“The Oklahoma City Philharmonic will have to wait a little longer to say a proper goodbye to its retiring Maestro Joel Levine,” write Brandy McDonnell in Friday’s (4/20) Oklahoman. “The arts organization announced Thursday that it is postponing Levine’s May 12 farewell concert…. The orchestra’s founding musical director, Levine was diagnosed last fall with early-stage cancer. The cumulative effects of his chemotherapy treatments over the past several months have proven more challenging than anticipated…. The philharmonic will announce a new date for the farewell concert … OKC Philharmonic Executive Director Eddie Walker said, ‘Our primary desire was to allow Joel plenty of time to build back the strength to fully enjoy his finale. To simply “carry on” with a concert on the night that was to have been his celebrated farewell just didn’t seem right.’ The May 12 concert was to serve as a farewell to Levine, who is retiring after 29 seasons as the OKC Philharmonic’s founding music director and conductor…. Alexander Mickelthwate was named Levine’s successor last May and has spent the 2017-18 season as the orchestra’s music director designate. The OKC Philharmonic recently announced the programming for its 2018-19 season, which will be Mickelthwate’s first as music director.”
Posted April 23, 2018
