“Mark Volpe, coming up on his 20th anniversary next season as managing director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has been elected to the 2017 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a time-honored (founded 1780) institution whose members include some of the world’s most accomplished practitioners in every conceivable field,” reports Susan Elliott in Thursday’s (4/13) Musical America (subscription required). “Although there have been conductors and musicians elected in the past, Volpe is the first chief executive of an orchestra. This year’s group of 228 new members includes” Pulitzer Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows, National Medal of Arts recipients, and Tony, Grammy, and Emmy winners. “Among them are actress Carol Burnett, pianist André Watts, and [music journalist and cultural critic] Greil Marcus. Volpe is one of seven under the category ‘Educational, Scientific, Cultural, and Philanthropic Administration.’ It is a well-deserved accolade. Since he arrived from the Detroit Symphony in 1997, the BSO’s budget has grown from $49.9 million to $97 million and its endowment from $149 million to $451 million. He has overseen the … transitions of three music directors … with whom he has helped to restore the orchestra’s artistic profile and international standing.”
Posted April 14, 2017
