“During the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s opening concert in the new Allen-Bradley Hall in the Bradley Symphony Center, trumpeter Matthew Ernst, trombonist Megumi Kanda and horn player Matthew Annin stood alone in the center of the gleaming stage, playing Poulenc’s sprightly Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone,” writes Jim Higgins in Monday’s (2/8) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The MSO has spent $90 million to transform a 1930s movie house on West Wisconsin Avenue into its new concert home…. The pandemic and city health regulations have not made it possible for the MSO to open the building with 1,650 subscribers in their seats. So music director Ken-David Masur and artistic vice president Bret Dorhout have crafted a season of 12 classical and four Pops programs featuring small groups of musicians that subscribers can watch online…. The audience saw … violinists Jeanyi Kim and Michael Giacobassi, violist Erin Pipal and cellist Madeleine Kabat performing contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery’s ‘Source Code.’ Montgomery’s piece is the first of many the MSO will play this season by Black composers past and present…. Today we can feel grateful that neither the hell of a pandemic nor the high water of a basement flood could stop the music.”
Author: Mike Rush
Sarasota Concert Association to spotlight Sarasota Symphony musicians and others in streamed events
“While its concert season was postponed or canceled because of the pandemic, the Sarasota Concert Association is working to stay connected with music lovers with a series of virtual concerts and conversations,” writes Jay Handelman in Sunday’s (2/7) Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL). “The new Musically Speaking Series … will bring performances into your home and allow audiences to hear from the musicians. It opens at 7 p.m. Feb. 25 with pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Kirill Gerstein in a duo piano performance and talk conversation. They will perform two-piano arrangements of favorite orchestral works including Rachmaninoff’s ‘Symphonic Dances’ and Ravel’s ‘La Valse.’ At 7 p.m. March 11, ensembleNEWSRQ founders and artistic directors Samantha Bennett and George Nickson will demonstrate their affinity for contemporary music. Bennett is the principal second violin for the Sarasota Orchestra, and Nickson, a former Sarasota Orchestra musician, is principal percussion for the Dallas Symphony. The final program, at 7 p.m. March 25, features the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the renowned chamber orchestra [in music by] Bach, Messiaen and MacMillan.… The series is offered for free but registration is required and viewing links will be available for seven days after the initial presentation.”
Melissa Ngan named president and CEO of American Composers Orchestra in NYC
“Melissa Ngan, founder of the Chicago-based new music group Fifth House Ensemble, project consultant to the Cleveland Orchestra, among others, is to succeed Edward Yim as president and CEO of the American Composers Orchestra (ACO),” writes Susan Elliott in Monday’s (2/8) Musical America (subscription required). “Yim has been chief content officer for WQXR since September. Jesse Rosen, recently retired CEO of the League of American Orchestras, has been serving as interim. Last week, longtime ACO Music Director George Manahan said he would be stepping down in July. Ngan, of Brazilian/Cambodian descent, has a broad background in cultivating new and diverse audiences; in her 15 years at Fifth House Ensemble, she oversaw the commissioning of over 200 new works and more than 35 training programs annually. She starts at ACO February 16 and will be working in collaboration with its Artistic Director Derek Bermel. She is a professional flautist who graduated from the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University…. Ngan noted ‘this time of reinvention for our field’ and said she was looking forward to advancing ‘shared values of diversity, disruption, and discovery…. Now, more than ever, we need new ways to listen, and to be heard.’ ”
Annapolis Symphony’s Herrera on legacy of late Pat Edwards, ASO’s first executive director
“I moved to Annapolis last year to accept the position of executive director of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Patricia Edwards Chair,” writes Edgar Herrera in Sunday’s (2/7) Capital Gazette (Annapolis, MD). “I looked forward to meeting its namesake, Pat Edwards, the first ASO executive director and a powerhouse in the Annapolis music and arts community. We exchanged emails, but because of the pandemic, did not get the chance to meet in person. Edwards passed away Jan. 30, at her home. She was 83 years old. It is impossible to consider the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra without crediting Pat’s tireless efforts…. Pat established an office in Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts and mastered the business of running a symphony. Together, board president Anna Greenberg, Peter Bay (then ASO Music Director) and Pat expanded the concert season, doubled the symphony’s budget, increased ticket sales, and instituted a program of salary enhancements for the musicians…. In her nine-year tenure, Pat … had to think about the best way to … transition from a community orchestra to a professional institution. And she did a magnificent job. Thanks to Pat we can continue to build on what the ASO has achieved.”
New World Symphony moves gala online, with proceeds to benefit musicians and fund mobile Wallcasts
“At New World Symphony, the training orchestra for young conservatory graduates … in Miami, the annual gala on Feb. 20 is going online-only,” writes Andres Viglucci in Friday’s (2/5) Miami Herald (subscription required). “The centerpiece of the program, a new half-hour film, also will stream free to the general public that night…. It features performance clips and interviews with luminaries from the institution’s 34-year history…. Along with catered meals … and a virtual cocktail party, New World gala patrons will get private streamed performances by classical superstars like cellist Yo-Yo Ma and clarinetist Anthony McGill…. The event already ‘blew past’ its fundraising goal of $1.25 million and is now at $1.5 million, said gala co-chair Judith Rodin, a New World trustee…. All proceeds from the gala will go to a new Resilience Fund, [which] will provide COVID-19 testing and mental health services to orchestra fellows as well as seed capital for webcasting New World performances. It will also help broaden the symphony’s audience by creating a portable version of its hugely popular Wallcasts, in which live performances are shown for free on the facade of its building.” The article includes fundraising plans by other South Florida nonprofits.
Focus on women composers at California’s American Youth Symphony
American Youth Symphony Concertmaster Gallia Kastner and (from top) composers Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, and Jennifer Higdon.
The American Youth Symphony has made a “groundbreaking pledge that 50 percent or more of new music performed by the orchestra will be the work of female composers,” writes Laurie Niles in Friday’s (2/5) Violinist.com. “It all began when conductor Carlos Izcaray started planning a single concert that would feature female composers…. ‘As we were doing the research, it took about two seconds to realize, one concert is not enough,’ [he said]. How about a whole season? So … 2018-2019 became the ‘Year of the Woman’ for the AYS. But even that was not enough…. The orchestra officially pledged that, moving forward, 50 percent or more of new music performed by the orchestra would be by female composers. ‘That is the make-up of our society, and I think that is sustainable,’ he said…. How has this kind of programming affected the members of the youth orchestra? … Playing Jennifer Higdon’s ‘Blue Cathedral’ with AYS in Disney Hall was an unforgettable experience for [concertmaster Gallia] Kastner. And the AYS concerts featuring works Joan Tower and Jessie Montgomery served as an introduction to those composers for Kastner. Since that time, Kastner has further explored the works of those composers on her own.”
Conductor Kelly Corcoran named interim artistic advisor at Lexington Philharmonic
The Lexington Philharmonic in Kentucky has appointed KELLY CORCORAN as interim artistic advisor, a newly created position. Corcoran will provide artistic guidance, help shape programs, and select repertoire during the 2020-2021 season and after, until the Lexington Philharmonic can safely resume its music director search. The position will not necessarily include conducting responsibilities. Corcoran is artistic director of Intersection, a contemporary music ensemble dedicated to reimagining the traditional concert experience. She conducted the Nashville Symphony for nine seasons as associate conductor and as director of the Symphony Chorus. Corcoran has ap-peared as a guest conductor with orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and Nation-al Symphony Orchestra. Corcoran has appeared with orchestras in Argentina, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Mexico, and Chile. Corcoran attended Boston Conservatory and Indiana University, is an alumna of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, and studied contemporary mu-sic with Pierre Boulez at the Lucerne Festival. Corcoran serves on the music faculty at Middle Tennessee State University and Lipscomb University and is pursuing a master’s degree in public health in health behavior from the University of Alabama–Birmingham.
New board chair at Grant Park Music Festival
Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival has announced that ADAM GRAIS has been elected chair of its board of directors, effective January 25, 2021. Grais earned a juris doctor degree from the University of Chicago and works as a tax attorney at McDonald Hopkins. Before studying law he was a professional drummer in a variety of ensembles. He continues to play in a rock band. Grais has served on the board of the Grant Park Music Festival since 2014 and is passionate about serving Chicago’s diverse communities through music. Before becoming board chair, he served as the board’s vice chair, chair of the governance committee, and chair of the education and community engagement committee.
In addition, three new board members recently joined the Grant Park Music Festival board: Jill Mueller, Tom Orlando, and Beatrice Mensah Tayui.
Boston’s Celebrity Series to stream programs by Castle of Our Skins, Hub New Music, Emerson String Quartet, more
Boston’s Celebrity Series will stream the first of its new online “Celebrity Series at Home” pro-grams on February 11 when violinist Alyssa Wang performs solo works by J.S. Bach, John Corigliano, Francisco Tárrega, and Chen Yi. The February 18 episode will feature a string quartet from the Boston-based Castle of Our Skins ensemble performing two works in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Daniel Bernard Roumain’s String Quartet No. 2 (“King”) and George Walker’s Lyric for Strings. Hub New Music (flutist Michael Avitabile, clarinetist Nicholas Brown, violinist Alyssa Wang, cellist Jesse Christeson) will perform world premieres by Shaw Pong Liu, Eric Nathan, Natalie Dietterich, Molly Herron, and Dai Wei. Additional episodes will feature the Emerson String Quartet; pianist András Schiff; Quartet Kalos (marimba, clarinet, cello, and voice); vocalist Aoife O’Donovan and mandolinist/vocalist Chris Thile; harp-and-vibraphone duo Charles Overton and Julian Loida; and double bassist Christian McBride and his quartet. For more information visit https://www.celebrityseries.org/athome/.
New network to focus on training and mentoring for BIPOC instrumentalists
“The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is a founding member of an organization seeking to address racial inequalities in the field of classical music,” writes Tana Weingartner in Tuesday’s (2/2) WXVU (Cincinnati Public Radio). “The National Instrumentalist Mentoring and Advancement Network (NIMAN) is a collection of music organizations and artists…. The group’s stated mission is to work ‘as a connector, convener and facilitator for music organizations and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) instrumentalists.’ Stanford Thompson, a founding member from Philadelphia where he’s the founder and executive director of Play on Philly, says, … ‘We want to see a much higher representation of African American and Latinx musicians on professional stag-es….’ That includes more orchestras creating opportunities … as well as access to … mentoring, summer music programs, and providing supports to young and school-age musicians of color…. NIMAN launched in January … and is looking to attract at least 100 founding members by the end of February…. The CSO in August unveiled a 10-point diversity, equity and inclusion action plan [and] pledged to create a Community Advisory Council, implement implicit bias training, and work to amplify the work of BIPOC musicians within the CSO.”