In Saturday’s (9/12) Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, N.Y.), Jann Nyffeler writes about Ward Stare, the new music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, who has “come home to Rochester to change the world,” having grown up in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford. “On the eve of his first full season with the orchestra, he believes he can help the RPO grow and become stronger than ever.… ‘The business landscape has changed dramatically since I left in the late ‘90s,’ he says. ‘The city has regenerated in a very entrepreneurial way…. This city is buzzing with creativity. So we can be a part of that.’ … Stare grew up studying with RPO musicians and went on to perfect his trombone work at the Juilliard School in New York City. At 18, he became principal trombonist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago…. He was the resident conductor of the St. Louis Symphony from 2008 to 2012…. For Stare, the future of the Rochester Philharmonic is as vital now as when George Eastman conceived of it…. ‘He really wanted this orchestra to be a part of the community,’ says Stare…. ‘I’d like us to pick up that torch and carry it into the future.’ ” During the 2007-08 season he held a staff conducting post at the Los Angeles Philharmonic through the League of American Orchestras’ American Conducting Fellows Program.
Posted September 14, 2015
