“The Memphis Symphony Orchestra is going to jail—to perform, that is,” writes Jon Sparks in Sunday’s (11/3) Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee). “For about eight years, MSO has been moving beyond traditional music making with a goal of becoming a purposeful presence in the community…. ‘We’re leading here,’ said Gayle S. Rose, MSO board chairman. ‘We’re on the edge and the whole United States is watching.’ … Last week MSO announced that Roland Valliere … will take over as CEO on Monday…. His experience in strategic planning and community relations were among the qualities that sold the MSO board on him.… Some [MSO community programs] have become well known, such as the music mentoring program at the Soulsville Charter School. Another is the business-oriented Leading from Every Chair workshops on teamwork and leadership…. One [new project] is collaborating with Elaine Blanchard’s Prison Stories Project [for] women inmates at the Shelby County Correctional Center…. [Board chair Rose] said the MSO, with its $4.6 million annual budget, is in a solid financial shape as it’s ever been. But she cautions that it’s in this position because of ‘extraordinary one-time gifts.’ … At this moment, with new leadership in place and enough resources to make change happen, she is optimistic.”
Posted November 5, 2013
