“David Stewart Wiley recently reflected on two decades of concerts he’s conducted for the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, trying to pick a favorite,” writes Mike Allen in Friday’s (10/9) Roanoke Times (Virginia). “ ‘Wow,’ he said. ‘There have been so many.’ … There was the recording RSO made of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and the joint concert in January with the Roanoke Youth Symphony Orchestra that was televised in full on WDBJ (Channel 7)…. He’s held the job more than twice as long as his groundbreaking predecessor, Victoria Bond, but [the] record is still held by founder Gibson Morrissey, leader of RSO from its first concert in 1953 until his death in 1975…. The pool of talented musicians who play with RSO has deepened since he started, Wiley said, which allows for flexibility. To tie Saturday’s Gershwin gala to current events, he changed the program at the last minute, so that the concert will now feature [Gershwin’s] ‘Cuban Overture.’ Wiley wanted to use the piece to reflect on the recent improvement in relations between Cuba and the U.S. Pianist Norman Krieger, who will be the solo artist in that concert, was the first solo artist to perform with the Wiley-helmed RSO.”
Posted October 13, 2015
