“Almost since arriving as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s music director in 2008, Jaap van Zweden has been talking about starting an annual festival of music and other arts. On Monday, it actually happens,” writes Scott Cantrell in Sunday’s (5/3) Dallas Morning News. “Called Soluna: International Music & Arts Festival, it will be three weeks of performances” now through May 24. “Other arts organizations have been pulled into the mix, including Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Avant Chamber Ballet, the Meadows Symphony Orchestra and the Nasher Sculpture Center…. The theme of this initial festival … is ‘Destination: America,’ featuring creations by artists who have left other countries to live and work in the U.S…. ‘It’s very personal for me,’ van Zweden says…. ‘My career took me to Dallas, and it has become my other home.’ … With more planning time for future festivals, DSO president and CEO Jonathan Martin hopes for more collaborations. ‘The city has invested $1 billion-plus in an Arts District,’ Martin says.… ‘This festival is a very deliberate mixing of visual arts, performing arts, dance, theater. The hope is that all of us might benefit from audiences that might not have been interested in a traditional concert or museum visit.’ ”
Posted May 6, 2015
