“The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra concluded its first season under music director Eckart Preu with double-digit increases in attendance and ticket sales,” writes Janelle Gelfand in Thursday’s (9/14) Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio). “The other accomplishment was to choose a new concertmaster … Celeste Golden Boyer…. She is also the second associate concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony…. CCO’s Summermusik [festival], held Aug. 5 to Aug. 26 … included casual ‘Chamber Crawls’ in bars and ‘A Little Afternoon Musik’ in alternative spaces…. Preu’s programs mixed standard classics … with fare that was adventurous … Total attendance increased by 22 percent, and several smaller events quickly sold out…. [Incoming Concertmaster] Boyer, winner of the bronze medal in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 2006 … was accepted [at age 15] into the Curtis Institute of Music … and she earned a master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She was the unanimous choice of the audition committee…. Preparing future seasons, Preu says he hopes to keep up the momentum…. ‘Even before we played one note, we had overshot the entire last season’s ticket sales,’ Preu said…. ‘Keeping up the same level of novelty and funkiness and fun—that’s where the challenge is.’ ”
Posted September 15, 2017
