A Positive Vision for the Symphony

Letter to the Editor of the Roanoke Times published 2.27.08

by David Stewart Wiley

As the Music Director of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra (RSO), it is my privilege to serve our vibrant 54-year-old organization.  There has been much in the news recently about the challenges and reinvention facing many of our region’s cultural organizations, and I feel compelled to share my perspective and vision.  I believe that our region’s arts organizations, including the RSO, remain vital now and into the future. 

 First, I want to share some great news about the RSO’s successes, and to clear up any lingering misconceptions.  There is much positive news to report at the Roanoke Symphony, and that is good news for our region. The myth that symphony orchestras are a waning institution is not true, certainly not in the Roanoke Valley. In my experience traveling throughout the U.S. and abroad to other orchestras there are many success stories, and the RSO is surely one of them.  We are pleased to report that in the last two seasons at the Roanoke Symphony we have seen a remarkable 25% increase in ticket subscriptions each year in our Pops Series.  Attendance for our traditional Masterworks series at the Civic Center is steadily growing, and our added orchestra performances at Shaftman Hall are essentially sold out.  Our Holiday Pops concert in Salem alone attracts in excess of 3200 people, and enthusiastic audiences hear this and other family-friendly RSO programs in Blacksburg, Martinsville, Staunton, and Marion to name a few.  We provide music lessons and scholarships to African-American school children through the Friends of the RSO.  We provide life changing musical experiences through the Roanoke Youth Symphony, the Junior Strings, the Harp Ensemble, in-school music ensembles, and the Summer Music Institute.  We have increased our partnership with WVTF public radio in broadcasting our events to a wider geographical audience, and our latest CD release is on the Delos International label, giving us both a national and international presence. 

During the past decade our balanced budget has grown from less than $775,000 annually to more than $1.8 million this coming year.   We had a few challenging financial years along the way but quickly returned to our pattern of success several years ago, matching new challenge grants and exceeding our goals.  When we show a budget surplus, we put those funds into our growing endowment for ensuring the future, while simultaneously increasing vital education and outreach offerings to those who can least afford it.  We work diligently to keep ticket prices low.  It is a fact that ticket sales alone account for less than half of our needed revenues, and we have tried to keep subscription prices reasonable while working to raise revenues from other sources.  We have a dedicated and experienced administrative staff, a committed board, enthusiastic volunteers, a wonderful regional Roanoke Symphony Chorus, and an orchestra of professional musicians passionate about every performance and educational endeavor.  The RSO is a fun place to work, and it has truly been a team effort to achieve this level of success.  With our success now comes a curious challenge: we need to trumpet our artistic and financial successes of the past few years without giving the incorrect impression that we do not need every dollar of support or are somehow rolling in money.  We are truly grateful for the support we have received through increased attendance and in the investment from individuals, businesses, foundations, and government.  We work hard to be prudent stewards of these valued resources.

As our society changes, the RSO has a realistic and detailed long-range plan for institutional change as well as making the arts vital and accessible to all.   We believe that great music is for everybody, and we see that live music and music education can be a life-changing experience.  Without abandoning the traditional orchestral & choral programs that our patrons cherish, we are pushing the boundaries of what a professional symphony can provide for new audiences and a younger generation.  An upcoming example of just such an experiment will be an exciting event this coming May 31 called ‘Rock Symphony Circus.” This event, to be held at the Roanoke Civic Center Coliseum, together features our orchestra, a rock band, and veteran Cirque performers — with a student price of only $15.  We continue to actively collaborate with many of our regional arts groups, and are looking forward to being a part of the grand opening of the Taubman Museum this fall.  We all need to celebrate the successes of our fellow art groups, and each of us can step up our attendance at events and provide donations for those who falter and can effectively recover.  A rising tide lifts all trains, if you get my drift (and mixed metaphor)

I firmly believe that the RSO can and will be a vital part of our region’s growth for generations to come.  Imagine, for instance, the accomplished doctor who chooses to move her family to Roanoke in the coming years to teach or do research at the new medical school.  She will expect a high level of cultural and educational opportunity, and the RSO is a vital part of that fulfilled expectation.  The symphony will have a spot for her children in our youth programs, we will partner with our region’s schools to provide musical ensembles vital to a broad and creative education, we have a seat at a table for her and her colleagues at a fun and relaxing “Picnic at the Pops” event. Oh, and she might even buy that house you’ve been trying to sell, so replace those shingles that blew away during our recent wind storm.

This positive vision can and will be our future together, and all of us involved deeply in the arts are grateful for your support in making it so.   

Dr. David Stewart Wiley lives in Roanoke with his wife and children. He is Music Director & Conductor of our Roanoke Symphony and the Long Island Philharmonic in New York.

Italy: August 31-September 7, 2008

 After 20 hours of traveling  (including a 2 hour delay my final leg from Rome to Bari, thanks Alitalia) I arrived barely one hour before my first rehearsal with the professional “Orchestra Sinfonica di Bari”.  This is a full-time salaried symphony that does several concerts each week with guest conductors & soloists from all over the world.  It is a fully government-supported by the Province of Puglia, in southern Italy at the heel of the boot right on the Adriatic.  I think our plane was delayed for the following reason: our ancient MD-80 jet plane had a window shade right next to my seat 10A closed with — no kidding — silver duct tape, and a sign marked “Inoperativ” written on the silver duct tape.  A real confidence-booster, especially with the real possibility of being late for my first rehearsal, with 70 Italian musicians waiting.

My driver sped through the city ignoring all sense of safety or marked road signs to get me to the hall, arriving at the auditorium “Nino Rota” — named after the famous Italian orchestral & film composer.  We were a curious bunch: here was an Italian orchestra with an Albanian concert master with an American conductor, performing all-French repertoire.  Remarkably, all went quite smoothly with no real language or communication issues (most meaningful musical terminology is in Italian), and we played through the program before the break.  When I asked the artistic director about the absence of saxophone as required for the Bizet, the response was simply “tomorrow.”  The same response was forthcoming for the next two days, and then the saxophone actually arrived in time for the dress rehearsal later in the week.  It really is an impressive full symphony orchestra, and they take great pride in their music-making as well as energetically talking among themselves when I stopped to rehearse.  Each scheduled rehearsal is for four hours, and the 15 minute breaks tend to stretch to 22-24 minutes or such, no worries. 

My host and hostess, a member of the wind section in the Bari orchestra, took me to dinner for the first of what would be a great week of music and abundant food, primarily fish and wine.  Each meal featured no less than 15-20 dishes, all manner of octopi, squid, shellfish, mini-lobsters, some of it actually cooked — all wonderful.  Dinners began at 10 or 11 PM and dessert(s) usually arrived by 1:30 AM.  Then, we would drive around the beautiful seaside towns overlooking the Adriatic, with 1000-year-old castles right next to the sea, with deep, dark caves under the cliffs with escape tunnels and ancient stone stairs down to the water.  Little Smart cars, mini-Fiats that run on natural gas, and scooters driven by young beauties with no helmets buzzed all over the place until the wee hours.  Open-air concerts with bands and string orchestras took place on the piazzas next to the sea until quite late, and we would wander into one performance after another.  Cool breezes wafted the sea air into the piazzas and blew the music pages on the music stands.  Then my hosts brought me back to my hotel near the sea to sleep soundly. 

Our scheduled 9 PM evening performances were at the (11th century?) Castello Normanno Svevo in Bari.  The orchestra performed in an open-air amphitheater with excellent acoustics within the castle walls.  In concert, the orchestra really raised their level of performance, and the enthusiastic audience required an encore before intermission, and again at the end of the concert.  The woodwind solos became a zesty dialogue with the local birds nesting high above the orchestra in the castle, to beautiful effect.  We greeted the audience for an hour after the performance, and then went to celebrate with another 20-course dinner until the wee hours. 

I spent the last day swimming in Bari at the beach in Monopoli at a bay next to another castle, then flew to Rome for a day seeing the sights near the Coliseum and in the Vatican City.  Flew back to the states with no problems or delays. 

###

LIP Renews 3-Year Contract with David Stewart Wiley

The Long Island Philharmonic is pleased to announce that Music Director and Conductor David Stewart Wiley’s contract has been renewed through 2012 and that he will continue to lead Long Island’s only resident, professional orchestra for the next three seasons. “Maestro Wiley has brought great energy and commitment to his work on Long Island, and we are thrilled to continue his partnership with us” says Board Chairman Larry Austin. 

David Stewart Wiley’s ongoing popularity has been demonstrated not only through consistent acclaim by critics and audiences alike but through very significant multi-year growth in attendance and ticket income. “We have come a long way together in the last few years” says Wiley. “I am grateful to our dedicated professional musicians, hard working board and staff, wonderful chorus and chorus master, and the many individuals and businesses throughout Long Island who continue to sustain us and support our vital mission. Our future looks really bright, and I am privileged to serve as Music Director of the LI Philharmonic.” 

Educational outreach residencies with the Philharmonic in the schools have expanded dramatically in recent years. “I am amazed at how wonderful he is with the young musicians and school children” added Mr. Austin. “It demonstrates the Philharmonic’s commitment to the creative growth of our children as a core mission of the institution.” Under Wiley’s baton, the Long Island Philharmonic has shown remarkable artistic growth. Newsday reported, “There was never too much for conductor David Stewart Wiley, who had the program well in hand. It was a very pleasant experience for one who hadn’t heard the Long Island Philharmonic recently. It sounded fresh and revitalized.” 

David Stewart Wiley has developed new audiences for the Philharmonic through performances in established Nassau and Suffolk concert halls as well as newer venues. For the upcoming 2009- Theatre and Staller Center for the Arts, as well as at Hofstra University’s John C. Adams Playhouse and the new Adelphi University Performing Arts Center. 

The Long Island Philharmonic recently announced its 31st season for 2009-2010, with top violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, world-acclaimed pianists Joseph Kalichstein and Seymour Lipkin, among other stellar solo artists. The season will include the annual New Year’s Eve Spectacular, Forbidden Broadway, and two Broadway headliners, Franc D’Ambrosio, best known as the longest-running Phantom and the legendary Chita Rivera. 

David Stewart Wiley also continues as the Music Director & Conductor of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra in Virginia. 

For more information, contact Jane Park at (631) 293-2223 x 120. 

RSO Announces 2009-2010 Musical “Journeys”

The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra with David Stewart Wiley, Music Director, presents a new season of concerts beginning this fall. The 2009-2010 season, entitled Journeys, includes a series of nine Masterworks concerts in Roanoke as well as three Picnic at the Pops series events in Salem. An additional performance featuring the Roanoke Symphony Chorus performing Handel’s Messiah is presented in December. Reservations are open now for series subscriptions, with single-event tickets going on sale August 24th.         

The season begins October 5, 2009 with the Opening Night concert of the Masterworks series. Included in the Masterworks series are six programs performed in nine concerts in a combination of Sunday afternoon and Monday evening performances at the Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre and Shaftman Performance Hall at Jefferson Center. The series embarks on a virtual journey around the world, with varied symphonic repertoire in programs such as “Ports of Call,” “Romantic Getaway” [on Valentine’s Day], and a tour of American classics in “An American Landscape.”  In March 2010, the Roanoke Symphony Chorus is featured in a Masterworks program that includes Mozart’s remarkable human testament, Requiem.  Masterworks soloists include violinist Natasha Korsakova in October, clarinetist Jon Manasse in January, and pianist Tavit Tashjian in February.  Masterworks ticket buyers may choose between two discounted ticket packages: the Masterworks Subscription for all programs, or the create-your-own ticket package, Pick3. 

The RSO’s Picnic at the Pops series includes three concerts during the 2009-2010 season; offering a choice of table seating or stadium seating, presented at the Salem Civic Center.  Concertgoers enjoy a unique experience with full symphony orchestra, popular artists, and a casual atmosphere that begins well before 

the music begins. [Doors open 1-1/2 hours before concert time.] This year’s Pops series begins with Natalie Cole and RSO on November 5, 2009 at 8:00 p.m., and continues with the RSO’s popular and traditional Holiday Pops Spectacular on December 11th at 7:00 p.m.  Tenor soloist and Roanoke native, George 

Dyer, along with the Roanoke Symphony Chorus and Roanoke College Children’s Choir join the RSO on stage for Holiday Pops.  Rounding out the Pops series is New Orleans star Aaron Neville & Quintet with Charles Neville and RSO on April 9, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.  The series is sponsored by A Friend of the RSO.  

To subscribe, contact the RSO box office located on the 2nd floor of Jefferson Center in Roanoke. Phone (540) 343-9127 or visit www.rso.com.  Single-event tickets go on sale August 24, 2009. For information on RSO tours to other areas of Virginia, contact the RSO at (540) 343-9127.         

The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra celebrates its mission to enrich lives, to educate, and to entertain diverse audiences in western Virginia with the highest quality instrumental and choral music. 

« Previous Page