“For two decades, James R. Cassidy has presented some of the most imaginative symphonic programs in the region with his Kentucky Symphony Orchestra,” writes Janelle Gelfand in Sunday’s (8/7) Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio). “Despite tough economic times, his orchestra”—based in Newport, Kentucky—“is a survivor.” Among works planned for this season are music from Wagner’s Ring cycle and The Lord of the Rings, a concert version of Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila, and scores written for Stan Kenton’s LA Neophonic Orchestra. “When he started the orchestra in 1992 with just 14 paid players, Cassidy’s goal was to create an orchestra that was ‘attractive, accessible and affordable to more people,’ he has often said. Today he has an orchestra of 53 paid players and an annual budget of between $500,000 and $600,000…. To save money, the orchestra will be cutting back to mostly single performances this year. Because of the loss of some major corporate donors, the orchestra has trimmed its budget by about 20 percent, Cassidy said. … This year, the KSO will present four of its five concerts at Florence Baptist Church at Mount Zion. The church sanctuary, where the orchestra built a stage extension last year when it presented the National Symphony Orchestra on tour, seats 1,300.”
Posted August 8, 2011
