Author: Jennifer Melick

The Buffalo Philharmonic will perform at Carnegie Hall on October 3 in a tribute concert to Lukas Foss (1922-2009) honoring the composer and conductor’s 100th anniversary. Music Director JoAnn Falletta will conduct the free concert. Foss served as music director of the BPO from 1963 to 1970; during her student years Falletta served as Foss’s associate conductor at the Milwaukee Symphony from 1985 to 1988. Foss also served as music director of the Ojai Music Festival (1961-87) and the Brooklyn Philharmonic (1971-87), and founded the Improvisation Chamber Ensemble at UCLA in 1953 and the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts in 1963 at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The Carnegie program will include Foss’s Renaissance Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1985), commissioned by the BPO for Carol Wincenc, performed by Amy Porter on this concert; Three American Pieces (1944), written for Itzhak Perlman, performed by BPO Concertmaster Nikki Chooi on this concert; Symphony No. 1 (1944); Ode for Orchestra (1944, rev. 1958); and Psalms 1956 (1955–56), the latter featuring New York’s Trinity Wall Street Choir.

“A new BBC film will follow the story of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra which was formed against the backdrop of the war,” writes Naomi Clarke in Friday’s (7/29) Independent (UK). “Broadcaster Clive Myrie will present the film which will explore how the 75 Ukrainian musicians came together in the midst of Russia’s invasion of the country to bring a message of defiance and hope. Myrie will meet members of the orchestra and follow them from rehearsals in Ukraine to coming together for their first rehearsal as an orchestra in Warsaw for their inaugural concert on July 28. The film will show the challenges they have faced including how some of their family members are on the front lines while many have fled Ukraine since the war began. It will also explore why the musicians joined forces in a warzone to take their music and message to the world. Following their first concert in Warsaw, the orchestra [is] now embarking on a European and USA tour … The orchestra is under the musical direction of Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson…. The BBC News film, which has a working title of The Freedom Orchestra, will be broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer this September.”

“The Detroit Symphony has appointed Robyn Bollinger, noted free-lance and former member of the Boston-based chamber group A Far Cry, to be its next concertmaster,” writes Susan Elliott in Thursday’s (7/28) Musical America (subscription required). “After a successful audition in February, Bollinger sat in with the DSO for two weeks in May…. Bollinger … has served as guest concertmaster with numerous American orchestras, frequently with the Pittsburgh Symphony. At the DSO, she succeeds YoonShin Song, who left in 2019 to join the Houston Symphony as concertmaster…. The DSO has also named a new principal bassoon, Conrad Cornelison, most recently in the same job with the Jacksonville Symphony, where he has been since 2017. Previously he has played with the Houston Grand Opera … and as a guest with the Houston Symphony and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra…. He succeeds Robert Williams, who retired in 2019-20…. Adam Rainey also joins the orchestra, slipping into the bass trombone chair previously occupied by Randall Hawes, who retired in 2019-20 … Rainey arrives after eight years in the Kansas City Symphony. He has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony…. The three new musicians join the orchestra next fall, along with flutist Shantanique Moore, one of two African American Orchestra Fellows.”

“As David Stewart Wiley reflected on his 25th season as conductor and music director of Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, he had a lot to be thankful for—especially for the support shown by patrons and concertgoers as the symphony undertook ‘a journey of reemergence and reopening,’ ” writes Don Peterson in a letter to the editor in Wednesday’s (7/27) Roanoke Times (VA). “The culmination of a quarter century with the symphony happened to coincide with RSO’s return to live concerts after the long, financially perilous pause in live performances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Performing arts organizations all over had hanging over them the question of whether audiences would return once restrictions were lifted…. The answer turned out to be a resounding yes. ‘We had full houses, knocked it out of the park with our pops season,’ Wiley said…. RSO was [hard] hit by the pandemic, with operating budget reductions and layoffs of full time employees that exceeded 60%. These cuts, though painful, were necessary to keep the symphony viable without revenue coming in…. A Shuttered Venue Operators Grant allowed the nonprofit symphony to rehire staff … for a return to live venues in 2021.” Included is a brief history of the orchestra from 1953 to the current day.

“As women continue to gain traction as trailblazers within industries, women in niche markets like orchestra conductors are just beginning to break the glass ceilings,” writes Cheryl Robinson in Thursday’s (7/28) Forbes. “According to the most recent data available from the League of American Orchestras, only 14.6% of U.S orchestra conductors at all levels were women. Additionally, the organization’s 2022 Orchestra Repertoire Report found that works by women composers and composers of color (living and deceased) rose by four hundred percent. Laura Jackson, music director for Reno Philharmonic, now in her 14th season, is paving a new direction for up-and-coming female conductors and composers through her artistry, leadership and creative community engagement. She conducted Symphony No. 3: Altered Landscape in May by renowned composer Jimmy López Bellido. An agreement was made that other orchestras who wanted to perform the piece bypass paying royalties. Instead, they are required to donate $1,000 to the Nature Conservancy, presenting a unique opportunity for orchestras to combat climate change. In addition, the piece itself directly engages with themes of climate and pandemic-induced isolation.” Said Jackson, “It’s not just about generating awareness and having great conversations about topics. It’s about really taking action that matters.”

The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Park Forest, announced that it has reached a new three-year collective bargaining agreement with its musicians, effective through the 2024-25 season. Highlights of the agreement include a 12.5 percent pay increase, increased collaboration between musicians and management to expand the variety and availability of small-ensemble concerts, changes to recruitment, audition, and retention procedures to address equity and inclusion at IPO, and updated Covid-19 wellness protocols, aimed at keeping musicians healthy and performances live. Musicians will now be able to accrue a limited amount of sick time, which the orchestra states is a first for per-service orchestras in the region. The orchestra has also announced a four-year contract extension for Music Director Stilian Kirov, through the 2026-27 season. The IPO will mark its 45th anniversary this season; Christina Salerno is the orchestra’s executive director.

Tianhui Ng, “the first Singaporean music director of the Boston orchestra New England Philharmonic, wants to push for diversity in upcoming concerts,” writes Soon En-Rei in Wednesday’s (7/27) Straits Times (Singapore). “The orchestra announced his appointment … on July 25. Ng, 42, says of his appointment … ‘I am imagining ways in which our concerts provide a diversity of perspectives and how we can invite new audiences who might not have seen themselves represented in our music-making.’ Ng, who is based in Massachusetts, studied composition and conducting at the University of Birmingham. He has conducted orchestras around the world, including the Dartington Festival Orchestra in Britain and the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra in the United States” and is music director of the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts. “He aspires to reignite the communal bond between musicians and the public through music, following the ‘social isolation and communal fragmentation’ brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. The New England Philharmonic is a volunteer orchestra that [performs] … commissions and recent works alongside traditional repertoire,’ according to its to its press statement…. Ng … will be the fifth music director to lead the orchestra, which was founded in 1976.”

“There are different kinds of power in this annual ranking exercise,” write David Clarey and Hannah Wade in Wednesday’s (7/27) Post and Courier (Charleston, SC). “In this list, [we] ranked the city’s culture setters from 1st to 25th. On it you’ll see mainstays but also an influx of new names to recognize the ever-changing landscape of the city’s arts and food scenes…. The COVID-19 pandemic’s ongoing effects … weigh heavily in our considerations, as did the ways these people have shepherded their organizations … since Columbia has largely regained some sense of normalcy. We hope you find it a worthwhile exercise to be reminded of who shapes the way we go about interacting with life in our city.” The 2022 “Power List” includes directors of nonprofits, restaurateurs, librarians, musicians, gallerists, and others. South Carolina Philharmonic Executive Director Rhonda Hunsinger is number 6 on the list: “Rhonda Hunsinger leads the city’s foremost music organization, the South Carolina Philharmonic, which emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic’s virtual performances mandate strongly. It took initial innovations, like performing in atypical venues, and made them permanent series, like the Chamber Crawl. Hunsinger has ensured the fine musical arts are a constant force in the Midlands.”