Phoenix
Symphony celebrates 60th birthday
by
Jim Crawford
PHOENIX
– If 60 is the new 40 for the baby boomer set,
then the Phoenix Symphony is right in step.
Born
in 1947 as a group of musicians occasionally
performing a few concerts each year in a city
a fraction of today’s size, the symphony has
developed into an entity serving more than a
quarter million people annually.
The
75‑piece symphony now performs 275 concerts
throughout the state each season from September
through May.
“Up
until a little over 20 years ago, the symphony
was an all volunteer community orchestra,” Maryellen
Gleason, president and chief executive officer,
said. “As a professional organization it’s still
a very young ensemble.”
The
symphony has a special performance planned to
open its 60th anniversary season Sept. 8 with
an evening of American music.
The
opening night concert marks the beginning of
Musical Director Michael Christie’s third season
and features the symphony performing well‑known
works including George Gershwin’s “An American
in Paris” and excerpts from “Porgy and Bess.”
“Michael
was an obvious choice when it came time to choose
a new conductor,” Gleason said. “He felt like
he liked the scale of Phoenix and its relationship
with the community when he came here. He feels
like he can make an impact.
“One
of our goals is to be considered peers to the
San Francisco and Los Angeles symphonies in
25 years,” Gleason said. “We don’t intend to
compete with them, we just want to command our
own measure of respect. We needed someone very
creative to help us reach our goals. We’ve got
a lot of momentum going with Michael. We’re
really on a roll.”
Christie
also serves as music director of the Colorado
Music Festival and the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
He has appeared with orchestras across the United
States, Europe and Canada.
In
1995 Christie was awarded a special prize at
the First International Sibelius Conductor’s
Competition in Helsinki, Finland. Following
the competition, he became an apprentice conductor
with the Chicago Symphony.
“The
length the symphony has come as a professional
orchestra is astounding,” Christie said. “I
marveled at the speed of growth the Phoenix
community has undergone and wondered how the
symphony fit in. I feel quite personally responsible
for making the Phoenix Symphony the shape or
cultural profile of the community.
“We
have a lot of transplants from other cities
where the symphonies are a lot older or more
recognized ,” Christie said. “I want our performances
to be as high a standard as those cities so
maybe audience won’t feel so far from home.
I feel very confident in our abilities. I’m
33 and I’m trying to keep as many doors open
as possible. After all, we’ve got 500 years
of music to play. We want to present as much
of it as possible.”
A
featured performer at the season opener will
be vocalist Dennis Rowland, widely known for
his association with the Count Basie Orchestra.
Rowland joins Christie and the symphony to present
selections including songs with his four‑piece
band, The Jazz Experience.
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