Jesse Rosen in Huffington Post: 'Celebrate Democracy at Your Symphony' as Michael Morgan and the Oakland East Bay Symphony Did Nov. 9, 2012

Maestro Michael Morgan, Oakland East Bay Symphony

On November 10, 2012 AfriClassical posted: MercuryNews.com: 'Review: Oakland East Bay Symphony's triumphant season opener.'  Rachelle Schlosser and Judith Kurnick of The League of American Orchestras have alerted us to "Jesse Rosen’s new blog about orchestras for the Huffington Post."  It appears in Huffpost Arts & Culture for January 18, 2013.  Jesse Rosen is President and CEO of the League of American Orchestras.

The Huffington Post

THE BLOG
Jesse Rosen

The upcoming presidential inauguration reminds me of a concert I attended at the Paramount Theater just a few days after the election. It was a concert by the Oakland East Bay Symphony Orchestra. When music director Michael Morgan appeared and announced that the theme of this opening night was "Celebrating Democracy," there was an immediate and thundering ovation. Before a single note was played, the concert took on a whole new life. I knew it would touch more parts of me, inviting me -- and the other 2,000 audience members -- to experience music through a lens of shared belief.
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The program told a story of diversity as well as democracy. The music, all written by American composers, ranged from Copland's Clarinet Concerto to Symphonic Dances from Bernstein's West Side Story to a work by Olly Wilson, an African American who lives in Oakland, and another by Californian Gordon Getty. (The living composers, by the way, won the applause meter contest!) It was all the more striking because Michael Morgan is also African American, as was a large portion of the audience in this richly diverse city. Visiting with the mayor after the concert (she is a subscriber), I learned that Michael had served on her transition team, another sign of how tightly woven this orchestra is with its community.

As I listened through this lens, the variety of the music reminded me that the concert hall is a place where all voices can be heard. And the message of West Side Story, in which the clash of differences leads first to tragedy but ends with hope for the future, seemed even more relevant than usual.
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I am not suggesting that programs like these can or should replace the abstract beauty inherent in music. But providing a broader context is one important way an orchestra brings much closer to us all the life experiences and themes that matter to people. 

Comment by email:

Hi, Bill.  Thanks for the note! (And the posting)  Rachelle  [Rachelle Schlosser]