“Populism runs deep in American orchestras,” writes League of American Orchestras President and CEO Jesse Rosen in Tuesday’s (9/8) Huffington Post. “Two recent projects I was fortunate enough to see and hear extend the idea of engaging the many, to creating events that dramatically link orchestras to their unique time and place…. The [Cincinnati Symphony’s] LumenoCity concerts are simply dazzling. The free outdoor performances in Washington Park, directly opposite the historic Victorian Music Hall, beam stunning visual elements across the park and onto the façade of Music Hall, while the orchestra plays an equally colorful program.… LumenoCity has been a shot of adrenalin in the City’s effort to revive the Over the Rhine neighborhood, home to Music Hall…. Decades before the twin imperatives of ‘access and excellence’ became au courant … the Utah Symphony … was bringing great music to the deserts and canyons of Utah…. Building on this remarkable tradition, the Utah Symphony, under the inspired leadership of current Music Director Thierry Fischer, performed against the backdrop of Utah’s five National Parks last month. Billed as the Mighty 5 Tour, the orchestra performed at Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef. The juxtaposition of a symphony orchestra in formal dress against the backdrop of Bryce Canyon’s towering spires was startling…. Each of these projects … in its own way stretched our notions of what and where a concert can be.”
Posted September 9, 2014
Pictured: The Utah Symphony and Music Director Thierry Fischer at Capitol Reef, one of five national parks where they performed in August. Photo by Marc Estabrook
