In Sunday’s (9/2) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock; subscription required), Ron Wolfe writes, “Music director John Jeter waves away the attention that centers on him and his baton for conducting the Fort Smith Symphony. … But Jeter, 49, brings a new distinction to his 17th season with the symphony: This year’s Governor’s Arts Award, given to an individual artist from the Arkansas Arts Council. In more than 20 years, he is the first conductor to win the annual honor. … He has led the symphony to three recordings on the Naxos classical music label, expanding the group’s audience from the 86,000 residents of Fort Smith to listeners around the world. But elegance is only half the job. … He is also and officially—but you won’t see it on the program—executive director. Adding one too many titles to the job ‘just confuses people,’ Jeter says. … Businessman Jeter keeps track of the symphony’s $750,000 annual budget. Every note, every guest artist to play it, he squints at the price tag. He counts the red seats in the symphony’s home, the Arkansas Best Corporation Performing Arts Center in Fort Smith: 1,327. With concerts routinely sold out, he calculates how many of those seats to fill with season tickets: About 1,200. The rest, he keeps open for newcomers, especially the youngest he works to attract.”
Posted September 5, 2012
