When a charismatic leader who is the heart and soul of an organization leaves, what happens to the group? The Erie Chamber Orchestra, located in Pennsylvania’s Rust Belt, recently faced exactly that question with the passing of its founder, Bruce Morton Wright, in 2011. But the orchestra, whose mission is to present high-quality classical music free of charge, has found a jolt of energy with a new music director, Matthew Kraemer, and new general director, Steven Weiser, who spoke to SymphonyNOW about the group’s continued success in an economically challenged community.
Also this week, we go behind the scenes of the American Composers Orchestra’s coLABoratory: Playing it Unsafe project, which gives five adventurous composers virtual free reign to experiment over the course of a season. And the Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids strut their stuff at a TEDx Conference.
SymphonyNOW is the League’s online-only publication, updated with timely stories about orchestras every week. You’ll find SymphonyNOW on the right-hand side of the Hub homepage.
Posted February 15, 2013
