November
13, 2006
NEW HAMPSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TOASTS THE HOLIDAY
SEASON
Four exceptional vocalists who delighted
audiences in 2005 will again join the NHSO for these
performances: soprano Alissa Mercurio Rowe,
mezzo-soprano Rebecca Jo Loeb, tenor Thomas Glenn and
baritone Benjamin Bloomfield. Bloomfield is a Bow, NH
native, who studied at the Concord Community Music
School.
At The Music Hall in Portsmouth, top
students from the Portsmouth Music and Art Center will
play alongside the professional members of the
orchestra. Students from the Concord Community Music
School will join the NHSO at the Capitol Center for the
Arts in Concord and in Manchester, the students from the
Manchester Community Music School will perform with the
orchestra for the Christmas Song and
Sleighride.
Tickets for the performances range from
$15 to $49 and can be purchased by calling The Music
Hall in Portsmouth at 603.436.2400 or the Capitol Center
for the Arts in Concord at 603.225.1111. The Capitol
Center box office is also selling tickets for the
cabaret performance in Manchester. For more information,
call the NHSO at 603.669.3559 or visit
www.nhso.org.
October 9, 2006
NEW HAMPSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA APPOINTS NEW EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
 Manchester, NH
–
The New Hampshire
Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) is pleased to announce the
appointment of Jeth Mill as Executive Director,
effective immediately, according to Robert Gerseny,
Chairman of the NHSO Board of Trustees.
“The trustees, musicians and staff are excited to
have Jeth Mill on board,” says Gerseny. “He is very
familiar with the challenges faced by organizations
like the NHSO. His background and administrative
experience will bring strong leadership and
stability to the organization. With the support of
our patrons, the NHSO will continue its mission of
providing our communities with joyful, engaging and
enriching musical experiences. We’re very optimistic
about the future.”
Mill comes to the NHSO from the Phoenix Boys Choir
where he served as Executive Director for three
years. He also served as the Executive Director of
the Des Moines Symphony in Iowa from 1999 to 2003
and the Lincoln Symphony in Nebraska from 1995 to
1999. He has significant experience in strategic
planning, fund raising, marketing, administration,
volunteer relations and organizational development.
Among his many accomplishments was establishing the
Des Moines Symphony Academy.
Mill also served as the Artistic Director at the
Wildflower Music Festival in White Mills, PA while
serving as Executive Director of the Northeastern
Pennsylvania Philharmonic in Wilkes-Barre and
Scranton from 1989 to 1994. He was Assistant Manager
for Orchestra Operations with the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra from 1983-1989 and spent eight
years with National Public Radio in Washington, D.C.
from 1975-1983, where he was a Classical Music
Producer and Unit Manager.
Mill is a graduate of Ohio University where he
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. He
and his wife Donna will make their home in the
greater Manchester
area.
Founded in 1974 by a handful of music
enthusiasts, the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra (NHSO)
is recognized as the state’s premier fully
professional orchestra comprised of some of the
region’s finest musician and guest performers. The
NHSO brings world-class orchestral music to
audiences young and old and continues to expand its
mission to provide New Hampshire communities with
joyful, engaging and enriching musical experiences.
Throughout its existence, the NHSO
has received broad regional and national recognition
for its innovative programming, guest artists and
unique service to the State of
New Hampshire. Kenneth
Kiesler, Music Director continues the tradition that
audiences have come to expect and delight in from
NHSO--extraordinary musical experiences. For more
information, visit
www.nhso.org or call 603.669.3559.
August 24, 2006
NEW HAMPSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES NEW SEASON
Manchester, NH –
The New Hampshire
Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) and music director Kenneth
Kiesler have announced the upcoming season, with a
special program of firsts for New Hampshire
audiences. The 2006-2007 season will see the NHSO
return to the Palace Theater in Manchester for
several performances and include musical offerings
for every taste from Bernstein, Bach and Beethoven
to Mozart and Mahler, spanning the ages from Baroque
to Contemporary.
Performances are scheduled for September, October
and December 2006 and February and April 2007 in
Manchester, Portsmouth, Concord and Derry.
The
curtain goes up in September as the NHSO and
world-renowned pianist Jeffrey Biegel perform the
New England premiere of Billy Joel’s exciting new
concerto Symphonic Fantasies for Piano and
Orchestra. Played to only a handful of audiences
to date, New Hampshire concertgoers will be among
the very first to hear this virtuosic piano
concerto, arranged by Biegel and based upon four of
Billy Joel’s solo classical piano works,
Fantasies and Delusions. The evening will also
feature Corigliano’s Promenade Overture,
complete with a not- to-be-missed surprise for
audiences, as well as Leonard Bernstein’s Pulitzer
Prize winning music from On the Waterfront
and Copland’s music from Our Town.
October will bring another first to New Hampshire
audiences as Kenneth Kiesler presents one of his
well-known Halloween Pops extravaganzas,
complete with costumes, contests and classical music
inspired by Halloween. The season finale in April
will feature the NHSO’s first performance of
Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, eagerly awaited by New
Hampshire audiences since the NHSO’s breathtaking
performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony in 2004.
Later in the season, the NHSO welcomes acclaimed New
Hampshire pianist George Lopez in his first
performance with the NHSO performing Beethoven’s
Second Piano Concerto. The Latin-American rhythms of
Ginastera’s Variaciones Concertantes will
help shake off the New Hampshire winter blues in
February, while Respighi uses the colors of the
orchestra to “re-paint” three of Botticelli’s most
beloved paintings in Botticelli Triptych.
Internationally acclaimed soprano, Audrey Luna will
also enchant audiences with her performance of
Exsultante Jubilate, written by Mozart when he
was just 16 years old. Mozart’s Fifth Symphony,
written even earlier at the age of nine, will
highlight his incredible life long genius.
Back by popular demand, the NHSO’s critically
acclaimed Holiday Pops will round out the
season with creative arrangements of traditional
holiday favorites, sing-alongs and holiday fun for
friends and families alike.
Tickets are $15 to $49 and can be purchased directly
from the individual venue box offices. On-sale dates
vary by location. For more information or to
purchase subscriptions by phone, call the NHSO at
603.669.3559 or visit
www.nhso.org.
May 4, 2006
NEW HAMPSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS SEASON FINALE
The
Portsmouth Times
Portsmouth, NH –
NHSO Music Director and conductor
Kenneth Kiesler will lead some of the region's
premiere musicians in a performance of Beethoven's
Fifth and three selections written by Aaron Copland
during World War II. Marking the culmination of the
orchestra's 32nd season, the NHSO will perform on
Friday, May 5, at 8 pm at the Stockbridge Theatre in
Derry and on Saturday, May 6, at 8 pm Music Hall in
Portsmouth. Concert Comments, a pre-concert
discussion about the pieces, will begin at 7 pm at
each of the locations.
The
orchestra will perform Copland's Fanfare for the
Common Man, A Letter from Home and Lincoln Portrait
along with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.
Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" pays
tribute to soldiers, common boys and men who, over
hundreds of years, have answered the uncommon call
of duty. From the perspective of a soldier far from
home, "A Letter from Home" depicts soldiers'
thoughts of home, their families and the familiar,
comforting lives they've left behind.
John K. Brown, a member of the internationally known
vocal group Rockapella, will narrate "Lincoln
Portrait," lending voice to the stirring words of
President Abraham Lincoln.
The
NHSO's professional musicians bring their experience
from some of the nation's top orchestras and music
schools to their NHSO concerts under the direction
of Kiesler. A UNH alumnus, Kiesler has been the
Director or Orchestras and a Professor of Orchestral
Conducting at the University of Michigan School of
Music since 1995, where the graduate conducting
programs have been consistently ranked first in the
nation by US News and World Report.
Tickets for the performances start at $15. For more
information or to order tickets, call the NHSO at
669-3559 or visit www.nhso.org.
March 6,
2006
AT
NHSO, ELVIS LIVES!
Jeff Rapsis
Hippo Press
Manchester, NH –
It's not every day you hear new
classical music inspired by the likes of pop culture
icons Jackie Onassis and Elvis Presley. But that's
what conductor Kenneth Kiesler brought to New
Hampshire this past weekend, with crackerjack
performances of Jackie's Song and Dead Elvis, two
works for chamber ensemble by contemporary U.S.
composer Michael Daugherty.
Daugherty, a colleague of Kiesler on the University
of Michigan faculty, writes in a lively idiom that,
unlike a lot of new music, often reaches out to
listeners and grabs them by the lapels. As performed
by the NHSO, both pieces achieved this effect, but
in different ways.
Jackie's Song, excerpted from Daugherty's full
length opera Jackie O, features a hair-raising
extended cello solo which, at Saturday's Palace
Theatre performance, was played brilliantly by
principal cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer. The effect
was one of intense emotional claustrophobia, of
feelings so strong and personal it would be
impossible to express or share any other way.
Dead
Elvis, was a more extroverted piece, and not just
because bassoon soloist Ronald Haroutunian performed
the work decked out like the King himself. The music
rocketed along, mixing pop rhythms with the Dies
Irae from the Catholic death march.
In
both scores, Daugherty calls for a lot from the
musicians, and the NHSO delivered. At one point in
Dead Elvis, the writing for the string bass is so
high it caused principal bassist Robert Lyman to
bend over his instrument and nearly touch his toes
to get the notes. The result was some of the most
exciting music you'd be liable to hear in New
Hampshire this season.
Also
on the program were a Vivaldi concerto for strings,
played standing up, and Tchaikovsky's familiar
Serenade for Strings, which packed a real wallop in
the moving final sequence, when the work's slow
opening theme returns and then morphs back into the
raucous dance-like closing tune.
Kiesler ended the concert with an appeal for people
to trek to Derry's Stockbridge Theatre in May for
the group's final concerts this season. If this
weekend's music is any clue, it'll be well worth the
trip.
January 30,
2006
NH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONTINUES BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
Manchester, NH – The New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) is pleased to
announce that Music
Director Kenneth Kiesler has signed a new multi year
contract with the orchestra. The signing ensures
audiences will continue to experience the expertly
crafted performances of the NHSO at the hands of
Kiesler.
“We’re immensely pleased that Ken Kiesler will
remain with the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra,”
said newly elected NHSO Board Chair Robert Gerseny.
“For our audiences that have come to know and
appreciate his talent, this is particularly good
news and for the organization, a sign that the NHSO
will continue to build upon the momentum Ken has
helped create.”
A UNH alumnus, Kenneth Kiesler has been the Director
of Orchestras and a Professor of Orchestral
Conducting at the University of Michigan School of
Music since 1995, where the
graduate conducting programs have been consistently
ranked first in the nation by US News and World
Report. As a guest conductor, Mr. Kiesler has
led major symphonies and orchestras around the
world, including the Jerusalem Symphony
in Israel, the Osaka Philharmonic in Japan, the Zhe
Jiang Orchestra in China and the National Symphony
Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.
Kiesler was
recently named Director of the prestigious National
Arts Center (NAC) Conductors Programme in Ottawa,
Canada starting in the 2006 season. He has also been
active in a variety of recording projects over the
past several years.
Further strengthening the organization, the NHSO
recently elected four
new members to its
Board of Trustees. The new members are Christopher
Hamlen, Esq. of Manchester, Carolyn Hollman of
Manchester, Edwinna Vanderzanden, Esq. of Rochester
and Louise Hirshberg of Kittery, ME. The new members
will contribute to the strategic planning and growth
of the NHSO.
Christopher Hamlen,
Esq. is an Associate with Sheehan, Phinney, Bass &
Green Attorneys at Law. A member of the firm since
2003, his practice is focused on corporate mergers
and acquisitions, venture and angel financing and
succession planning for small and medium-sized
businesses. Hamlen is also a community investment
volunteer for Heritage United Way and serves on the
board of the Cornell Club of New Hampshire. He lives
in Manchester with his wife Jodie and enjoys taking
advantage of the broad range of performing arts
offerings within the community.
Carolyn Hollman is a
Professor of English and Education and Chair of the
Secondary Education Programs at Southern New
Hampshire University, where she is also a
representative from the School of Liberal Arts to
the Faculty Senate of the University. Dr. Hollman
has served on the boards of the United Way of
Greater Manchester, the Jewish Federation of New
Hampshire, the New Hampshire Humanities Council and
is nearing completion of an eight year appointment
to Southern New Hampshire University’s Board of
Trustees, as Faculty Representative. Dr. Hollman
lives in Manchester with her husband Philip Hollman
and has three children and two grandchildren.
Edwinna Vanderzanden,
Esquire is a member of the law firm of Getman, Stacey,
Schulthess and Steere, PA in Bedford, NH. A former
nurse, Vanderzanden specializes in commercial and civil
litigation and medical malpractice. She is a past
president of the Friends of the Music Hall and has
served on the Board of Directors of the Dover Group Home
and the Rochester Visiting Nurse Association. She is
also a volunteer with the Haitian Health Foundation and
Medical Missions International. Vanderzanden lives with
her husband Andre in Rochester, NH.
Louise
Hirshberg lived in Manchester for 17 years where she
raised five children. She worked as the buyer of
furnishings for Dunfey Family Hotels, as well as
Sheraton Hotel Corporation, Boston, and Walt Disney, Los
Angeles, where she furnished the interior of the Epcot
project. She earned an MA in Clinical Holistic Health
which led to a new career as a mental health counselor.
She moved to Kittery, Maine in 2004 and spends much of
her time volunteering in projects close to her heart.
Says Hirshberg, “I’m drawn to the New Hampshire
Symphony, because of the great enthusiasm of the
players, the conductor and the audiences, the wonderful
music and the joy I feel attending the concerts.”
The
talents of our new and returning board members lend
significant strength and support to the NHSO and its
goals to connect audiences with premier musicians and
performances,” said Gerseny. “We are enthusiastic about
exploring new avenues for continued growth as the
state’s premier orchestra.”
Founded in 1974, the New
Hampshire Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) is recognized as the
state’s premier professional orchestra. The NHSO brings
world class orchestral music to audiences young and old
and continues to expand its mission to provide New
Hampshire communities with joyful, engaging and
enriching musical experiences. Kenneth Kiesler, Music
Director leads some of the region’s finest musicians and
guest soloists--continuing the tradition that audiences
have come to expect and delight in from NHSO--extraordinary
musical experiences. For more information on the NHSO,
performances or tickets, call 603.669.3559 or visit
www.nhso.org.
December 20, 2005
THE NAC ANNOUNCES KENNETH KIESLER AS THE NEW DIRECTOR OF
THE NAC CONDUCTORS PROGRAMME
Jane Morris
Marketing Officer
National Arts Centre Orchestra
Ottawa, Canada
– The National Arts Centre today announced that
conductor and conductor-mentor Kenneth Kiesler has been
named the new Director of the NAC Conductors Programme
starting in the 2006 season. Maestro Kiesler has been
Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting at
the University of Michigan School of Music since 1995.
He is Music Director of the New Hampshire Symphony
Orchestra, founder and director of the Conductors
Retreat at Medomak, and Conductor Laureate of the
Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Kenneth Kiesler
will take over the NAC Conductors Programme from Maestro
Jorma Panula who led the programme from its inception in
2001 as part of Canada’s NAC Summer Music Institute.
Pinchas Zukerman, Music Director of the National Arts Centre
Orchestra and Artistic Director of the NAC Summer Music
Institute of which the Conductors Programme is a part,
said:“I am very happy Kenneth Kiesler has accepted our invitation to join the faculty
of Canada’s National Arts Centre Summer Music Institute
as Director of the Conductors Programme. Kenneth’s
combined achievements and experience as a conductor and
mentor of conductors make him the ideal successor to
Maestro Panula. As a faculty member, Kenneth
strengthens an already internationally renowned faculty
of the Summer Music Institute. I welcome Kenneth and
look forward to working with him in Ottawa.”
The NAC Conductors Programme provides a valuable
opportunity in Canada for orchestral conductors to
develop under the expert guidance of accomplished
orchestra leaders. A maximum of eight participants from
Canada and abroad participate in ten days of intensive
study in a masterclass format. A string quintet and
pianist made up of professional musicians and augmented
by winds from the NAC Young Artists Programme plays for
the conductors. All sessions are videotaped. Selected
sessions will be used as the basis for detailed review
led by Maestro Kiesler. The 10-day programme also
includes score study led by Maestro Kiesler. All
participants have the opportunity to conduct the
National Arts Centre Orchestra in rehearsal, after which
some are chosen to conduct the Orchestra in a public
concert at the National Arts Centre in Southam Hall. All
programme sessions will be open to auditors.
Kenneth Kiesler, in his capacity as Director of Orchestras and
Professor of Conducting at the School of Music of the
University of Michigan, conducts orchestras,
choral/orchestral works and opera productions. He has
headed the orchestral conducting program since 1995. The
graduate conducting programs attract applicants
world-wide and have been consistently ranked first in
the nation by US News and World Report. Kiesler’s
former students hold prominent positions with major
symphony orchestras (including the Los Angeles
Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Syphony,
Detroit Symphony, Victoria and Vancouver Smphonies and
others) as well as opera companies and educational
institutions. They have won major international
competitions including the Maazel/Vilar and Nicolai
Malko Competitions. Mr. Kiesler regularly leads
conductors’ masterclasses for the American Symphony
Orchestra League, the Conductors’ Guild, the Conductors’
Institute, the Manhattan School of Music, the Royal
Academy of Music, and Oxford University.
In 2002, Kenneth Kiesler was appointed Music Director of New
Hampshire Symphony Orchestra. Previously, as Music
Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra from 1980 to
2000, Kiesler inspired unprecedented artistic
development, founded the Illinois Symphony Chorus,
founded the Illinois Chamber Orchestra and led its
debuts at Alice Tully Hall in 1987 and Carnegie Hall in
1990. The Illinois Symphony and Chamber Orchestras
honored Kiesler by naming him Conductor Laureate.Kiesler has appeared as guest conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra at the
Kennedy Center, the Chicago Symphony at Orchestra Hall,
the Utah, Detroit, New Jersey, Florida, Indianapolis,
Memphis, and San Diego Symphonies, as well as the
Festivals of Meadowbrook, Skaneateles, Sewanee,
Breckenridge, and Aspen. Kiesler has appeared several
times with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Haifa Symphony
in Israel, the Osaka Philharmonic in Japan, the Puerto
Rico Symphony in San Juan, the New Symphony Orchestra in
Sofia, Bulgaria, and the Daejeon Philharmonic and Pusan Symphony among others in Korea.
His operatic conducting includes Bright Sheng’s The Silver River in
Singapore, and Britten's Peter Grimes and
Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia at the Opera Theatre
of St. Louis. He conducted Appalachian Spring
with Martha Graham and Cinderella with the
Indianapolis Ballet.
Kiesler has conducted several recordings on the Naxos, Equilibrium and
Arabesque labels, with the BBC in London, Third Angle,
and the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra. He
has led premieres by Stucky, Schuller, Bassett,
Johnston, Harlap, Frank, Rush and Brantley, and
conducted the first performance of Gershwin’s original
jazz-band score of Rhapsody in Blue since 1925,
the US Premiere of Mendelssohn’s Third Piano Concerto,
and the first performance since 1940 of James P.
Johnson’s blues opera, De Organizer.
His teachers included Carlo Maria Giulini, Fiora Contino, Julius Herford,
Erich Leinsdorf, John Nelson, and James Wimer. He is
included in Jeannine Wagar's book, Conductors in
Conversation: Fifteen Contemporary Conductors Discuss
Their Lives and Profession, and Shostakovich
Reconsidered by Allan Ho.For information and applications to
the NAC Summer Music Institute programmes visit the NAC
website at
www.nac-cna.ca.
November
3, 2005
NHSO LAUNCHES 2005-2006 SEASON
By Jeff Rapsis
jrapsis@hippopress.com
As published in the Hippo Press
Musically, it
was a great occasion. Entering its
fourth season under conductor Kenneth Kiesler, the New
Hampshire Symphony Orchestra continues to push the
limits of local performing standards.
At last
weekend's season-opening concerts, Kiesler led three big
and very different works. At the Manchester performance,
held Saturday night at St. Joseph Cathedral, each was
brought to life with consummate skill and just the right
touch of theatrical bombast. It was a treat and a thrill
to hear performances of this caliber in New Hampshire.
Last
Saturday, Kiesler made the
most of the big church's lively acoustics, time and
again writing out organ-like sonorities that rang
through the rafters and flooded the pews with a
glorious, big sound.
The tone was
set at the start, with a performance of Summon the
Heroes, a brassy overture by film score John
Williams that sounds a lot like his familiar theme for
NBC news. It was full of brash confidence and provided
an effective wake-up call for what was to follow.
Of special
interest was New Morning for the World, a musical
tribute to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
written about 15 years ago by Joseph Schwantner, a
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and long-time faculty
member of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester,
N.Y.
Schwantner,
who now lives in Chesterfield, N.H., was on hand for the
performance, lending a special sense of excitement to
the performance. The work illustrates the power of
King's words with strong, often bracing music that works
very well in a large and resonant space like St. Joseph.
Narration, in
the form of excepts from King's speeches and writings,
was provided by Rev. Dr. Arthur Hilson, pastor of the
New Hope Baptist Church of Portsmouth. Hilson, who
worked with King in the 1950s and 1960s, brought the
words to life with an emotion that was clearly his own.
The
multi-faceted Engima Variations, by British
composer Edward Elgar, came across as the concert's true
stunner. Under Kiesler, the orchestra rendered Elgar's
musical portraits in a completely convincing and assured
manner.
The ninth
variation, a slow piece meant to depict Elgar's friend
Augustus Jaegar, can be performed in a way that makes it
one of the most moving moments in all of music. Kiesler
and the musicians did it more than justice - in short,
they made it sing.
As
demonstrated time and again over the past few seasons,
Kiesler and the NHSO are making some of the finest music
to be heard in New Hampshire.
October
27, 2005
NOWHERE NEAR THE END
Entering fourth NHSO season, Kiesler remains upbeat
By Jeff Rapsis
jrapsis@hippopress.com
As published in the Hippo Press
In more ways than one for Ken
Kiesler, it's been a long, strange trip.
Two days ago, the conductor of the
New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra left his Michigan home
at 5 a.m. for a sprint to the Granite State. Since
arriving, he's rushed back and forth from the Merrimack
Valley to the Seacoast, meeting supporters, tending to
administrative details, and preparing for upcoming
concerts.
"It's like we're campaigning in the
New Hampshire Presidential primary," he jokes.
Now Kiesler waits to board a plane
to Detroit (by way of Washington, D.C.), and then home
to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he directs the University of
Michigan conducting program. He won't arrive until
midnight, and the next morning he'll direct a rehearsal
of Beethoven's monumental Ninth Symphony for a
performance at the school.
But for the moment, his mind is on
another monumental task - the one he's resolved to
continue working on in New Hampshire. Kielser, a
long-ago UNH graduate who's gone on to a world-class
conducting and teaching career, is here to secure the
New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra a strong audience base
and sound financial footing.
Since Kiesler was chosen to succeed
founding conductor James Bolle in 2002, the orchestra
has endured unexpected personnel changes - so much so
that Kiesler now ranks as the senior staffer. The budget
has been trimmed to eliminate deficits but still allow
for quality music, which Kiesler has promoted as the
group's drawing card.
Yes, there's been some great music
along the way. Past seasons have included a moving
performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor in
Ste. Marie Church in Manchester and a roof-raising
rendition of Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto at
the Palace Theatre with Richard Stoltzman as soloist.
But there were missteps as well -
for example, cancelling a long-planned concert due to
budget shortfalls. "We got more press for that than
anything we've done before or since," the conductor
muses.
Kiesler, however, now has reasons
for optimism. New faces have joined the orchestra's
board of directors, led by chairman Bob Gerseny of
Citizens Bank. They've provided fresh support and
direction. Also, the group is taking its time to find an
executive director from within the orchestra world who
will likely have some staying power following a period
of unexpectedly rapid turnover.
Also, the orchestra is taking steps
to rebuild its audience after making moves that Kiesler
admits caused the orchestra to lose much of its
traditional base in Manchester. Two seasons ago, the
NHSO's long-time ties to the Palace Theatre were severed
as the orchestra changed its programming to play more
concerts elsewhere, principally in Concord and
Portsmouth.
As a result, the orchestra went
from playing a dozen performances in Manchester each
season to only three. That, coupled with the change in
venues (most Manchester concerts now take place in
churches or other venues), has caused support to wane,
while it's been slow to build elsewhere. A late start in
marketing the 2005-06 season hasn't helped, and
attendance at upcoming concerts isn't expected to break
records.
So for Kiesler, it remains a
challenge to make it all happen in a state not known for
its generosity to the arts. In addition, several other
local orchestras compete for audiences as well as
all-important support from the business and
institutional community.
Kielser feels the funding community
is receptive to supporting the arts, but is "confused"
by the number of local orchestras. He's reticent to talk
of consolidation because of the sensitive issues
involved, but the fragmentation has emerged as a real
barrier to sustaining a healthy climate for symphonic
music in New Hampshire.
At one point recently, Kiesler
found himself talking to decision-makers at a local
corporation that already supports another orchestra.
After making his case, Kiesler was put in the awkward
position of being asked if the firm should pull its
support from the other orchestra and redirect it to the
NHSO.
Kielser laughs at the situation -
"I would never advocate anyone taking away support from
any group," he says - but it's not amusing when every
dollar is needed to make the best music possible.
And ultimately, it's the music that
keeps Kiesler coming back to New Hampshire, even after
his initual three-year contract has expired. He
continues to return, even without a contract, because
he's made a personal commitment to the group and doesn't
intend on backing down from the challenge.
So he'll continue to bring
world-class music and musicians to the state from his
University of Michigan base and from the broader world
of classical music. Later this season, he'll lead the
NHSO in works by Michael Daugherty, a Michigan colleague
of Kiesler's who happens to be one of the most popular
contemporary composers in American music.
Despite the problems, Kiesler
remains convinced the audience is there for what he
knows is good stuff.
Even as the exhaused conductor
rises to catch his plane, there still seems to be joy in
the journey. Talking with him, it's easy to sense that
it's nowhere near over.
July 27, 2004
NH SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD
MEMBERS
Manchester,
NH - New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra is pleased to
announce the election of five new members to its Board
of Trustees. The current 19 member board grew to 24
members at NHSO’s thirtieth Annual Meeting on
June 28th. The new members are Peter Ferris of Portsmouth,
Lois Fonda of Rye, Gerie Slattery of North Hampton,
Sari Ann Strasburg of Bedford and Mark Windt of North
Hampton.
Members
of the Board of Trustees serve for three-years, and
can serve on the board a maximum of two, three year
terms. The newly elected individuals will join recently
elected NHSO officers President Thomas Raffio, CEO,
NE Delta Dental, Treasurer Ken Wolfe of Nathan Wechsler
and Company and Secretary Peter Rotch, Esquire of
McLane Graf Raulerson and Middleton.
Peter V. Ferris is Vice-President
of Strategic Marketing for Tyco International. Mr.
Ferris joined Tyco in 1999 and has held positions
in Marketing, Public Affairs and Investor Relations
at both the corporate and business unit level. Before
joining Tyco, Mr. Ferris was Vice President/General
Manager of Polymer Systems, a business unit of The
Dexter Corporation in Seabrook, NH. His 9-year career
at Dexter encompassed positions in new Business Development,
Marketing, Research and Development. Mr. Ferris lives
in Rye, New Hampshire with his wife, Amy and their
four daughters, Elizabeth, Meredith, Hannah and Abby.
Lois Fonda has worked
as a missionary for the past 15 years for Eastern
European Outreach. She spends a lot of her time traveling
in Russia, Ukraine and Kosovo. Before becoming a missionary,
she assisted her late husband in founding the International
Marine Archives and traveled around the world searching
for rare books relating to the sea. She is the mother
of three, and has three grandchildren. She grew up
playing the piano and the organ and enjoyed opera.
She joined the board of NHSO to continue her late
husband’s involvement with music and NHSO.
Gerie Slattery brings
her experience in the legal, performing arts and not
for profit arenas. As an attorney she has worked both
in private practice and for the U.S. Department of
Justice. As a concert promoter, she has produced chamber
concerts, bringing virtuoso artists to Portsmouth,
and has also brought renowned shows such as Rockapella
and Tony Kenny’s Ireland. She is currently the
Artist Manager for acclaimed Russian-born violinist
Leonid Sushansky. She has served on the board of The
Music Hall in Portsmouth and at Pinecrest Academy
in Atlanta. She lives in North Hampton, NH with her
Husband Mike and their two daughters, Lauren and Allison.
Sari Ann Strasburg is the owner of the law firm Strasburg
Law P.L.L.C. in Bedford, NH where she practices in
the areas of corporate law, US and international taxation,
business operations and intellectual property. She
is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, and she is a certified public accountant
in New Hampshire and Illinois. Ms. Strasburg received
her B.S. degree from the Wharton School at the University
of Pennsylvania and her J.D. degree from Boston University.
She is a member of the American, Massachusetts and
New Hampshire bar associations, the NH Society of
Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants.
Dr. Mark Windt is on the staff
at the Center for Asthma, Allergy and Respiratory
Disease in North Hampton, NH. He received his BS in
Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University
and his MD from the University Of Connecticut School
Of Medicine. Dr. Windt currently serves as an affiliate
professor in the Department of Communication Disorder
and the School of Nutrition and the Co-Director of
the Center of Health Enhancement at the University
of New Hampshire. He adds his membership to the board
of NHSO to other committee memberships, including
committees at the New England Medical Center, Exeter
Hospital and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Symphony
Orchestra (NHSO) was founded in 1974 and will have
performances in Manchester, Portsmouth and Concord
during the 2004-2005 Season. It has become recognized
as the state’s premiere professional orchestra.
By placing an emphasis on innovation and excellence,
NHSO has received regional and national recognition
for its programming as well as for its exceptionally
fine roster of guest soloists. New Hampshire Symphony
Orchestra is beginning its 31st season, and third
year under the artistic leadership of Kenneth Kiesler,
Music Director.
Back to top
|
March 5, 2003
NH
Symphony Offers Romance and Passion With The Promise
of Spring and The Debut of prize-winning Flutist Amy
Porter
 Manchester,
NH - Conductor Kenneth Kiesler will take audiences for a
"romantic and fiery
musical journey" in upcoming performances by New Hampshire
Symphony Orchestra
scheduled for Friday March 28th at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday March
29th at 8:00 p.m. at
the Palace Theatre in Manchester. "Romance and
Passion-performances celebrating the long
awaited arrival of warmer weather, flowers and spring
fever-bring music to NHSO's stage
that reminds us that spring keeps her promises, no cold can keep
her back. Highlighted by
the New Hampshire debut of flutist Amy Porter, whose "sensual
stage presence" and "rhythmic vitality" have earned her applause
and accolades, the concerts are certain to bring audiences out
to salute a season of new light that, by all accounts, has
continued to deliver all the good things promised by New
Hampshire Symphony Orchestra in its first year with Kenneth
Kiesler at the podium.
For her debut with NH Symphony, prize-winning flutist Amy Porter
will grace the NHSO stage at The Palace Theatre for what are
certain to be two celebrated appearances. It is the Renaissance
Concerto for flute by Lukas Foss that will showcase the sublime
musicality of Ms. Porter. The concerts will feature a prismatic
array of whimsical works by three diverse composers in addition
to Lukas Foss, including Resphigi, Vaughan Williams and
Ginastera. The works being performed in this concert series are
a collection from these artists that offer a fusion of styles,
hues and themes.
"Artists have always looked to the ideas and works of past
masters for inspiration", said Kenneth Kiesler. "Renaissance
music is filled with the songs of troubadours, the reverence of
sacred church music, and the love of humor and dance. The idea
of having solo players and concerto soloists also came from
early music. This concert has no music from that ancient time,
but is filled with responses to old music that are definitely
new."
Describing the
program Kiesler goes on, "These four pieces are sometimes
exciting, even thrilling in virtuosic display. Other times
songful, touching and reverent. Respighi's first suite of
Ancient Airs and Dances, and the Renaissance Concerto for Flute
by Lukas Foss look to the past through a colorful and
imaginative orchestral kaleidoscope. In Vaughan Williams
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis there are two string
orchestras plus a string quartet in a piece known for its
crystalline beauty and rich string sound. Alberto Ginastera
rolls up sleeves and pulls out the
stops in the showy, entertaining, rhythmic, sometimes
"in-your-face," and always personal Latin style that is all his
own. There are exciting solos for every instrument and a
rollicking finale for the whole orchestra at breakneck speed."
Enjoying a wide and varied career as concerto soloist,
recitalist and chamber musician, Amy Porter is an exciting
and inspiring American artist. She has amassed an array of
awards and has been acclaimed by major critics as an
extraordinarily vibrant and expressive instrumentalist. She is a
rising star among flute virtuosos, having recently won the most
prestigious international flute competition in Paris.
Ms. Porter has earned numerous awards and prizes including the
Deuxieme Prix at the Paris/Ville d'Avray International Flute
Competition. She was awarded the Alphonse Leduc Prize (the
namesake of the Parisian publishing house) for outstanding
musicianship, among many other impressive honors. French
composer Jean-Louis Petit dedicated "Mur, Orbe", his most recent
flute concerto, to her after her performance at the competition
in Paris.
The 2002-2003 season brings Amy Porter to a residency at the
Academie Musicale de Courchevel in France and Courchevel, France
and masterclasses in Pittsburgh, PA as well for appearances as
concerto soloist with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra and in
March, with NH Symphony. She will also give recitals in an Ann
Arbor, Michigan as well as in New York City for the New York
Flute Club. She will also be heard with the Michigan Chamber
Players in Ann Arbor throughout the season.
In 1999 Ms. Porter was appointed Professor of Flute with tenure
at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and returned to the
concert stage as a soloist and recording artist, leaving the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra after eight years as Associate
Principal Flute. Amy Porter has been concerto soloist with the
orchestras of Houston, Atlanta, Kansas City (MO), Cobb (GA), the
Victoria (TX), Ann Arbor (MI) and has collaborated with many
acclaimed conductors including Yoel Levi, Nicholas McGegan, Arie
Lipskey, Karen Deal, Steven Byess, George Hanson, Daryll One,
and Giselle Ben-Dor, as well as with NHSO's Music Director
Kenneth Kiesler.
Ms. Porter has recently completed a soon to be released
recording on the Equilibrium Label: the world premiere recording
of William Bolcom's Lyric Concerto with Kenneth Kiesler
conducting. Kenneth Kiesler said of the experience, "It was such
a joy to work with Amy in the recording sessions and I'm quite
excited about our CD, which will be released in a few weeks."
Of Amy Porter's
upcoming performances of Lukas Foss' Renaissance Concerto with
New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Kiesler is especially
delighted. Ms. Porter has collaborated with Kenneth Kiesler and
is a University of Michigan colleague. Speaking about her
engagement with NHSO Mr. Kiesler said, "Amy Porter has a
delightful presence, is a master musician and entertaining
performer. When the Renaissance Concerto was new, I performed it
a number of times with a different soloist. In planning this
concert I wanted to share Amy and this entertaining piece by
Lukas Foss with our audiences. This is truly one of a handful of
my very favorite programs."
In a shining review of Ms. Porter's performance of Renaissance
Concerto it was written in the Ann Arbor News that, "Hers is a
sound of extraordinary richness and warmth, the perfect
compliment to the musing, songlike passages that pervade the
concerto…Oh and yes-it was impossible not to notice the audible
murmur as she first appeared on the stage, resplendent in gold
from her dress to her flute, like one of the theatre's gilded
carvings come to life."
Following four performances of All that Jazz in February that
saw audiences of more than 3000 enthusiastic patrons in
attendance and was hailed as "Kiesler's best yet with NHSO",
Kenneth Kiesler and NHSO set out to recreate that same energy
and enthusiasm for March audiences with concerts that are
"spirited and romantic, uplifting and passionate", said the
Symphony's spokeswoman, Jennifer Marble. "This concert program
is designed with a bit of something for all music lovers. The
performance by Amy Porter is just one highlight of an evening
that will be intoxicating and thrilling."
NH Symphony invites patrons to attend its 'Concert Comments'. At
6:30 PM on Friday and 7:00 PM on Saturday, Kenneth Kiesler and
guest Amy Porter will lead an entertaining discussion-about the
upcoming music, the composers and their music making. Held in
the front of the Palace Theatre prior to each performance, NHSO
feels that "this a great chance to bring some questions about
composers, the concert program, life as a musician, and more."
No reservations are needed and all patrons are invited to
attend.
New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra's 'New Light' will shine
brightly during their upcoming "Romance and Passion" concerts,
celebrating the long-awaited arrival of spring. Tickets are on
sale now. Concerts are scheduled for Friday, March 28th at 7:30
p.m. and Saturday March 29th at 8:00 p.m. at the Palace Theatre,
Manchester, NH, 603-668-5588. Single ticket prices range from
$17 to $39. Also, NHSO is offering student prices starting at
$8. Sponsorship of these concerts has been provided by Wiggin
and Nourie, PA, BAE Systems and Elliot Hospital. Media
sponsorship of the NHSO's 2002-2003 season is provided by NH
Public Radio and WZID 95.7 FM.
ATTENTION EDITORS:
Flutist Amy Porter and Music Director Kenneth Kiesler will be
available for a limited number of interviews. Please contact
Jennifer Marble at NHSO for more information or photos. P:
603-669-3559, F: 603-623-1195; or E: jmarble@nhso.org
Back to top |
January 9, 2003
Valentine's Jazz, Pianist Lorin Hollander Bring Romance to NH
Symphony Orchestra
Concert Series Set for The Capitol Center and The Palace Theatre
Manchester, NH -
Conductor Kenneth Kiesler will take audiences for a "lively and
romantic musical joyride" in upcoming jazz inspired performances
by New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra. The concerts are scheduled
for Wednesday, February 12th at 7:30 p.m. at The Capitol Center
for the Arts in Concord, and Friday February 14th at 7:30 p.m.
and Saturday February 15th at 8:00 p.m. at the Palace Theatre in
Manchester. The UNH Celebrity Series is also presenting NH
Symphony's jazz program on February 13th at The Johnson Theatre
in Durham.
New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra invites audiences to "jazz up
your Valentine's celebration" with the music of four famed
contemporary composers George Gershwin, Darius Milhaud, Scott
Joplin, and Aaron Copland.
Featuring the NHSO debut of inimitable pianist Lorin Hollander
this program, performed under Kenneth Kiesler's baton, showcases
some of the most popular jazz crossover works of the 20th
century.
Pianist Lorin Hollander is regarded as "One of the most
fantastic talents of our time," according to the Cincinnati
Enquirer. He has performed to critical acclaim throughout the
world, educated, composed, and lectured, and he has collaborated
with his friend and colleague, Kenneth Kiesler, on a myriad of
projects including speaking at Kiesler's Conductors Retreat at
Medomak in Maine. His career is fascinating in scope and spans
borders from music to philosophy to mentoring, including
explorations of human consciousness and creativity.
Lorin Hollander is in the 5th decade of a continuous
professional career that began with a Carnegie Hall debut at the
age of eleven. He was an infant child prodigy who composed music
at age three and performed the Well-Tempered Clavier of Bach at
five. He has performed with virtually every major symphony
orchestra in the world and is a veteran of nearly 2000
performances: with orchestra, in recital, lecture/recital,
chamber ensemble as pianist, symphony and choral conductor.
He has collaborated with luminaries including Leonard Bernstein
and Andre Previn among many others. He had his own national
recital series on PBS and performed in the soundtrack of
"Sophie's Choice."
Over the years Lorin Hollander has appeared repeatedly with the
symphony orchestras of New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, Seattle, Dallas, and the
National Symphony of Washington DC. His European performances
have included the London Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony,
Jerusalem Symphony, ORTF of Paris, and in Naples, Rome and
Florence, Italy, among many others.
For more than 30 years Lorin Hollander has led community
outreach and university residencies giving master classes,
conducting youth orchestras, counseling students, guiding the
gifted, holding seminars on stage fright and training mentors
for the arts and sciences. He performs in the workplace, for
lifelong learners, in hospitals, prisons, for hospice and with
people at risk. Hollander also lectures on, and leads
explorations of, human consciousness and creativity,
transpersonal psychology, transformational education and
mentoring, spiritual and personal growth and integral health. He
investigates how we may end and prevent the violent and criminal
dysfunctions of our children, while empowering our senior
citizens to become true mentors and Elders. He works with
corporate leaders on the process of transformation in the
workplace and explores in depth a multi-cultural understanding
of the nature of being human.
Critical acclaim of Lorin Hollander has been frequent and
exalting. It was written in the San Antonio Express that
Hollander, "is one of the truly electrifying personalities of
the concert stage; volcanic musical magic, each performance is
infused with newer and more remarkable insights than the last.
Genius flows...such an absolutely overwhelming performance comes
not from mere musicianship, but the inspiration of genius. A
spectacular statement of absolute awesome musical
intelligence…incredible."
Hollander gives commendation as he receives it. In unstinting
praise of NHSO music director Kenneth Kiesler, Lorin Hollander
has said, "Mr. Kiesler's ability to conjure up the creative
energies of the works of music which he explores is nothing
short of astonishing and the atmosphere of love and empowerment
which envelops the community of musicians…is beyond anything I
have ever experienced."
When asked about the February jazz performances Kenneth Kiesler
explained, "This jazz program offers a great chance to
rediscover New Hampshire Symphony through music that all highly
spirited, romantic and sexy. The music of these great composers,
written primarily in the 1920's, may be best defined as lively,
energetic, witty, and angular. It illustrates desire, musically,
in ways that had never been tried before."
The orchestra, under Kiesler's baton, opens the program with
Aaron Copland's Music for the Theatre. Composed at the time
25-year-old Copland was just back from two years in Paris, full
of bright new knowledge of what was making the musical world go
around in 1925 jazz, and bursting to put it all to use. It has
been written that, "No composer ever announced his own arrival
as vividly, as arrogantly, as Copland in this piece."
George Gershwin¾considered the first great American crossover
artist¾oft described as, "Crossing the tracks between Tin Pan
Alley and Carnegie Hall", infused his own music of the 1920's
with his sometimes jazzy, innovative and distinctly American
sound. Pianist Lorin Hollander will offer his twist on some
spirited Gershwin piano treasures, including Three Preludes,
Promenade and Rialto Ripples. A yet-to-be-announced Scott Joplin
piece completes Hollander's solo piano adventures.
The orchestra continues their musical voyage with Darius
Milhaud's La Creation du Monde (The Creation of the World), a
piece heavily influenced by the French composer's time in Harlem
in the 1920's listening to jazz. Upon returning to Paris he was
asked to write the ballet score for Creation of the World. With
its jazz rhythms it incorporates a vivid collage of the African
mythology of creation.
Of special note, the original jazz band version of Gershwin's
Rhapsody in Blue, featuring pianist Lorin Hollander will
highlight the four-concert series. It has been said of the piece
that "From the Rhapsody's opening clarinet wail, Gershwin
created not symphonic jazz, but the Gershwin idiom: an outdoor,
urban, big-hearted, super-Romantic, and thoroughly assured
poetry." Its history with Kenneth Kiesler is also worthy of a
moderate sidebar.
Kenneth Kiesler is recognized for re-discovering hidden musical
gems and it was he, at the age of nineteen, who unearthed
Gershwin's original score for Rhapsody in Blue after it had been
sitting on shelf for more than 50 years. He conducted the
American Premiere of Mendelssohn's Third Piano Concerto with
pianist Anton Nel, and, in December he conducted James P
Johnson's Blues Opera De Oranganizer, which had been lost since
it's Carnegie Hall premier in 1940.
Of "Rhapsody", for Kiesler in New Hampshire it is simply put
'Déjà Vu'. While studying at the University of New Hampshire in
Durham in 1973 a remarkable event took place. At an early age,
Kiesler was introduced by his family to the music of George
Gershwin. In his late teens, he encountered the original version
of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. After receiving permission from
George Gershwin's brother, Ira, and Warner Bros. Music, The
Library of Congress provided Kiesler with Gershwin's first
manuscripts and score orchestrated especially for the Paul
Whiteman Band. So, in 1973, Kiesler organized an All-Gershwin
concert at UNH and conducted the first performance since 1924 of
this original version of Rhapsody in Blue.
Kiesler's work was covered by the national press, featured in
Down Beat Magazine, and was the focus of a display at the New
York Public Library of The Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
The Union-Leader, February 19, 1973 said in its review of the
concert, "The 19-year old student/conductor, and Paul Verrette...[a
professor of piano at UNH]...received a standing ovation of
several minutes at the end of an historical and gala evening
concert. Kenneth Kiesler has indeed proven what he set out to
prove."
This February, Kenneth Kiesler and NHSO set out to remake
history by performing the original version of "Rhapsody". They
say that, "It is a terrific chance for audiences to celebrate
Valentine's Day in high style." The Symphony's spokeswoman,
Jennifer Marble, suggests that you, "Get a babysitter, make
dinner reservations and attend All That Jazz…make a night of
it!"
NH Symphony also invites patrons to attend its 'Concert
Comments'. One hour prior to the Friday and Saturday night
concerts, Kenneth Kiesler and guest Lorin Hollander will lead an
entertaining discussion-about the music and music making. Held
in the front of the Palace Theatre, NHSO feels that "this a
great chance to bring some questions about composers, the
concert program, life as a musician, and more." No reservations
are needed and all patrons are invited to attend.
George Gershwin once said, "True music must repeat the thought
and inspirations of the people and the time. My people are
Americans and my time is today." Musically, this generation is
still his time and that of the three other immortal composers
whose timeless works will bring fire, excitement and romance to
the Valentine's Day performances of New Hampshire Symphony
Orchestra. At NHSO they suggest you consider "romancing your
valentine with live jazz, an astonishing pianist and our
wonderful orchestra led by Kenneth Kiesler."
A New Light will shine brightly on the New Hampshire Symphony
Orchestra during their upcoming "All That Jazz" programs,
celebrating Valentine's Day. Tickets are on sale now. Concerts
are scheduled for Wednesday, February 12th at 7:30 p.m. at The
Capitol Center, Concord, NH, 603-225-1111; on Friday, February
14th at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday February 15th at 8:00 p.m. at the
Palace Theatre, Manchester, NH, 603-668-5588. Single ticket
prices range from $15 to $39. Also, NHSO is offering student
prices ranging from $8. to $11. Tickets to UNH's Celebrity
Series presentation of NHSO's Jazz program on February 13th can
be ordered through their ticketing office at 603-862-2290.
Peerless Insurance, The Grappone Companies, Devine, Millimet and
Branch, PA, Merrimack County Savings Bank of NH, and Prime,
Bucholz and Associates, have provided sponsorship of the
performances. Media sponsorship of the NHSO's 2002-03 season is
provided by NH Public Radio and WZID 95.7 FM.
ATTENTION EDITORS:
Pianist Lorin Hollander and Music Director Kenneth Kiesler will
be available for a limited number of interviews. Please contact
Jennifer Marble at NHSO for more information or photos. P:
603-669-3559, F: 603-623-1195; or E: jmarble@nhso.org
|
|
November 2, 2002
Mr. Kiesler,
I attended the concert Saturday evening, 11/9/02 and just wanted
to let someone know what a great experience it was for me! I'm
not a regular concertgoer, and my music knowledge and vocabulary
are barely rudimentary, so pardon any glaring gaffaws.
So, I went in not knowing what to expect... well, maybe I had
some expectations, but they were so far from what actually
happened I was amazed. The music selection turned out to be
wonderful. The classy intimate string virtuosity of Bach
performed standing up.... I expected the harpsichord to be harsh
and tinny, and was thrilled instead to hear beautiful light
melodic tinkles like fireworks sparklers, so appealing when I'd
expected the opposite.
Then the whimsical Ibert... I'd never heard of him before and so
many times had to refrain from laughing out loud during the
performance. I don't ever recall a piece of music striking my
funny bone like that. The Strauss piece I kept wanting to
dismiss as 'oh, I'm not so sure I really like this', but it kept
pulling me back with surprises, sometimes by being a bit off
kilter, and others by unbelievably beautiful melodies and solos.
It was great to see the orchestra refuse your command to stand
and take a bow, making a statement that they wanted you to take
the bow alone and that they were bowing to you also.
It was a fabulous evening, truly magical, a memorable occasion
that touched me deeply and I am likely to forget.
Gratefully,
A November Patron
(name withheld for privacy)
Back to top
|
|
September 2, 2002
New NHSO
Conductor Kiesler Takes Orchestra For Test Drive
By Jeff Rapsis -
HippoPress.com
The music was why
everyone was there. But it was his words that marked perhaps the
most telling aspect
of Kenneth Kiesler's first concerts as conductor of the New
Hampshire Symphony Orchestra.
Prior to intermission at both concerts last weekend at the
Palace Theatre, Kiesler spoke briefly about his hopes for the
orchestra, corporate sponsors, and upcoming concerts. Though
each night's remarks covered the same ground, the two speeches
were different.
Refreshingly, neither was canned. Rather, they were charming and
clearly from the heart. Taken together, they show Kiesler is
clearly the real article - a leader who can think on his feet,
respects his audience, and possesses the political, diplomatic,
and leadership skills required for a small regional orchestra to
thrive.
That's good news for the NHSO, an orchestra whose future hinges
in large part on their choice of a successor to long-time music
director James Bolle, who stepped down last year. The process
was a long two-year affair, but Kiesler's presence on the podium
showed that it was worth the effort.
In his first time behind the wheel, Kiesler took the orchestra
for a test drive through familiar musical ground. While he
didn't race the engine, he didn't exactly let it sit idle at the
intersections, either.
Kiesler is known as an orchestra-builder, and from the sound of
it, he's off to a fast start in shaping the NHSO. Even with many
new players in the ranks, ensemble work was impeccable. The
sound was broad, rich, and flexible when it had to be.
The "Tragic Overture" of Brahms, which opened the programs,
provided a taste of what Kiesler and the orchestra might do with
densely scored works. The performance was polished, balanced,
and allowed the work's complex polyphonic texture to come
through with clarity.
Soloist Xiang Gao took a light but lively approach to
Mendelssohn's "Violin Concerto." Friday's rendition began with
some tuning and intonation issues, but Gao quickly pulled it
together en route and from then on made short work of even the
most demanding passages. His spritely approach formed a good
match for the work's elfin nature.
As a bonus, concert-goers were entertained both nights by Gao's
on-stage manners, which included dramatic flicks of the bow,
vivid facial expressions, and a tendency to lean so far into the
first desk string players that more than once they nearly had to
duck.
While there's nothing wrong with fun on stage, Gao should take
care to avoid going too far. Dressed in a white coat and bow tie
and striding right up to Kiesler during certain passages, more
than once he evoked the image of a restaurant musician playing
in hopes for a large tip. Intended or not, it competed with the
music on both nights.
Excerpts from John Williams' score for the film Schindler's List
marked the musical high point of both concerts. With Gao again
as soloist, the selections emerged as powerful and moving.
Williams' film score evokes suffering, sacrifice, and loss with
quiet immediacy; Kiesler, Gao, and the NHSO did it ample
justice.
Stravinsky's vibrant "Firebird Suite" finished things with a
bang. Kiesler, conducting without a score, drew a raucous,
energetic performance from the NHSO in which many players had a
chance to shine. But it was Kiesler, showing remarkable focus
and intensity on the podium, who held it all together. He kept
the details in order with quick-thinking moves such as waving
off an early solo flute entrance Saturday night.
Overall, the NHSO under Kiesler was impressive the first time
out, playing with authority, confidence, and flair. The main
missing ingredient, it seems, is time-time for Kiesler to
develop the deeper, closer connection with the musicians and
audiences that's necessary to create passionate, individual, and
memorable readings of scores.
In the Brahms, all those tumbling passages and off-beat
outbursts are going places, but where? Why? It's hard to tell
from the performances of just one weekend. Looking ahead, the
challenge for Kiesler will be to go beyond technical polish and
share his own unique vision, spirit, and personality with
musicians and audiences alike.
Back to top
|
|
October
23, 2002
Brilliance, Burlesque,
and Ballet to Highlight
Entertaining New Hampshire Symphony Concerts Nov.
8 & 9
Manchester, NH - Conductor Kenneth
Kiesler will take audiences for a "fun-filled
musical journey" in upcoming concerts of the
New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, which will contrast
the joyful side of classic Baroque music with two
entertaining comic ballet scores. Titled "Brilliance,
Burlesque, and Ballet," the exciting program
features lively and energetic works by J.S. Bach,
French composer Jacques Ibert, and German master Richard
Strauss. The program is scheduled for Friday Nov.
8th at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Nov. 9th at 8:00 p.m.
at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester,
NH On Thursday, November 7th Kenneth Kiesler and NHSO
will perform two 'open' (to the public) rehearsals
at Pinkerton Academy's new Performing Arts Center
in Derry. A preview of the upcoming weekend's musical
fare, the working performances are scheduled from
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
When asked Kiesler explains that symphonic music is
for everyone. He feels that the music is often seen
as too elitist, something that he has persevered to
change. By performing open rehearsals in Derry, he
wants to expose the community to classical music and
to NHSO. Moreover he would like "A LOT"
people to come, "I'd like to see area residents,
employees from area businesses, students and teachers,
anyone who would like to hear wonderful music played
by some amazing musicians at Pinkerton's beautiful
new facility on Thursday, Nov. 7thth!"
Performances will take place at the Palace Theatre,
80 Hanover St. in Manchester, on Friday, Nov. 8th
at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 9th at 8 p.m. The
concerts include Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
in G Major, Ibert's Divertissement, and the suite
from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Strauss. "The
upcoming program offers a great chance to rediscover
the New Hampshire Symphony through music that is fun
and spirited," said Kiesler, the orchestra's
new music director. "Great art can be comic as
well as inspiring. This music is from comical theatre
works." Kiesler chose the works to showcase the
many fine musicians that make up New Hampshire Symphony
Orchestra. Each piece contains prominent solo passages
that will allow audiences to experience the virtuosity
of the professional players within the orchestra's
ranks. Of his role here in New Hampshire Kenneth Kiesler
said, "In my first season as music director,
one of the joys of leading NHSO has been to become
familiar with the truly outstanding artists, the accomplished
professional musicians, who play in this orchestra.
Here are individuals possessed of remarkable skill,
vast experience, and a tangible connection to the
music.
Together they are extraordinary. Here is a concert
that shines the spotlight on our friends right here
at home, the stars right within our own orchestra."
Kiesler, only the second music director in the NHSO's
28-year history, brings a wide range of concert hall
experience to the podium. In a conducting and teaching
career spanning three decades, he's appeared with
orchestras throughout the world, earning praise for
his interpretations of works from throughout the concert
literature. "Kiesler proved sensitive to both
the effervescent and warm sides of Rossini's personality
and he draw crisp responses from the orchestra,"
said the Chicago Tribune. He possesses "a refreshing
vision … allowing innate brilliance to shine through,"
said the Los Angeles Times. The upcoming program features
works scored for a relatively modest ensemble, allowing
the talents of individual NHSO players to shine through
during the many solo passages. The concerts will open
with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, which showcases
the musicality of the entire orchestra. The concerto,
one of six that Bach dedicated to the Margrave of
Brandenburg, dates from the late 1720s. Reminiscent
of royalty, it evokes a lost era of elegance and splendor.
The two-movement work is an exuberant expression of
Bach's musical vision that speaks clearly across nearly
three centuries of history. In contrast is the unbuttoned
spirit that pervades Ibert's Divertissement, an orchestra
suite taken from incidental music the composer wrote
in the late 1920s for The Italian Straw Hat, a classic
French farce. Like the play it was designed to accompany,
Ibert's music is full of wit, parody, and frantic
episodes that together make up a concert hall favorite.
Among the highlights are a warped version of Mendelssohn's
famous Wedding March, a tranquil nocturne punctuated
by an out-of-place piano solo, a vulgar parade, and
a raucous finale that one critic described as a "musical
tossed salad."
The concert will conclude with Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme,
a suite of Baroque-inspired music written in the early
20th century by Richard Strauss. In contrast to the
composer's grand and familiar tone poems for full
orchestra (such as Also Sprach Zarathustra, which
includes the now-famous music used to open the landmark
film "2001,"), this unusual suite contains
humorous music that is more modest but no less compelling.
Taken from incidental music Strauss wrote for a stage
play, the nine-movement suite contains an abundance
of entertaining concert music. Highlights include
musical depictions of dancing and fencing lessons,
a "Dance of the Tailors," and a concluding
musical "dinner" that incorporates humorous
quotes from other pieces to represent the courses
of the meal - for example, mutton is served to the
bleating of the sheep from Strauss's tone poem Don
Quixote.
"We all know that life has its lighter and darker
sides. There is great music that draws its inspiration
from life's struggles and challenges. There is also
wonderful music that springs from our ability to have
fun and laugh at ourselves", Kiesler said. "With
this concert I think we can all have some fun, laugh,
and enjoy being together. These days, an entertaining
evening sounds like just the ticket."
Among the many orchestral players to be featured in
solos is Eva Gruesser, New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra's
new concertmaster. Gruesser, who is also concertmaster
of the American Composers Orchestra in New York City,
was appointed this fall to the New Hampshire post.
Gruesser has performed throughout North America, Europe,
and Australia as soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster.
As first violinist of the Lark Quartet from 1988 to
1996, Gruesser performed on many occasions at Lincoln
Center and Weil Hall in New York, and the Kennedy
Center and Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Eva Gruesser has also performed as guest concertmaster
with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Brooklyn Philharmonic
Orchestra and was a member of the Da Capo Chamber
Players from 1997 to 2001. Gruesser has collaborated
on commissions with composers Aaron Jay Kernis, Libby
Larson, Penka Kouneva, and Jon Deak. Recently she
performed with Lukas Foss at Weil Hall in his 3 American
Pieces for violin and piano, recorded Martin Bresnick's
"Bird as Prophet" for violin and piano and
Trio for violin, clarinet, and piano, and participated
at a Kennedy Center performance honoring the compositions
of Joan Tower.
Eva Gruesser is a regular guest at many summer chamber
music festivals including the Moab Music Festival
in Utah, the Kowmung Music Festival in Australia,
and Monadock Music in New Hampshire. Gruesser has
recorded with Decca/Argo, Arabesque, and New World
Records. She played in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
for two years, performed as soloist with the BBC Scottish
Orchestra and was a founding member of the Ensemble
Modern in Germany. She studied with Wolfgang Marschner,
Ilona Feher, Ramy Shevelov and Zinaida Gilels and
graduated summa cum laude from the Freiburg Hochschule
fur Music. Gruesser is also a graduate of the Julliard
School in New York City.
Piano solos in the works by Ibert and Strauss will
be performed by Elizabeth Skavish, a keyboard artist
who performs as soloist throughout the United States
in recital and with chamber groups. Skavish serves
on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory of Music
and has appeared at Tanglewood and other festivals.
Kiesler, chosen earlier this year to succeed long-time
NHSO conductor James Bolle, was music director of
the Illinois Symphony Orchestra for 20 years, and
was named the orchestra's Conductor Laureate at the
end of the 1999-2000 season. He was Music Director
of the Illinois Chamber Orchestra from its inception
in 1985 until June of 2000 and led its debuts at Alice
Tully Hall in 1987 and Carnegie Hall in 1990. He founded
the Illinois Symphony Chorus in 1985 and featured
the chorus on his 1995 recording of Carmina Burana.
During the past year he has been at work on several
recording projects. Soon to be released: first recordings
of new concertos by William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty,
and Leslie Bassett on the Equilbrium label; opera
scenes by Paul Schoenfield, David Schiff, David Amram
and Abraham Ellstein; and sacred pieces for chorus,
orchestra and organ recorded in London with the BBC
Singers--part of an eighty-disc set produced by the
Milken Archive of American Jewish Music.
Kiesler has appeared as guest conductor with the National
Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, the Chicago
Symphony at Orchestra Hall, the Utah, Detroit, Florida,
Indianapolis, Memphis, and San Diego Symphonies; the
orchestras of Albany, Virginia, Fresno, Long Beach,
Long Island and Portland, the Texas Chamber Orchestra,
the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Festivals
of Meadowbrook, Sewanee, and Aspen. Kiesler has appeared
several times with the Jerusalem Symphony and the
Haifa Symphony in Israel, the Osaka Philharmonic in
Japan, the Puerto Rico Symphony in San Juan, the New
Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, Bulgaria, and the Pusan
Symphony among others in Korea. His operatic conducting
includes La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Il Trovatore,
and at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis with the St.
Louis Symphony in the pit, Britten's Peter Grimes
and Rossini's Turk in Italy. In 2001 he led 10 performances
of Bright Sheng's opera The Silver River in Singapore.
Mr. Kiesler has headed the orchestral conducting program
and conducted the orchestras at the University of
Michigan School of Music since 1995. Kiesler conducts
the two premiere ensembles of the 6 Michigan orchestras.
The Graduate Conducting Programs attract hundreds
of applicants from around the globe and have been
consistently ranked the number one program nationwide
by US News and World Report. His former students hold
prominent positions with major symphony orchestras,
opera companies and educational institutions. Mr.
Kiesler regularly leads conductors' workshops for
the American Symphony Orchestra League, the Conductors'
Guild, the Conductors' Institute and others. He is
also the founder and director of the Conductors Retreat
at Medomak, recently the subject of a feature article
in the April, 2002 Atlantic Monthly. Annually since
1997, this program has allowed 100 veteran professional
and aspiring young conductors to hone their skills
in all aspects of conducting in a non-competitive
and supportive atmosphere while renewing their spirits
in a secluded environment in the woods of Maine.
He has led premieres by Stephen Stucky, Gunther Schuller,
Leslie Bassett, Ben Johnston, Aharon Harlap, Gabriela
Frank, Steven Rush and Paul Brantley, among others.
He conducted the American Premiere of Mendelssohn's
Third Piano Concerto with pianist Anton Nel. Mr. Kiesler
has for more than twenty years collaborated with many
prominent artists including Peter Serkin, Lorin Hollander,
Awadagin Pratt, Yefim Bronfman, Malcom Frager, Joshua
Bell, , Jaime Laredo, Lynn Harrell, Kyoko Takezawa,
Kevin McMillan, William Warfield, Byron Janis, Eliot
Fisk, Hermann Baumann, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Ronald
Thomas and David Shiffrin among many others.
He began his career as Assistant Conductor of the
Indianapolis Symphony, where he led annual concerts
on the Masterworks, All-Mozart, and All-Bach Series,
choral, ballet, opera and educational concerts as
well as concerts in a dozen Indiana cities. Early
in his career he was Music Director of the South Bend
Symphony Orchestra and the Congress of Strings. He
was Principal Conductor of New York State's Saint
Cecilia Orchestra from 1992 to 1995, conducted its
New York City debut and held the position of Artistic
Advisor and Conductor in the 1995-96 season. His Tribute
to Shostakovich and national broadcasts with the St.
Cecilia Orchestra brought widespread acclaim.
A native of New York, Kenneth Kiesler studied at the
University of New Hampshire (Bachelor of Music 1975)
and the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins
University (Master of Music 1980) where he held assistantships
in opera, orchestra, and chorus. He was a Fellow in
Orchestral Conducting and later a member of the faculty
at the Aspen Music School. He has also studied at
the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and
on a special scholarship in opera conducting at Indiana
University where, at age 23, he became the youngest
conductor of a full production (Cosi fan Tutte) in
the history of the Indiana University Opera Theatre.
His teachers have included John Nelson, Fiora Contino,
Julius Herford, James Wimer, Erich Leinsdorf and Carlo
Maria Giulini.
Mr. Kiesler regularly serves on juries for various
instrumental competitions and as a judge for the Metropolitan
Opera National Council. A chapter-long interview with
Kenneth Kiesler is included in Jeannine Wagar's book
titled Conductors in Conversation: Fifteen Contemporary
Conductors Discuss Their Lives and Profession. Kenneth
Kiesler is a trained Maine Guide and regularly leads
canoe and mountain expeditions in the wilderness areas
of Maine.
NH Symphony invites patrons to attend its 'Classical
Conversations. One hour prior to the Friday and Saturday
night concerts, Mr. Kiesler will lead an entertaining
discussion-about music and music making. Held in the
front of the theatre, NHSO feels that "this a
great chance to bring some questions about composers,
the conc | |
