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Accelerando Begins Year Three
Nashville Symphony Accelerando 2018-2019 ~ photo by Sally Bebawy (click photos to enlarge)
Earlier this month we held a reception for returning students and families in the Nashville Symphony Accelerando program to welcome seven new students and families who join Accelerando this fall. It was an exciting occasion at which we celebrated these talented, motivated young musicians, and officially marked the beginning of new year of working together.
The reception brought to a close the long and thorough audition process that began with initial auditions on March 3, through semifinal auditions in April and May, and finalist trial lessons over the summer. We are thrilled to welcome these fine students into the program!
Expanding Educational Horizons Through Technology
Michael Tilson Thomas (Music Director, New World Symphony) with Aalia Hanif, Accelerando student, April 2018 (click photos to enlarge)
New World Symphony & Nashville Symphony Accelerando:
A Unique Partnership
I first met Cassidy Fitzpatrick, Vice President for Musician Advancement at New World Symphony, at the 2016 League of American Orchestras Annual Conference, held that year in Baltimore, Maryland. Cassidy approached me after a session where I had spoken about the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program, introduced herself, and we made arrangements to speak soon after.
This is how a number of important projects I’ve been involved with over the last few years have germinated – through an initial “chance” meeting at a conference. That crucial first conversation has led to a robust and thrilling partnership for the Nashville Symphony Accelerando program, now entering its third year.
Side By Side 2018
Curb Youth Symphony musicians (Kaili Wang and Maggie Kasinger, concertmasters) begin rehearsal for the annual Side By Side Concert ~ May 14, 2018, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville (click photos to enlarge)
On May 15, Curb Youth Symphony and the Nashville Symphony combined forces on the stage of Laura Turner Hall for our annual Side By Side concert. Curb Youth Symphony is directed by Carol Nies, and this year’s Side By Side event was conducted for the second year in a row by Nashville Symphony Music Director & Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. On Monday and Tuesday last week, we enjoyed sharing our symphony home with many of Middle Tennessee’s most accomplished teenage musicians, as they rehearsed and performed alongside our own Nashville Symphony musicians as we prepared for and enjoyed this much anticipated annual event.
SphinxConnect 2018
Last month I traveled to Detroit, Michigan for the 6th annual Sphinx conference – SphinxConnect – and 21st annual Sphinx Competition. SphinxConnect was held this year at the downtown Detroit Marriot at the Renaissance Center. This was the third year in a row I have attended the conference and competition, and my second as a speaker.
Curb Concerto Competition Finalists 2018
2018 Curb Concerto Competition Finalists: (l to r) Sean Yang, Luke Turner, Maggie Kasinger, Joshua Stanczak, Shawn Zheng ~ photos by Kathleen Munkel (click to enlarge)
Last month the Nashville Symphony hosted our annual Curb Concerto Competition for students ages 14-18. The first round of the competition took place on Saturday, Februrary 24 and the finals round occurred on Sunday afternoon, February 25, which resulted in the selection of this year’s winner, who will perform with the Nashville Symphony at the annual Side By Side Concert with Curb Youth Symphony on May 15. The 2018 Side By Side Concert will be conducted by Nashville Symphony Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero, as it was last season. Reserve tickets to this special free concert here.
This year’s contestants included 18 fine young musicians from across Tennessee: 7 violinists, 4 pianists, 3 flute players, 2 cellists, and one student each on horn and alto saxophone. Both rounds of the competition took place on the stage of Laura Turner Hall at Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
Collaboration: The Association of British Orchestras Annual Conference 2018
Wales Millenium Center (click images to enlarge)
Continued from
Three Days in London
It was the second week of September, 2017 – the week after Labor Day here in the U.S., which is the traditional opening week for orchestras across the country. In Nashville, we were preparing for our Symphony Gala – a grand, festive event that opened our season this year with the incomparable John Williams conducting the Nashville Symphony in a concert of his own works. Symphony offices were already bustling with activity in preparation for this and so many other aspects involved in kicking off the new season.
I was already in a state of excitement when an email arrived in my Inbox from Mark Pemberton, Director of the Association of British Orchestras inviting me to speak at their upcoming conference in Cardiff, Wales.
Accelerando Auditions 2018
Accelerando students with John Williams, September 8, 2017, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville (click images to enlarge)
Beginning next week, Nashville Symphony EDCE staff will hold a series of public information meetings for students interested in auditioning this year for the symphony’s award-winning Accelerando program. Students selected through this year’s audition process will join the program in August 2018.
Founded in 2016, Accelerando is designed to prepare gifted young students of diverse backgrounds to pursue music at the collegiate level and beyond. Accelerando seeks to create professional opportunities for musicians from ethnic communities underrepresented in today’s orchestras by providing them with instruction, mentorship, performance experience and assistance applying to music schools. With access to the resources of a major American orchestra, these students will be able to realize their full potential and will form the next generation of orchestra musicians.
We are seeking to grow our current enrollment of nine students to a total of sixteen students in 2018-19. Please help spread the word about this unique, ground-breaking program and help us find these students!
2017: What Kind of Blog Is This?
Off The Podium Reflections, Statistics, and Top Ten Posts
In what is becoming an annual tradition, here I review my experience writing Off The Podium over the course of the year and share some statistics. We will also see if I have learned anything and I will attempt to describe what this blog – which sometimes goes off in unexpected directions – is all about.
2017 was a very full year, packed with many significant events and activities. Off The Podium continues to provide a great means to share the activities of the department of Education & Community Engagement at the Nashville Symphony with the world. It also remains a productive format that has inspired me to continue to develop my writing on the topics of Music and Education – these features of Off The Podium reach thousands of readers all over the world and have brought me into contact with many musicians and educators I would otherwise have had no opportunity to meet or correspond with.
Thank you everyone for your continued encouragement and support.
Education & Community Engagement at the Nashville Symphony: Fall 2017 Review
Nashville Symphony EDCE staff with special guest after the Gala dress rehearsal, September 8, 2017 ~ (l to r) Kimberly McLemore, WB, John Williams, Kelley Bell, Kristen Freeman (click images to enlarge)
It’s been a busy fall, packed with a cornucopia of education and community engagement activities at the Nashville Symphony. This is my bi-annual review of our department’s programming, just in time to wrap up the year!
Chamber Music Series 2017-18 at the Nashville Symphony
Registration for free tickets to our next performance in the Nashville Series Chamber Music Series featuring Roger Wiesmeyer is now open. In fact, the entire season’s programming for this series has been announced.
Formerly known as OnStage, this popular series of informal chamber music performances designed and performed by Nashville Symphony musicians has outgrown its previous format, and is now presented with attendees seated on the floor of the concert hall. The new setting will retain the relaxed and interactive concert experience that has made these events so popular with music lovers.
All Chamber Music Series concerts are presented in Laura Turner Hall at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. These events are free and open to the public, but you must have a ticket to attend.
Here is the schedule for this season’s remaining Chamber Music Series concerts:
Walter Bitner 