In Tuesday’s (2/7) Star News (Wilmington, North Carolina), Bob Workman writes, “For more than half of its history, the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra has had only one music director. Steven Errante arrived in Wilmington with four years of steady conducting work under his belt, having accepted a faculty position at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 1986. Changes have come to the orchestra in that time, gradually, keeping pace with the community’s needs and expectations for such a highly visible arts organization. Saturday’s WSO concert at UNCW’s Kenan Auditorium will celebrate what has been, by all accounts, a good fit for 25 years.” One of Errante’s own works is on the program, along with music by Dvorak and Bruch. “So what has changed over the last quarter century? ‘The orchestra has evolved,’ Errante said. ‘Audition and playing standards have been gradually raised (and) the introduction of modest stipends for the players have moved us beyond the volunteer stage.’ There are now clear aspirations for the orchestra. Errante hopes for what he referred to as ‘greater involvement in the civic life of the community,’ including outreach to younger audiences and ways of performing outside of the orchestra’s home venue of Kenan.”
Posted February 8, 2012
