April 29, 2015

Up and Down the Scale

Deborah Borda, president & ceo of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has been awarded Bard College's "Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters," given in recognition of significant contributions to the American artistic or literary heritage. She will be presented with the award at the Bard Music Festival Gala in NYC on April 29.

Stephen A. Block has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. A venture capitalist involved with numerous firms and entrepreneurial activities, Block is a partner of Orange County-based K5 Ventures and Managing Director of its accelerator, K5 Launch.

John Eells will be joining the faculty as conductor of the El Camino Youth Symphony Sinfonietta Orchestra for the 2015-16 Season. Mr. Eells follows Camilla Kolchinsky in the position. He previously held the position of music director of Miss Porter's School in Connecticut, and he was the founding music director of the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra, where he conducted for 32 years.

Lacey Huszcza

has been appointed interim managing director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO). Huszcza is a successful ten-year veteran of LACO having served in almost every department of the Orchestra's administration, most recently as director of advancement. Huszcza serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras, and is an active member the League of American Orchestras, and the Los Angeles chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

26-year-old American composer Tonia Ko has been chosen as the 2015-2017 Young Concert Artists (YCA) Composer-in-Residence. Ms. Ko receives a commission to write a work for pianist Daniel Lebhardt, who will premiere the work in his recital debuts in the Young Concert Artists Series in New York in early 2016. She will receive a second commission for a work to be premiered in the 2016-17 season in the Young Concert Artists Series in New York and Washington, DC. Ms. Ko joins the roster of Young Concert Artists to receive management services, publicity, career development, performances and commissions. More information about Tonia Ko and the YCA Composer-in-Residence program.

Susan Miller Kotses has been promoted to vice president of education and community engagement for the Pacific Symphony.

Kotses has worked for the Symphony since 2007, serving as the director of Class Act, director of education and community engagement and most recently as senior director of education. During her time with the Symphony, Kotses has successfully managed the demands of the Symphony's largest education initiative, The Frieda Belinfante Class Act program, which is currently in its 20th season.

Michael Morgan has been named music director emeritus of the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera. As music director emeritus, Morgan will be engaged to conduct in Sacramento in future seasons, continuing a career of appearing with most of America's major orchestras. Morgan continues to serve as music director of the Oakland East Bay Symphony.

Frank Terraglio has been promoted to vice president of marketing and public relations for the Pacific Symphony. Terraglio has worked for Pacific Symphony for more than a decade, serving as director of marketing before being promoted to his current role, in which he is responsible for all audience development, patron relations and communications functions.

Music Notes

A new score by Benjamin Wallfisch, (Carmel Bach Festival's 2015 commissioned composer and son of former Carmel Bach Festival Concertmaster Libby Wallfisch), is featured in the film Desert Dancer directed by Richard Raymond and premiered in the U.S. on April 10, 2015. Set in Iran where dance is illegal, this true story follows the ambition of Afshin Ghaffarian and friends during the 2009 volatile presidential election. Afshin risk their lives to form an underground dance company. Through banned online videos, they learn from legends who cross all cultural divides, such as Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyuev. The original soundtrack is also available in digital and CD format.

Fresno Philharmonic's recent concert on April 25 commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide with the world premiere of Cantata for the Living Martyrs by Serouj Kradjian. Featuring full orchestra, soprano soloist Isabel Bayrakdarian (Kradjian's wife) and 220 singers of the Fresno Master Chorale and the Fresno State Concert Choir, the piece was commissioned by the Armenian Genocide Centennial Fresno Committee. Divided into three movements, it features texts by Armenian poet Siamanto, who died in the genocide, Aram Haigaz, and William Saroyan.

The Oakland East Bay Symphony (OEBS) is one of five orchestras and 26 performing arts institutions to receive a grant to help them build new audiences as part of a six-year, $52 million Wallace Foundation initiative "Building Audiences for Sustainability." Specifically, the $65,000 initial grant will enable OEBS to deepen and sustain relationships with new audiences from the area's increasingly diverse population.

After spending this year in the dark, the Sacramento Philharmonic will return with a seven-concert season for 2015-16, beginning June 27 with Mahler's Second ("Resurrection") Symphony. In 2014 the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera hired consultancy team T3, headed by Paul Hogle, executive vice president of the Detroit Symphony. The consultancy has made substantive changes, including a restructuring of the umbrella organization's board of directors and a new ticket-pricing model.

ACSO Out and About

At the invitation of president and CEO Jeri Crawford of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, an ACSO team made up of president Debbie Chinn, board member Dean McVay, and executive director Kris Sinclair, had a fantastic 3-day visit to their city, new concert hall, rehearsal, concert and parties. The $500 million (David M. Schwartz Architects, Inc.) Smith Center for the Performing Arts is impressive both for its art deco architecture and sound. We thank Jeri, board members and staff for their warm hospitality - we felt their pride and enthusiasm for their new digs, talented music director Donato Cabera, and absolutely gorgeous performance. Go visit the Las Vegas Philharmonic!