choir, New York City Ballet Orchestra Affiliation: The Philadelphia Orchestra For Information: 108 Avenue of the Pines Saratoga Springs, NY

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518 584 9330 spac.org philorch.org

Nev a d a

Classical Tahoe Incline Village, NV July 26 to August 14 All-star assemblage of musicians from the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Symphony, LA Phil, and more. Orchestral and chamber music concerts in intimate settings amidst the majesty of Lake Tahoe. Artistic Direction: Joel Revzen Festival Conductors: Joel Revzen, conductor; JoAnn Falletta, guest conductor (August 12) Festival Artists: Joyce Yang, piano; Lisette Oropesa, soprano; Bella Hristova, violin Featured Groups: Chamber music performed by members of the Classical Tahoe Orchestra For Information: Karen Craig 948 Incline Way Incline Village, NV 89451 775 233 2777 karencraig.nv@gmail.com ClassicalTahoe.org

Nor t h Caro lina

Brevard Music Center Brevard, NC June 23 to August 7 Brevard is one of America’s premier summer training programs for exceptional young musicians. Students participate in orchestral studies, piano, opera, composition, jazz, and voice alongside world-renowned guest artists and faculty. Artistic Direction: Keith Lockhart Festival Conductors: Matthias Bamert, David Effron, JoAnn Falletta, Ken Lam, Keith Lockhart, Robert Moody, Jayce Ogren Festival Artists: Ina Zdorovetchi, harp; Inon Barnatan, Min Kwon, Conrad Tao, Joyce Yang, Jean–Yves Thibaudet, piano; Charles Vernon, trombone; Roberto Díaz, viola; Elissa Lee Koljonen, Robert McDuffie, Eduardo Rios, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, violin Featured Groups: International Contemporary Ensemble, Shanghai Quartet For Information: Jason Posnock, director of artistic planning and educational programs 349 Andante Lane Post Office Box 312 Brevard, NC 28712 828 862 2100 828 884 2036 (fax) jposnock@brevardmusic.org brevardmusic.org UNC REX Healthcare presents North Carolina Symphony Summerfest Raleigh, NC May 28 to July 9 Concerts at Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony 5; Rhapsody in Blue; light classics; two-night festivals of John Williams and Beethoven; David Bowie tribute; Independence Day fireworks; beach music (without orchestra). Artistic Direction: William Henry Curry, resident americanorchestras.org

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conductor and Summerfest artistic director Festival Conductors: Grant Llewellyn, music director; William Henry Curry, David Glover, Brent Havens, Alastair Willis Festival Artists: Joey Alexander, Natasha Paremski, Navah Perlman, piano; Jackie Gore, Randy Jackson, Scott MacLeod, voice Featured Group: Joey Alexander Trio, North Tower Band Orchestra Affiliation: North Carolina Symphony For Information: Linda Charlton, vice president for marketing and audience development 3700 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 130 Raleigh, NC 27612 919 781 6066 (fax) 919 733 2750 tickets@ncsymphony.org ncsymphony.org

Ohio

Lancaster Festival Lancaster, OH July 20 to July 30 The Lancaster Festival is a celebration of music and the arts in Lancaster, Ohio featuring more than 70 events including the 2010 American Prize-winning Lancaster Festival Orchestra. Artistic Direction: Gary Sheldon Festival Conductor: Gary Sheldon Orchestra Affiliation: Lancaster Festival Orchestra For Information: Gary Sheldon, artistic director 117 West Wheeling Street Lancaster, OH 43130 740 687 4808 740 687 1980 (fax) lanfest@lancasterfestival.org lancasterfestival.org

Oklahoma

OK Mozart International Festival Bartlesville, OK June 11 to June 18 OK Mozart features the very best of classical, jazz, swing, chamber music and much more with main concerts, crossover artists, chamber music, and children’s programs. Fun for adults and children. Artistic Direction: Randy Thompson Festival Conductors: Andrés Franco, Lauren Green, Daniel Hege Festival Artists: Jonathan Roll, baritone; Josua Gindele, Jonathan Ruck, cello; Chad Burrow, David Carter, clarinet; Suzanne Ortiz, flute; Doug Simpson, guitar; Kathy Stewart, harp; Adam Ledbetter, keyboard; Lennie Baker, keyboard & voice; Travis Dunlap, percussion; Stephen Beus, Amy I-Lin Cheng, Wade Daniel, Anne-Marie McDermott, Narnie Roll, piano; John P. Allen, David Giaco, Philip Martinson, Noel Seals, trombone; Michael Anderson, Glen Hummel, Michael Mann, Jay Wilkinson, trumpet; Ryan Robinson, tuba; John Largess, Suzanne Wagor, viola; Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, Gregory Lee, violin; Rhiannon Giddens, Kizzie Ledbetter, voice Featured Groups: Ad Lib Singers, Adam & Kizzie, Bartlesville First Church United Methodist Sanctuary Choir, Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra,

Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble, Clarinet Candy, Corky Davis & Cowboy Swing, Council Oak Men’s Chorale, Darell Christopher & The Ingredients, First Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir and Orchestra, First Presbyterian Church Kirk Bells, Founder’s Chorus and Acappella Federation, Miro Quartet, OK Mozart College Youth Orchestra, OKC Brass Quintet, Oklahoma City Philharmonic members, Pro Musica Tulsae, Simply Three, the New Tulsans Gospel Quartet, the River Cross Ramblers, Those 2, Trio Antiqua, Tulsa Metro Sound: Lady Barbershop, Tulsa Signature Symphony, Tulsa Symphony Orchestra For Information: Lizabeth Rolfson, marketing and public relations director 415 South Dewey, Suite 100 Bartlesville, OK 74003 918 336 9800 lrolfson@okmozart.com okmozart.com

Oregon

Britt Music & Arts Festival Jacksonville, OR August 5 to August 20 Highlights: Mahler’s Second Symphony, performances by Yefim Bronfman and Jeremy Denk, and a collaboration with Oregon Shakespeare Festival company members. Britt Orchestra will also perform at Crater Lake National Park July 29-30. Artistic Direction: Teddy Abrams Festival Conductor: Teddy Abrams Festival Artists: Lauren Eberwein, mezzo-soprano; Jeremy Denk, Yefim Bronfman, piano; Celena Shafer, soprano; Ray Chen, violin; Kate Hurster, Jeremy Johnson, Halie Loren, Michael Sharon, Britney Simpson, voice Featured Groups: Rogue Valley Chorale, Southern Oregon Repertory Singers For Information: Mark Knippel, orchestra manager 350 South First Street Jacksonville, OR 97530 541 779 0847 541 776 3712 (fax) marketing@brittfest.org brittfest.org Chamber Music Northwest Portland, OR June 25 to July 31 CMNW’s Summer Festival features more than 100 world-renowned artists in dozens of concerts and educational events over five weeks. Artistic Direction: David Shifrin Festival Artists: Julie Feves, bassoon; Hamilton Cheifetz, Timothy Eddy, Joshua Gindele, Mihai Marica, Camden Shaw, Fred Sherry, Paul Watkins, Peter Wiley, cello; David Shifrin, clarinet; Curtis Daily, double bass; Amelia Lukas, Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Mario Diaz, Jesse McCann, John Mery, guitar; Jennifer Craig, harp; William Purvis, horn; Sergio Carreno, Jonathan Greeney, Ian Rosenbaum, percussion; Melvin Chen, Lisa Moore, Gilles Vonsattel, Andre Watts, piano; Charles Reneau, trombone; Thomas Barber, Doug Reneau, trumpet; Kenji Bunch, Lawrence Dutton, John Largess, Paul Neubauer, Milena Pajara-van de Stadt, Steven Tenenbom, viola; Theodore

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Arm, Daniel Ching, Eugene Drucker, William Fedkenheuer, Jennifer Frautschi, Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, Bryan Lee, Joel Link, Daniel Phillips, Todd Phillips, Philip Setzer, violin; Sasha Cooke, voice Featured Groups: Akropolis Reed Quintet, Dover Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Miro Quartet, Oregon Guitar Quartet, Orion String Quartet, Zora String Quartet For Information: Rachael Smith, marketing director 5125 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 125 Portland, OR 97239 503 223 3202 info@cmnw.org CMNW.org Oregon Bach Festival Eugene, OR June 23 to July 10 World-class musicians perform works from Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Weber, Britten, Brahms, and more. The season will also feature the world premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s Requiem. Festival Conductor: Matthew Halls Festival Artists: Sir James MacMillan, composer; Robert Levin, fortepiano; Paul Jacobs, organ; Jeffrey Kahane, piano; Monica Huggett, Rachel Podger, violin Featured Groups: Chamber Music Northwest, Punch Brothers, Tears of Joy Theatre For Information: Josh Gren, director of marketing and communications 1257 University of Oregon Oregon Bach Festival Eugene, OR 97403 541 346 5666 jgren@uoregon.edu oregonbachfestival.com Sunriver Music Festival Sunriver, OR August 5 to August 18 Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra performs at the Historic Great Hall at Sunriver Resort and at the Tower Theatre in Bend. First-class classical, pops, and solo concerts featuring many internationally acclaimed performers. Artistic Direction: George Hanson Festival Conductor: George Hanson Festival Artists: Amit Peled, cello; Thomas Lauderdale, William Wolfram, piano; Steven Moeckel, violin For Information: Pamela Beezley, executive director Post Office Box 4308 Sunriver, OR 97707 541 593 9310 541 593 6959 (fax) tickets@sunrivermusic.org sunrivermusic.org

P en n s y lv ania

Endless Mountain Music Festival Wellsboro, PA July 22 to August 6 Surrounded by magnificent scenery and smalltown charm, enjoy sixteen days of renowned musi-

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cians and world-class performances in Northern Pennsylvania and the Finger Lakes Region of New York. Orchestra performances on the weekends and chamber music during the week. Artistic Direction: Stephen Gunzenhauser Festival Conductor: Stephen Gunzenhauser Festival Artists: Dan Turkos, bass; Gita Ladd, cello; Corky Siegel, harmonica; Asiya Korepanova, Aristo Sham, piano; Bram Wijnands, jazz piano; Dmitry Gerikh, Gail Hernandez, Sally McLain, Nina Vieru, violin Featured Groups: Across the Pond, Bram Wijnands Jazz Band, Endless Mountain Music Festival Brass Ensemble, Journey West: A Migration of Melody For Information: Cynthia Long, executive director 130 Main Street Wellsboro, PA 16901 570 787 7800 info@endlessmountain.net endlessmountain.net Mann Center for the Performing Arts Philadelphia, PA May to October The Mann Center for the Performing Arts has served for many decades as Philadelphia’s premier outdoor summer performing arts festival, presenting a wide array of cultural programming and popular events. Artistic Direction: Toby Blumenthal, vice president of artistic planning and chief innovation officer; Evans Mirageas, artistic advisor; Nolan Williams, Jr., festival artistic director Featured Concerts with The Philadelphia Orchestra: 40th Anniversary Concert, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Tchaikovsky, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and Firebird: Reimagined with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Yanni Younge of South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company. In addition to these great concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, other highlights this season include Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, and Phish. Artist and programs subject to change. Please go to the MannCenter.org for our full season lineup. Orchestra Affiliation: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony For Information: 5201 Parkside Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19131 215 547 7900 customerexperience@manncenter.org MannCenter.org

Texas

Concerts In The Garden Fort Worth, TX June 3 to July 4 A five-week music festival offering sixteen nights of outdoor concerts at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, with fireworks every night. 1812 Overture, Classical Mystery Tour, Music of Journey, Music of The Eagles, Old-Fashioned Family Fireworks Picnic, Star Wars and Beyond Artistic Direction: Andrés Franco, festival artistic director

Featured Group: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra For Information: Tamara Clement, vice president of marketing 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard Fort Worth, TX 76107 817 665 6000 fwsymphony.org/concerts/citg_main.asp Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival Houston, TX June 5 to July 2 The Texas Music Festival is one of the premier summer orchestral training programs and festivals in the US. More than 100 of the world’s finest young performers form an orchestra led by leading conductors and study with some of the world’s finest performers. The festival presents four orchestral programs. Festival Conductors: Mei-Ann Chen, Hans Graf, Franz Anton Krager, Carl St.Clair Festival Artists: Richard Beene, Elise Wagner, bassoon; David Garrett, Desmond Hoebig, Anthony Kitai, Lachezar Kostov, cello; Thomas LeGrand, Michael Webster, clarinet; Paul Ellison, Eric Larson, Dennis Whittaker, double bass; Aralee Dorough, Leone Buyse, flute; Paula Page, harp; Robert Johnson, William VerMeulen, horn; Robert Atherholt, Jonathan Fischer, oboe; Ted Atkatz, Matthew Strauss, percussion; Jeffrey Cohen, Tali Morgulis, Timothy Hester, Brian Suits, Junko Ueno, Nancy Weems, Viktor Valkov, piano; Allen Barnhill, Phillip Freeman, trombone; Mark Hughes,Thomas Siders, trumpet; David Kirk, tuba; Wayne Brooks, Susan Dubois, James Dunham, viola; Ju Young Baek, Emanuel Borok, Andrzej Grabiec, Lucie Robert, Oleg Sulyga, Kirsten Yon, violin Featured Groups: Ars Lyrica Houston, Belrose Duo, Valkov-Sulyga-Kostov Piano Trio For Information: Alan Austin, general and artistic director UH Moores School of Music 3333 Cullen Boulevard, Room 120 Houston, Texas 77204 713 743 3166 (fax) 713 743 3167 tmf@uh.edu tmf.uh.edu Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family SOLUNA International Music & Arts Festival Dallas, TX May 16 to June 5 Anchored by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jaap van Zweden, the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family SOLUNA International Music & Arts Festival features collaborations between music, dance, and visual art. Artistic Direction: Peter Czornyj Festival Conductors: David Campbell, Karina Canellakis, Jaap van Zweden Festival Artists: Jonah Bokaer, Nycole Ray, choreography; Gregory Raden, clarinet; Pharrell Williams, composition; Stefan Engels, Todd Wilson, organ; Louis Lortie, Anne-Marie McDermott, Conrad Tao, piano; Daniel Arsham, scenography; Anton

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SPRING 2016

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO SYMPHONY

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Ginzburg, Mai-Thu Perret, visuals Featured Groups: Chez Bushwick Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Symphony Chorus, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Nasher Sculpture Center, Orchestra of New Spain, Young Strings Orchestra Affiliation: Dallas Symphony Orchestra For Information: Gillian Friedman, project manager, SOLUNA 2301 Flora Street, Suite 300 Dallas, TX 75201 732 757 6860 SOLUNA@DalSym.com mydso.com/SOLUNA Round Top Festival Institute Round Top, TX June 5 to July 17 Round Top Festival Institute offers six weeks of intensive training for talented young musicians. Symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, chamber music and solo repertoire are included in this concentrated program. Artistic Direction: James Dick Festival Conductors: Christoph Campestrini, Vladimir Kulenovic, Linus Lerner, Charles OlivieriMunroe, Perry So, Carl St.Clair Festival Artists: George Sakakeeny, Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon; Stephen Balderston, Emilio Colon, cello; Jun Qian, Pavel Vinnitsky, clarinet; Brett Shurtliffe, James VanDemark, double bass; Alexa Still, Ransom Wilson, Carol Wincenc, flute; Paula

Page, harp; Michelle Baker, Eric Reed, Paul Stevens, horn; Pedro Diaz, Erin Hannigan, Andrew Parker, Nicholas Stovall, oboe; Thomas Burritt, Tony Edwards, percussion; Eteri Andjaparidze, James Dick, Vladimir Valjarevic, piano; John Kitzman, Brent Phillips, Lee Rogers, trombone; Tom Booth, Raymond Riccomini, Marie Speziale, trumpet; Justin Benavidez, tuba; Brett Deubner, Susan Dubois, viola; Frank Almond, Erica Kiesewetter, Stefan Milenkovich, Regis Pasquier, David Updegraff, Nancy Wu, violin Featured Group: Texas Festival Orchestra For Information: Alain G. Declert, program director 248 Jaster Road Round Top, TX 78954 979 249 3129 979 249 5078 (fax) info@festivalhill.org festivalhill.org

U t ah

Deer Valley Music Festival Park City, UT July 2 to August 6 The Deer Valley Music Festival, the Utah Symphonyâ€™s summer home, offers a variety of classical, chamber, and pops performances in scenic venues throughout the mountain resort town of Park City. Festival Conductors: Rei Hotoda, Jerry Steichen

Orchestra Affiliation: Utah Symphony For Information: Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Park City, UT 84060 801 533 6683 info@usuo.org deervalleymusicfestival.org

Virginia

Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Harrisonburg, VA June 12 to June 19 Orchestral, choral, solo, chamber music. Nine concerts, Leipzig Service, Baroque workshop, Road Scholar program. Works by J.S. Bach, Handel, Purcell, Copland, Ginastera, Thomson, Vivaldi, Vinci, Nebra, J.C. Bach, and others. Artistic Direction: Kenneth Nafziger Festival Conductor: Kenneth Nafziger Festival Artists: David Newman, bass; Nathan Medley, Joel Ross, Tommy Tutwiler, countertenor; Carol Marsh, dance; Arthur Haas, harpsichord; Mark Rimple, lute; Marvin Mills, organ; Nancy Garlick, Anne Timberlake, recorder; Christine Fairfield, soprano; Brian Thorsett, tenor; Martha McGaughey, viola da gamba; Linda Quan, violin Featured Groups: Baroque Workshop Faculty Ensemble, Festival Chamber Players, Festival Choir, Festival Orchestra, Festival Soloists For Information: Mary Kay Adams, executive director 1200 Park Road

2016 oregon Bach FeStival matthew hallS artistic director

June 23 - July 10 Bach: Mass in B Minor Sir JameS macmillan Punch BrotherS roBert levin rachel Podger BrahmS requieM ...and more!

oregonBachFeStival.com â€˘ 541-682-5000 americanorchestras.org

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Harrisonburg, VA 22802 540 432 4367 540 432 4622 (fax) bach@emu.edu emu.edu/bach Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Academy Wintergreen, VA July 9 to August 7 Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Central Virginia, the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Academy features nearly 200 performances, seminars, and events by our professional musicians and academy students. Artistic Direction: Erin Freeman Festival Conductors: Erin Freeman, Laura Jackson, Julian Wachner, Victor Yampolsky Festival Artists: Robert McDonald, baritone; Cynthia Cioffari, bassoon; Thomas Josenhans, clarinet; Daron Hagen, Gilda Lyons, Michael White, composer; Joseph Conyers, double bass; Lance Suzuki, flute; Wallace Easter, horn; Aaron Hill, oboe; Justin Alexander, percussion; Inna Faliks, Peter Marshall, Edward Newman, piano; Arianna Zukerman, soprano; James Taylor, tenor; Jay Crone, trombone; Paul Neebe, trumpet; Elisabeth Adkins, Frank Almond, Ross Monroe Winter, violin Featured Groups: Le Hotclub de Biglick, River Whyless, Shinola Brown, US Army Chorus, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra For Information: Erin Freeman, artistic director Post Office Box 816 Wintergreen, VA 22958 434 325 8292 info@wintergreenperformingarts.org WintergreenPerformingArts.org Virginia Arts Festival Norfolk, VA April 9 to June 26 The Virginia Arts Festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary, brings an extraordinary roster of artists to southeastern Virginia for the 2016 season. Artistic Direction: Rob Cross Festival Artists: Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Avi Avital, mandolin; Chelsea Chen, organ; Emanuel Ax, JoAnn Falletta, guitar with Tidewater Classic Guitar Orchestra; Yuja Wang, Andre-Michel Schub, piano; Tianwa Yang, violin Featured Groups: Dance Theatre of Harlem with Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Miami String Quartet, Shakespeare’s The Tempest with Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Stars of Dance Gala with Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Venice Baroque Orchestra Orchestra Affiliation: Virginia Symphony Orchestra For Information: Cynthia Carter West, director of public affairs 440 Bank Street Norfolk, VA 23510 757 282 2800 757 282 2787 (fax) info@vafest.org vafest.org Wolf Trap Vienna, VA May 27 to September 10 Wolf Trap’s Filene Center is a 7,028-seat outdoor

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amphitheater that showcases a diverse array of artists from May to September. It has been the summer home of the National Symphony Orchestra since it opened in 1971. Festival Conductors: Lionel Bringuier, Emil de Cou, Stéphane Denève, Steven Reineke Festival Artists: Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Yuja Wang, piano Featured Groups: American Ballet Theatre, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, National Symphony Orchestra, Silk Road Ensemble, Wolf Trap Opera Orchestra Affiliation: National Symphony Orchestra For Information: Kim Witman, senior director, Wolf Trap Opera & Classical Programming 1551 Trap Road Vienna, VA 22182 703 255 1900 classicalprogramming@wolftrap.org wolftrap.org

Was hingt on

Bellingham Festival of Music Bellingham, WA July 1 to July 17 One of America’s virtuoso orchestra festivals, BFM presents five concerts featuring world-class soloists under the artistic direction of Michael Palmer set amid the scenic beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Artistic Direction: Michael Palmer Festival Conductor: Michael Palmer Festival Artists: Lynn Harrell, cello; Kuok-Wai Lio, Peter Serkin, piano; Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Ilana Davidson, Thomas Dreeze, Cullen Gandy, Rebecca Robinson, voice Featured Groups: Bellingham Festival of Music Orchestra and Chorus, Calidore String Quartet For Information: Post Office Box 818 Bellingham, WA 98227 360 201 6621 bellinghamfestival@comcast.net bellinghamfestival.org Seattle Chamber Music Society Seattle, WA July 5 to July 30 Seattle Chamber Music Society presents twelve concerts at Benaroya Hall. This summer, 50 world-renowned musicians come together to create unique ensembles to perform chamber music masterpieces. Artistic Direction: James Ehnes Festival Artists: Julie Albers, Edward Arron, Efe Baltacigil, Rafael Bell, Robert deMaine, Clive Greensmith, Ronald Thomas, Bion Tsang, Jeremy Turner, cello; Anthony McGill, Stephen Williamson, clarinet; Nadine Asin, flute; Valerie Muzzolini Gordon, harp; Chris Thile, mandolin; Nathan Hughes, oboe; Steven Moretti, percussion; Andrew Armstrong, Inon Barnatan, Alessio Bax, George Li, Adam Neiman, Jeewon Park, Anna Polonsky, Paige Roberts, Orion Weiss, piano; Michael Brockman, saxophone; Jens Lindemann, trumpet; Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Ray Chen, James Ehnes, Karen Gomyo, Augustin Hadelich, Jun

Iwasaki, Erin Keefe, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Stephen Rose, Arnaud Sussmann, Emily Daggett Smith, Andrew Wan, violin; Yura Lee, violin/viola; Rebecca Albers, Che-Yen Chen, Beth Guterman Chu, Kirsten Doctor, Richard O’Neill, Cynthia Phelps, Jonathan Vinocour, viola; Nikki Renee Daniels, Jeff Kready, voice For Information: Connie Cooper, executive director 10 Harrison Street, Suite 306 Seattle, WA 98109 206 283 8710 seneca@seattlechambermusic.org seattlechambermusic.org

Wis cons in

Peninsula Music Festival Ephraim, WI August 2 to August 20 Nine concerts in three weeks with musicians representing orchestras around the world. Intimate state-of-the-art concert hall showcases this outstanding orchestra. A chamber series in February plus multiple outreach programs are also presented. Artistic Direction: Victor Yampolsky Festival Conductor: Victor Yampolsky Festival Artists: Alexander Sevastian, accordion; Nicholas Canellakis, Denise Djokic, cello; Alain Trudel, conductor; Lura Johnson, harpsichord; Olga Kern, Spencer Myer, Boris Slutsky, piano; Elena Urioste, Igor Yuzefovich, violin Featured Groups: Madison Choral Group, Peninsula Music Festival Chorus For Information: Sharon Grutzmacher, executive director Post Office Box 340 10347 North Water Street, Unit B Ephraim, WI 54210 920 854 4060 musicfestival@musicfestival.com musicfestival.com

International Canada

NAC’s Young Artists Program Ottawa, Ontario June 6 to June 25 The National Arts Centre’s Young Artists Program, founded by Pinchas Zukerman, offers private instruction, chamber music coaching, career mentoring and performance opportunities to exceptionally talented musicians. Artistic Direction: Patinka Kopec Festival Artists: Daniel Heifetz, career mentoring; Lawrence Dutton, chamber music coaching; Arnold Steinhardt, violin; Pinchas Zukerman, violin and viola Orchestra Affiliation: National Arts Centre Orchestra For Information: Kelly Symons, Young Artists Program 53 Elgin Street Post Office Box 1534 Stn B Ottawa, ON K1P5W1 613 947 7000 ext 302 ksymons@nac-cna.ca nac-cna.ca/en/summermusicinstitute/young artists

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INDEX

ADVERTISER OSM Classical Spree Montreal, Quebec August 10 to August 13 A three-day classical music marathon in downtown Montréal, the OSM Classical Spree Festival offers more than 30 affordable 45-minute concerts showcasing international artists and animation for music lovers and the whole family. Artistic Direction: Kent Nagano Festival Conductor: Kent Nagano Festival Artists: Amanda Forsyth, Adolfo Gutierrez, cello; Kent Nagano, conductor; Avi Avital, mandolin; Michele Losier, mezzo-soprano; Nelson Freire, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Serhyi Salov, piano; Marianne Fiset, soprano; Michael Schade, tenor; Arabella Steinbacher, Pinchas Zukerman, violin. International guests artists perform with Montreal Symphony’s Musicians in Chamber Music concerts. Many other artists and ensembles take part in free activities for the whole family. In total, more than 300 artists will join the 2016 OSM Classical Spree Festival. Featured Groups: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, National Youth Orchestra of Canada Orchestra Affiliation: Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal For Information: Customer Service 1600, Saint-Urbain Street Montreal, Quebec H2X0S1 888 842 9951 514 842 0728 (fax) general@osm.ca vireeclassique.osm.ca

It aly

Rome Chamber Music Festival Rome, Italy June 26 to June 30 Now in its thirteenth year, the RCMF will present an exciting concert series of chamber masterworks performed by world-renowned artists. Artistic Direction: Robert McDuffie Festival Artists: Americans: Elizabeth Pridgen, piano; Lawrence Dutton, viola; Robert McDuffie, Yoon Kwon, violin; Italians: Francesco Bossone, bassoon; Antonio Lysy, cello; Alessandro Carbonare, clarinet; Guglielmo Pellarin, horn; Aurelio Scudetti, percussion; Elena Metteucci, piano; Enzo Turriziani, trombone; Luca Sanzo, viola For Information: Therese Heyn, administrative director Palazzo Barberini Via delle Quattro Fontane, 13 Rome, Italy info@romechamberfestival.org romechamberfestival.org

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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 February 22, 2016. 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

Booth Ferris Foundation, New York, NY Bruce and Martha Clinton, on behalf of The Clinton Family Fund, Coral Gables, FL The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, Grand Rapids, MI Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, San Francisco, CA The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York, NY Sargent Family Foundation Cynthia Sargent, Chicago, IL

$50,000–$149,999

Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Brown, Winston-Salem, NC Peter D. and Julie Fisher Cummings, Palm Beach Gardens, FL † Ford Motor Company Fund, Dearborn, MI John and Marcia Goldman Philanthropic Fund, San Francisco, CA The Hearst Foundation, Inc., New York, NY Shirley Bush Helzberg, Kansas City, MO † Mrs. Martha Rivers Ingram, Nashville, TN Daniel R. Lewis, in honor of Lowell J. Noteboom and Bruce Clinton, Coral Gables, FL † The Curtis and Pamela Livingston 2000 Charitable Remainder Unitrust, Boston, MA National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC The Negaunee Foundation, Northbrook, IL Walter P. Pettipas Revocable Trust, Jersey City, NJ Sakana Foundation, San Francisco, CA Connie Steensma and Rick Prins, New York, NY † Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, New York, NY The Wallace Foundation, New York, NY

$25,000–$49,999

American Express Foundation, New York, NY Richard and Kay Fredericks Cisek, North Oaks, MN The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, New York, NY The Edgemer Foundation, Inc., West Hartford, CT New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, NY Steve and Diane Parrish Foundation, Westport, CT Patricia A. Richards, Salt Lake City, UT

$10,000–$24,999

Hal and Diane Brierley, Plano, TX Mrs. Trish Bryan, Cincinnati, OH † Melanie Clarke, Princeton, NJ The Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland, OH Phillip Wm. Fisher Fund, Detroit, MI The John & Marcia Goldman Foundation, San Francisco, CA Douglas and Jane Hagerman, Milwaukee, WI Lori Julian, on behalf of the Julian Family Foundation, Chicago, IL Mark Jung, Wellesley Hills, MA Camille and Dennis LaBarre, Cleveland Heights, OH Alan and Maria McIntyre, Darien, CT New York State Council on the Arts, New York, NY Lowell and Sonja Noteboom, Minneapolis, MN Mary Carr Patton and John Shaw, Orange Park, FL

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Robert A. Peiser, Houston, TX Barry Sanders, Beverly Hills, CA Drs. Helen S. and John P. Schaefer, Tucson, AZ † Penelope and John Van Horn, Chicago, IL Geraldine Warner, Cincinnati, OH Wells Fargo, Los Angeles, CA The Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation, Conshohocken, PA

$5,000–$9,999

Burton Alter, Woodbridge, CT Brent and Jan Assink, San Francisco, CA Mr. David C. Bohnett, Beverly Hills, CA Mr. and Mrs. William G. Brown, Hobe Sound, FL Ms. Nicky B. Carpenter, Wayzata, MN † The CHG Charitable Trust, Philadelphia, PA † Margarita and John Contreni, Greenville, ME † John and Paula Gambs, Tiburon, CA Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, New York, NY Margot and Paul Grangaard, in honor of Lowell and Sonja Noteboom, Edina, MN Jim Hasler, Oakland, CA The Hyde and Watson Foundation, Warren, NJ The James Irvine Foundation, San Francisco, CA Kulas Foundation, Cleveland, OH Dr. Hugh W. Long, New Orleans, LA Kjristine Lund, Seattle, WA Jim and Kay Mabie, Northfield, IL † Shirley D. McCrary, Mooresville, AL † John P. Murphy Foundation, Cleveland, OH Michael Neidorff and Noemi Neidorff, Saint Louis, MO David Rockefeller, in memory of Peggy Rockefeller, New York, NY Jesse Rosen, New York, NY Mrs. Helen P. Shaffer, Houston, TX Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Houston, TX Steve Turner, Nashville, TN

$2,500–$4,999

Bill Achtmeyer, Boston, MA The Amphion Foundation, New York, NY Alberta Arthurs, New York, NY Beracha Family Charitable Gift Fund, Ladue, MO Richard J. Bogomolny and Patricia M. Kozerefski, Gates Mills, OH John and Janet Canning, Westport, CT † NancyBell Coe and William Burke, Santa Barbara, CA Martha and Herman Copen Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, New Haven, CT Gloria dePasquale, Narberth, PA D.M. Edwards, in honor of Patricia Richards and Jesse Rosen, Tyler, TX James M. Franklin, Inverness, IL † Catherine French, Washington, DC † Marian A. Godfrey, Richmond, MA The George Gund Foundation, Cleveland, OH Lyndia and C.Y. Harvey, Denver, CO IMN Solutions, Inc., Arlington, VA James D. Ireland, Cleveland, OH * Stephen H. Judson, New York, NY

NOTEBOOM GOVERNANCE CENTER 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. Alberta Arthurs, New York, NY Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Brown, Winston-Salem, NC John and Janet Canning, Westport, CT † Richard and Kay Fredericks Cisek, North Oaks, MN Melanie Clarke, Princeton, NJ Bruce and Martha Clinton, on behalf of The Clinton Family Fund, Chicago, IL Gloria dePasquale, Narberth, PA Phillip Wm. Fisher Fund, Detroit, MI Marian A. Godfrey, Richmond, MA Marcia and John Goldman, San Francisco, CA Margot and Paul Grangaard, in honor of Lowell and Sonja Noteboom, Edina, MN Douglas and Jane Hagerman, Milwaukee, WI Daniel R. Lewis, Coral Gables, FL † Dr. Hugh W. Long, New Orleans, LA Steve and Diane Parrish Foundation, Westport, CT Mary Carr Patton and John Shaw, Orange Park, FL Daniel Petersen, Seattle, WA Barry A. Sanders, Beverly Hills, CA Sakana Foundation, San Francisco, CA Sargent Family Foundation Cynthia Sargent, Chicago, IL Sewell Charitable Fund, Minneapolis, MN Penelope and John Van Horn, Chicago, IL Tina Ward, Saint Louis, MO • † The Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation, Conshohocken, PA Anonymous (2) John A. and Catherine M. Koten Foundation, Hinsdale, IL † A. Michael and Ruth C. Lipper, Summit, NJ Anthony McGill, New York, NY Steven Monder, Cincinnati, OH † Catherine and Peter Moye, Spokane, WA William Noonan, Milton, MA Ohio Arts Council, Columbus, OH The Alfred and Jane Ross Foundation, New York, NY Ms. Deborah F. Rutter, Washington, DC † Mr. David Tierno, in honor of Melanie Clarke, Princeton, NJ Alan D. and Jan L. Valentine, Nashville, TN Kathleen M. van Bergen, Naples, FL Doris and Clark Warden, Sausalito, CA † Sally and Nick Webster, New York, NY Linda and Craig Weisbruch, Charlotte, NC Simon Woods and Karin Brookes, Seattle, WA

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$1,000–$2,499

Jeff and Keiko Alexander, Chicago, IL Todd Allen, Chatham, NJ Tiffany Ammerman, Marshall, TX Jennifer Barlament and Ken Potsic, Cleveland, OH • William P. Blair, III, Canton, OH † Deborah Borda, Los Angeles, CA † Elaine Amacker Bridges, San Angelo, TX Fred and Liz Bronstein, Baltimore, MD • The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston, TX Wayne S. Brown and Brenda E. Kee, Detroit, MI † Charles Cagle, Franklin, TN † Leslie and Dale Chihuly, Seattle, WA Kenneth Cole, New York, NY Conn-Selmer, Elkhart, IN Robert Conrad, Cleveland, OH Bruce Coppock, Mendota Heights, MN Gregory Pierre Cox, Costa Mesa, CA • Trayton M. Davis, in honor of Bob Wagner, Montclair, NJ Aaron and Afa Dworkin, Ann Arbor, MI Marisa Eisemann, Albany, NY Dawn Fazli, Indianapolis, IN Susan Feder and Todd Gordon, Irvington, NY Courtney and David Filner, Naples, FL • Drs. Aaron and Cristina Stanescu Flagg, New York, NY The Fleischmann Foundation, Cincinnati, OH † Henry and Fran Fogel, River Forest, IL † Michele and John Forsyte, Long Beach, CA • Dr. and Mrs. Hiroyuki Fujita, Pepper Pike, OH Laurence Mills-Gahl and Karen Gahl-Mills, Cleveland Heights, OH Edward B. Gill, La Jolla, CA † Gary Ginstling and Marta Lederer, Carmel, IN Joseph B. Glossberg and Madeline Condit, Chicago, IL Gordon Family Philanthropic Fund, Laguna Beach, CA Nancy Greenbach, Atherton, CA André Gremillet, Melbourne, Australia Patty Hall, Seattle, WA Mark and Christina Hanson, Houston, TX • Daniel and Barbara Hart, Amherst, NY • Ian Harwood, Milwaukee, WI • Howard Herring, Miami Beach, FL Dr. and Mrs. Claire Fox Hillard, Albany, GA Lauri and Paul Hogle, Detroit, MI Patricia Howard, Cazenovia, NY + Laura Hyde, Tyler, TX † Paul R. Judy, Northfield, IL The Jurenko Foundation, Madison, AL Kenneth and Judith Selsby Kamins, Tarzana, CA Joseph P. and Nancy F. Keithley Foundation, Shaker Heights, OH Cindy and Randy Kidwell, Tyler, TX Douglas W. Kinzey, Plano, TX Peter T. Kjome, Grand Rapids, MI Joseph H. Kluger, Gladwyne, PA Robert Kohl & Clark Pellett, Chicago, IL Wilfred and Joan Larson Fund at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Buffalo, NY † Jennifer Leeds, Menlo Park, CA Emily and Robert Levine, Glendale, WI Stephen Lisner, New York, NY Sandi Macdonald and Henry Grzes, Raleigh, NC Alex Machaskee, Cleveland, OH Stacy and Lee Margolis, Brooklyn, NY Jonathan Martin, Dallas, TX Steve and Lou Mason, Dayton, OH † Mattlin Foundation, Columbus, OH Debbie McKinney, Nichols Hills, OK Paul Meecham, Baltimore, MD † David Alan Miller, Slingerlands, NY americanorchestras.org

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Michael Morgan, Oakland, CA † John C. Morley, Cleveland Heights, OH Margaret Fulton Mueller Charitable Fund, Hunting Valley, OH Ann Mulally, Santa Monica, CA Dana Newman, Los Angeles, CA James Nicholson, Detroit, MI Naomi Chaitkin Nimmo, Summerville, SC Rebecca and Mark Odland, Edina, MN James W. Palermo, Fort Wayne, IN • John and Farah Palmer, Tucson, AZ † Anne Parsons and Donald Dietz, Detroit, MI • Michael Pastreich, St. Petersburg, FL • Peter Pastreich, Sausalito, CA † Daniel Petersen, Seattle, WA Henry Peyrebrune and Tracy Rowell, Cleveland Heights, OH The Rice Family Fund, Rochester, NY Barbara S. Robinson, Cleveland, OH Susan L. Robinson, Sarasota, FL Stanley Romanstein, Atlanta, GA Barbara and Robert Rosoff, Queensbury, NY Richard Russell, Winter Park, FL Mary Jones Saathoff, Lubbock, TX Roger Saydack and Elaine Bernat, Eugene, OR † Sewell Charitable Fund, Minneapolis, MN Rita Shapiro, Executive Director, NSO, Washington, DC R. P. Simmons Family Foundation, Sewickley, PA Thomas and Dee Stegman, Cincinnati, OH Linda S. Stevens, Kansas City, MO + Susan Stucker, Mountainside, NJ Tomas Todd, Pittsburgh, PA Melia and Mike Tourangeau, Pittsburgh, PA Rae Wade Trimmier, Mountain Brook, AL † Marylou and John D. Turner, Kansas City, MO Matthew VanBesien, New York, NY • Allison Vulgamore, Philadelphia, PA •† Jane and Dobson West, Minneapolis, MN Paul R. Wiggin, Chicago, IL Camille Williams, Little Rock, AR Donna M. Williams, Oakland, CA Anonymous (1)

$600–$999

Lois H. Allen, Columbus, OH Gene and Mary Arner, Boise, ID Sandra Sue Ashby, Jacksonville, FL Janet F. and Dr. Richard E. Barb, Indianapolis, IN Nancy Blaugrund, Albuquerque, NM David R. Bornemann, Scottsdale, AZ Drs. Misook Yun and James William Boyd, New Orleans, LA • Doris and Michael Bronson, New York, NY Melinda Whiting Burrows and John Burrows, Riverton, NJ Judy Christl, Bonita Springs, FL † Scott Faulkner and Andrea Lenz, Reno, NV † David C. Ferner, Ponte Vedra, FL Jack M. Firestone, Miami, FL June Furman, Los Angeles, CA Rachel and Terry Ford, Knoxville, TN + GE Foundation, Fairfield, CT Michael Gehret, Newtown, PA Bill Gettys, Weaverville, NC Richard and Mary L. Gray, Chicago, IL HGA Architects and Engineers, Minneapolis, MN Carrie Hammond, Farmington, CT Faye Heston, Canton, OH Marilyn P. and Joseph W. Hirschhorn Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Cincinnati, OH Marguerite Humphrey, Gates Mills, OH

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, Indianapolis, IN Wayne S. Brown and Brenda E. Kee, Detroit, MI † John and Janet Canning, Westport, CT † Richard and Kay Fredericks Cisek, North Oaks, MN Martha and Herman Copen Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, New Haven, CT Myra Janco Daniels, Naples, FL Samuel C. Dixon, Morrow, GA • Henry and Frances Fogel, River Forest, IL † Susan Harris, Ph.D., Ann Arbor, MI Louise W. Kahn Endowment Fund of The Dallas Foundation, Dallas, TX The Curtis and Pamela Livingston 2000 Charitable Remainder Unitrust, Boston, MA Nina C. Masek, Sonoita, AZ * Steve and Lou Mason, Dayton, OH † Lowell and Sonja Noteboom, Minnetonka, MN Charles and Barbara Olton, New York, NY † Peter Pastreich, San Francisco, CA † Walter P. Pettipas Revocable Trust, Jersey City, NJ Rodger E. Pitcairn, Rockville, MD Robert and Barbara Rosoff, Glens Falls, NY Robert J. Wagner, Boonton, NJ Tina Ward, Saint Louis, MO • † Mr. and Mrs. Albert K. Webster, New York, NY Robert Wood Revocable Trust, Grover Beach, CA Anonymous (1) Helena Jackson and Doug Dunham, Duluth, MN Donald Krause and JoAnne Krause, Brookfield, WI † Lafayette Symphony Foundation, Inc., Lafayette, IN David Loebel, Lebanon, NH Dr. Gordon and Carole Mallet, Zionsville, IN Terri McDowell, San Antonio, TX Anne Miller, Edina, MN † Evans Mirageas and Thomas Dreeze, Cincinnati, OH Pacific Symphony Board of Directors, Santa Ana, CA Princeton Symphony Orchestra Board of Trustees, Princeton, NJ Raymond and Tresa Radermacher, Dyer, IN Jane B. Schwartz, Augusta, GA Pratichi Shah, Chevy Chase, MD Richard L. Sias, Oklahoma City, OK † David Snead, New York, NY Barbara J. Smith-Soroca, Stamford, CT Joan H. Squires, Omaha, NE • Mary Tunstall Staton, Charlotte, NC Laura Street, Amarillo, TX Jeff Tsai, Geneva, IL • Gus Vratsinas, Little Rock, AR Robert J. Wagner, Boonton, NJ Jay Wallace, Jr., Norton Shores, MI Tina Ward, Saint Louis, MO • † Terry White, Amarillo, TX Paul Winberg and Bruce Czuchna, Chicago, IL Elizabeth M. Wise, Huntsville, AL † Directors Council (former League Board) • Orchestra Management Fellowship Program Alumni + Includes Corporate Matching Gift * Deceased

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CODA

Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes sees things from multiple perspectives. He’s just completed a four-season, 27-country Beethoven piano concerto tour with Berlin’s Mahler Chamber Orchestra, directing from the keyboard. Concerto, a new documentary about the tour, is showing at selected U.S. theaters, and this August he launches Rosendal, a chamber music festival in his native Norway. Here, Andsnes shares his views on Beethoven, collaborations, and the world’s orchestras—as seen from the piano bench.

Oezguer Albayrak

Triple Threat Leif Ove Andsnes

Chamber Music Festival is going to be a short, compact four days of music with a very specific theme: 1828, the last year of Schubert’s life. In addition to concerts, there will be lectures and discussions around that. I find it a fascinating theme, because there are so many myths around his early death and his illness. Rosendal is a very small town with spectacular nature. s a student, I It’s by a fjord, with was so in love high, dramatic-looking with Beethoven’s mountains. There is a revolutionary new concert hall that energy. There we’re using, plus a very is this irrationality about his beautiful little church music—you never know what from 1250. will happen around the next I’m very fortunate to corner. In the piano concertos, be able to play with the there is this feeling of friction world’s best orchestras. between the orchestra and the When I was 20 years soloist. The soloist wants to old, I made my debut show that he can do it more with the Cleveland brilliantly. By the time you get Orchestra at the Blosto the fifth concerto, the soloist som Festival. I’ve had so has become this really heroic many wonderful experifigure that the Romantic era ences with orchestras loved so much. The Romantic Leif Ove Andsnes leads the Mahler Chamber Orchestra from the piano in Brescia, in the U.S. These days, piano concertos that we Italy during the Beethoven Journey tour in 2012. so many people say that love from Schumann to orchestras sound the Rachmaninoff are unthinkable, same everywhere. It’s not true. When I in a way, without Beethoven developing to lift my arms high. Working so closely play with the Cleveland Orchestra, I’m the soloist to become this heroic figure. for so long with the same orchestra gave just amazed at the level of transparency With the Beethoven Journey tour, I a freedom to the performances that was and blend of sounds. Then you play in would sit at the piano facing the orchesvery new to me. I really miss that intense Chicago or Los Angeles, say, and it’s tra; we had a chamber music rapport and collaboration, but if I had continued to a completely different sound again. A could see and hear each other well. I’m play just Beethoven any longer, it would conductor can really put his mark on an not a real conductor. I give the energy that have been intolerable! orchestra over time. These long commitis needed. When you see me standing up For seventeen years I worked as coments allow the relationship between to conduct, that’s usually only in the first artistic director at Risør, a chamber music the conductor and orchestra, and the orchestra entrances, which in Beethoven’s festival on Norway’s southeastern coast. identity of the orchestra, to become much concertos are quite grand. It’s also much So I’ve been doing programming and stronger. easier to stand than to sit, when I have curating since age 22. The new Rosendal Holger Talinski

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Five Conductors – One Stage See them live May 11 in Nashville or via online video after the event as part of the League’s Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview. The preview is a prestigious showcase of talented conductors poised for music directorships and staff conducting positions of American orchestras. Up to five participants—selected by a jury—will conduct sessions with the Nashville Symphony at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center under the guidance of the Nashville Symphony’s Music Director and 2001 Preview participant, Giancarlo Guerrero. Industry professionals, including orchestra executives, artistic administrators, artist managers, and music director search committees, are invited to attend orchestra sessions and meet participants on Wednesday, May 11. The program will culminate with a final public performance which—for the first time—will be video recorded and made available online for a limited time following the event, creating a new way for more people to see these exciting conductors in action.

For more information go to www.americanorchestras.org/brunowalter.

The 2016 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.

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Nashville Symphony Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero

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33 West 60th Street, 5th floor, New York, NY 10023-7905

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League of American Orchestras

Published on Apr 14, 2016

Symphony Spring 2016

Published on Apr 14, 2016

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