With the final strains of Beethoven 9 at Brucemore and our announcement of our new identity as Orchestra Iowa, reactions have ranged from enthusiastic and excited to confused, to feelings of abandonment and anger.  One thing that is consistent amongst all, is the question of why the change.  To be clear, we now have a dual identity.  We are the CRSO, but when we perform beyond our city limits we will represent us all as Orchestra Iowa.  But isn't that just a semantic change and what purpose would it actually serve?  In fact, this shift in identity is a crucial component to our survival, and here's how:

The loss of the Paramount has dealt the orchestra a potentially FATAL blow.  Not only was it a beautiful and iconic structure, but it offered the orchestra the advantages of low overhead and large seating capacity.  Moving forward, the main challenges we will continually face will include finding venues to perform in, scheduling, audience development, and maintaining the size and quality of the orchestra--all of which are intimately interconnected.  Our average audience size per performance was around 1500.  Sadly, there is not a venue within a 50 mile radius that can offer this capacity.  To accommodate our patrons, we now have to perform each concert twice, but scheduling back-to-back performances in the same venue has often proved to be impossible.  As a result we find ourselves performing a second concert in Iowa City, already knowing that in the past audiences there have been small.  Our current operational reality is that we will be scattered to the wind and will be at the mercy of venue availability wherever and whenever they arise.  The silver lining to this is that there are modest revenue streams available to organizations like ours when they make a commitment to performing in under-served areas that do not have the benefit of a professional orchestra of their own--places like Grinnell, Mount Vernon, Spillville, Elkader, etc.  This will at least help off-set some of our inevitable short-falls that we will face philanthropically as Cedar Rapids continues to rebuild and heal.  The cost of each concert series that we perform averages around $30 000.00+, and only 30% at best comes from ticket sales.  The loss of the Paramount, in conjunction with a significant pre-flood deficit, makes the mathematics of sustaining our orchestra extremely precarious.  The only way we can be any more efficient is to repeat our performances as often as possible to offset our production/artistic costs.  In short, I need to find my musicians work.

By virtue of solving the problems of venue and scheduling, we now create new significant challenges when it comes to audience development and maintaining the size and quality of the orchestra.  The longer we are away from a permanent home, the more audience we will lose.  The Paramount offered facilities, comfort, and a sense of occasion that we can no longer match in terms of patron satisfaction.  Furthermore, jumping around all over the place in our perpetual search for venues, will be a disincentive for many to follow.  We are thrust beyond our control into a situation where we are chasing venues giving us no choice but to perform into the county, the corridor, the region and beyond.  But none of this will work if we don't inspire a sense of ownership from a larger geographic region.  We need to re-define and expand our notion of community.  How the citizens of Cedar Rapids view the name CRSO is exactly how we need for those outside our municipalities to identify with Orchestra Iowa--as an organization that is not just a visitor, but a part of their community's fabric.  Without this broader sense of relevancy within a larger context, the future of this organization looks bleak.

While I would have preferred a more gradual unfolding of this new identity complete with more discussion and community involvement, circumstances of the flood have made it all but impossible.  It will take a few years for this idea to bear fruit (in fact this will be a life long pursuit for our orchestra).  Yet time is of the essence and the next few years will be the most difficult in this organization's history.  Any delay would only make a virtually impossible situation even more difficult.  Altering a proud identity that has been in existence for 87 years has cost me many sleepless nights, and yes, even a few tears.  It does not change the unalterable conclusion that in order for us to even have a chance at preserving our orchestra, we need to share it (and work like hell).

With necessity being the mother of invention, however, we find ourselves in the unfamiliar position of reaching out beyond our borders to attract new audiences in alternative venues throughout the state. Dramatic times call for bold action, and to reflect this new reality, and to ensure success in these new and uncharted waters it gives me great pleasure to announce that as we travel outside of Cedar Rapids, the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra will be known as ORCHESTRA IOWA.

Though the immediate crisis is slowly drifting into memory, it is how we face our future that will be the truest measure of our response.  Collectively, one of the greatest challenges we face is to mourn the loss of that which was, and to come to accept that things will never be the same again.  That does not mean, however, that the restoration of our community cannot bring opportunity and rejuvenation.  Like some perverse baptism, the waters of the flood have given us the gift of re-birth, and with it the room to dream on how to make things better.  Necessity is now the mother of our invention and as we embrace this brave new world we should do so without fear and seize upon the heroism of our courage that served us so well during the flood.

Let me chronicle how hard our musicians have been working for you.  Last week, we had a terrific pops concert featuring the group Five by Design.  We rehearsed Wednesday and Friday, with concerts on Saturday and Sunday.  Monday night we then rehearsed for our Youth concerts on Tuesday morning.  The Friday of that same week we rehearsed for our Discovery family concerts which we performed Saturday morning, and then we turned around for a Monday rehearsal for our final Masterworks concert of the season.

In a week and a half, this orchestra had to prepare and perform 4 different programs.  That's a tall order for any orchestra and they've preformed admirably.

No rest for the wicked however, as now we're gearing up for out Pops concert "Club Swing."  I've worked with these people before and can tell you that this will be one of the best concerts of the year.  They re-produce a period radio show right before your eyes from fictitional "Club Swing."  It features all of the great hits from the swing era (In the Mood, Sing Sing Sing, Begin the Beguine, Something's Gotta a Give, Mona Lisa, and on, and on...) including commercial jingles (Lucky Strike and Colgate), and Spike Jones comedy sketches.  It's a really polished show and the tight 5-part harmonies are incredible.  I'll be seeing you at the Paramount (or should I say "Club Swing").

This year's program was entitled "Tony, Oscar & Emmy" and featured lots of award-winning music.  I was very impressed with the vocal talent of the cast and admired their dedication to this long standing tradition.  It really is a tight-knit family and there was a great deal of emotion at the closing performance.  And while they give a tearful good-bye, they're already looking forward to next year.  Who knows what Bob Geuder and Damon Cole will cook up for us then?

Oh yeah, I even made a small cameo at the end of the program singing "Secret Agent Man."  Truly a guilty pleasure.  What can I say...I love art!  I'm happy to be a part of the Follies family and am thankful for their hard work.

A toast to next year...

Now it's time for me to gear up for the Brahms Requiem--what a 180 degree turn.  See ya there.

Happy belated Valentine's Day everybody. Just when you think the snow is finally about to recede, we get slammed with another weather front. Luckily for us, yesterday's concert managed to find a rare window of good weather. It was a unique concert on many fronts; Yes, we were celebrating Valentine's Day with a program looking forward to a happy spring, but we also celebrated the evening with a progressive dinner, recognized our friends in the Maestro Circle, and welcomed guest conductor Daniel Kleinknecht to the podium.

For those who participated, the progressive dinner was an all inclusive experience beginning with an appetizer and cocktails at Biaggi's, our main course at Cibo's, and dessert at Zin's - after a terrific concert. Kudos to those who organized it. As a fellow participant, I fully enjoyed the evening and am confident that this will become a long lasting and popular tradition.

Saluting our Maestro Circle was an honor for me. To date 41 individuals and households, have included the Cedar Rapids Symphony in their estate planning. They have gone out of their way to ensure the long term prosperity of our organization. Such committed patrons as these are crucial to any symphonic organization and it was a pleasure to thank them for their support.

The true star of the evening, however, was Daniel Kleinknecht. Many people have asked me why it is so important to have a guest conductor during the season. First, Daniel has a great following and has done a fabulous job developing the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. Second, hiring Daniel represented an important aspect of our mission which is to reach out and collaborate with other arts organizations in the community. The fact that the musicians already knew and respected him was a bonus.

From an artistic point of view, however, it is crucial for an orchestra to see a fresh face in front of them on a regular basis. It keeps me on my toes, provides the musicians with fresh new insights in music making and allows me to assess the concert experience from the point of view of an audience member--our customers. Many people don't realize that an auditorium is as much an instrument as those that are featured in the orchestra itself. As music director, I am fully aware of what the orchestra sounds like as the music is launched from the stage. This was the first opportunity, however, for me to hear how the sound develops in the auditorium after it passes my ears and allowed me to assess which instruments were favored by the hall, or on the other hand which were discriminated against. This is valuable information for me when I rehearse balances with the orchestra. Regardless, it was great to see musicians perform so well under a terrific guest conductor.

A good night was had by all.

A few thoughts on our last concert:  I was really trying to demonstrate that music written in the 20th Century doesn't have to drive the audience away screaming.  Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis was a great example of that--great stuff from start to finish.  The Ginestera and the Stravinsky were more of a stretch however.  Ginestera's harp concerto was the highlight for me.  Yes it was dissonant, but it had a primal rhythmic quality to me that reminded me of the Rite of Spring--BOO YEAH!  I was a little annoyed during the concert however.  We had the harp hooked up to a speaker that was purposely hidden in front of the podium to enhance the volume of the harp without it becoming a distraction.  We had it figured out in the dress rehearsal--or so I thought, and yet by the time we came to the performance it's level was so low that it really didn't make the difference it was supposed to.  By the time the downbeat happened, it was too late for any adjustments.  And that's why I hate any electronic components to an acoustical performance.  If anything will go wrong, it will be the tech.

The Stravinksy, from my point of view is more of a curiosity than anything else.  It's the musical equivalent of looking at a sculpture.  It exists on its own, slightly detached from the world, and in this case, doesn't venture to evoke any deep sentiments.  So why program it?  This kind of music is essential for the training of an orchestra.  Stravinsky writes in a way where tight ensemble is paramount above all else.  There is little room for error.  If a note is played slightly too early, too late, or not in tune, there is no hiding.  It is either right or wrong and everybody will know it.  Therefore the degree of execution and precision necessary to play this music is higher than normal.  If an orchestra can transfer that discipline to let's say Strauss, or Beethoven, it will only pay higher artistic dividends in the future.

In this time of festive indigestion, I did manage to take time for what the holidays are really about--family.  Jill and I, together with my parents who were visiting Cedar Rapids, packed up the van, braced ourselves for the gas prices and headed North to visit my sister.  We haven't had a Christmas together in well over 10 years.  In no time at all, we were bickering as in days of old--ah,some things never change, except this time I actually enjoyed it.

Call me sadistic, but verbally sparring with my family virtually brought a tear of nostalgia to my eyes.  My nephews, who for the sake of anonymity will be referred to by their nicknames "Shrek" and "Buttercup," took me under their wing--and then proceeded to try and kill me.  Because of them, I tobogganed by butt off--NO REALLY, I have no tailbone left.  Note to self, screaming while zipping down "suicide" hill at 40 miles and hour will only get you a mouth full of snow, and will only mute your cries of panic--it's really a waste of energy and annoys the wildlife.  Save it for gripping the sled, you'll need it.

Well I hope you all have a happy and prosperous New Year, and for goodness sake push yourself away from the table before it's too late.

I'm sure that audiences didn't realize the swirl of activity going on behind the scenes:  Kids being dropped off and picked up by parents, choristers arriving and warming up their voices in anticipation of their performances, sound checks for the microphones, meeting areas for the violin groups, and on and on....  It was quite an elegant choreography in and of itself.

Each concert had it's own unique character which echoed the mood of the audience.  Saturday night's crowd really got into things, and it was great to hear them hoot and holler during some of our jazzy arrangements.  Saturday afternoon's audience was more subdued, and you could tell that they were moved by the more traditional fare that we had to offer.  The moment I was most proud of came on Tuesday night, however, during our Hancher performance.  Our concerts in Cedar Rapids featured our Children's Discovery Chorus--who are always GREAT.  This year in our Iowa City concert we featured the IC Girl's Chorus for the very first time.  They were outstanding as well.  Because of logistics, they never got a chance to rehearse with the orchestra.  The first time they experienced their piece with full symphonic accompaniment was during the concert itself.  Seeing their eyes light up when they heard the symphony for the first time was a real treat for me.  There were some in that choir who are underprivileged, and who I'm sure have never had the opportunity to hear a symphony orchestra, let alone perform with one.  Hearing and seeing these terrific young ladies perform so brilliantly and achieve such remarkable accomplishment really made the holidays for me.

My other guilty pleasure was hearing my Christmas arrangements come to life: Man With the Bag, Most Wonderful Time of the Year, 'Nuttin' For Christmas, and Lamb of God.  All were expertly performed by guests Janelle Lauer, Emmy Palmersheim and Bentlee Birchansky.  I knew they would all be a hit as I had performed them before in years past with the exception of Lamb of God which was my latest arrangement that I worked on this past summer.  It was my special baby and hearing it performed night after night was an early Christmas present for me.

On behalf of everyone at the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, let me extend to you the best of the Holiday Season:  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Usually the conductor does not get the best seat in the house.  Sound usually mixes and develops in the concert hall once it passes his/her head.   That evening I had the sound of the chorus/audience and the orchestra converging right where I was standing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our soloists also deserve kudos.  My programming philosophy is to feature as many artists with an Iowa connection as possible.  Everyone of our singers fit this bill and did a marvelous job.  Soprano Rachel Joselson is a professor at the University of Iowa and sang the bejeezuz out of her arias.  Mezzo Marylee Camp was her usual velvety self.  Jeff Shields, Baritone, impressed me with his rapids fire scales in "Why Do the Nations," and my friend Nathan Granner who's married to a CR local impressed everyone with his expression.

All in all quite an uplifting evening.  We'll be performing the Messiah again next season.  The question in my mind is whether it should continue as a sing-along (the audience seemed to have as good a time as me), or whether there is more of an appetite for a concert performance. What do you think?  Active audience participation or one where those who are shy to sing can come and enjoy as well? 

As I sign off, in light of the weather, I'm reminded of a nickname a musician friend of mine calls me to this day.  Once he heard that I spent a good deal of my time in the Canadian province of Alberta, he would call me, "the Alberta Clicker."

But now we're back to reality, and I have to concentrate on the task at hand--ensuring a season that is at least as great as last year and striving to raise the bar. We're beginning the season with the one piece that turned me on to symphonic music--Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony. To this day I remember when a family friend sat me down as a kid and played his LP of the work. Not only was I blown away by the piece, but his infectious enthusiasm is something that I will always remember (I telephoned him the other day and told him we were performing it and I swear he almost jumped through the telephone).

As I am very excited about starting a new season, sadly it's been a difficult summer for the orchestra as, due to tight financial circumstances, we had to re-structure the symphony staff. It's terrible to say good-bye to terrific people whose loyalty and dedication to the symphony has made it what it is today. Healing from that will take quite awhile and will pre-occupy much of the season I'm sure. It's a tall order, but when we look out into a packed house filled with eager smiling faces, it's the music that remains, which perhaps is the most healing salve of all.

When I began traveling around the United States spending time with orchestras, I found myself surprised with regularity at the high quality of music-making that I found in small city orchestras. These are orchestras that play, perhaps, six or eight or ten concerts a year, and yet still have about them a sense of ensemble and level of execution that would do much larger cities proud.

Often in conversations with people - even people in the music business (but whose exposure is limited to large-city "international level" orchestras) say to me things like "you must have had to adjust your expectations downward in order to keep your sanity during your travels." Simply not true - and I am growing increasingly intolerant of those who make statements like that without having any of the experience necessary to back them up.

We suffer in the orchestra business from a glamour complex. Those who are music directors or managers of small orchestras encounter colleagues all the time who convey somewhat condescending sentiments, expressing pity, or hope that "I'm sure you'll advance to a bigger orchestra soon." Those statements usually contain an unspoken (well, sometimes it is spoken) assumption that these folks have to put up with poor quality music because they're tied to small-town orchestras. Actually, there are managers who prefer that life - and who know that the experience can be artistically satisfying in a way that those who know Chicago, New York, or Cleveland might never know or believe.

I wish more people in the music business would get around the country and hear America's orchestras - and that includes in particular our music critics and press. It is a sad fact that if I were running a presenting series (at, say, Carnegie Hall - or the series in Chicago at Symphony Center that I used to be in charge of), I know in my bones that I could more successfully sell tickets to a concert by a second-line European orchestra than I could to the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, let's say, or Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra in Nebraska, where I recently heard a terrific Tchaikovsky Fourth. Those American orchestras play easily at the level of some European orchestras that tour these shores - but we Americans still have an inferiority complex about our orchestras.

But those prejudices still hold in many people's minds. If you have cause to travel to some of America's smaller cities or towns, and there is a local orchestra - do yourself a favor. Take in a concert. Perhaps you, too, will be surprised.

Our soloist (pronounced da-Zhoon Zhong), was a hit. I bet people were pretty puzzled when he walked on stage. Not too many Double bass soloists out there, and he truly made that instrument sing. I hope you noticed that he joined the orchestra for the second half to play the Mahler. It's great when guest artists do that-not only does it bolster the section, but it is a real treat for those who share a stand with him. What did you think of the piece itself? My litmus test for success is if it continually tantalized both your ears and your eyes.

As for the Mahler-I've been waiting years to get a crack at that piece. And if your wondering how big a thrill it is to lead a work like that, use your wildest imagination and double it... AT THE VERY LEAST. You may have noticed that the horn section stood at the end. I wish I could take credit for that idea, but Mahler beat me to it. Everything is written in the score, including when to stand. Pretty effective isn't it? Well, the orchestra takes a little hiatus now to make way for Follies-and if you haven't heard, yours truly will be making an appearance. As to what exactly I'll be doing, I should keep that a secret-I'd like tell you but then I'd have to kill you.

Until next time...

Tim:

My wife and I attended your most recent concert… And one previous… And we enjoyed them both. But I have some questions. We are not regular concert goers, and I am ignorant regarding protocol and ceremony which obviously occurs. Could you please enlighten me? Before the concert begins, all the musicians spend several minutes on their instruments. I assume this is to make sure they are properly tuned, but why don’t they do this before coming on stage… And then they do it again between the musical selections. Can their instruments be so out of adjustment in just a few minutes?

Also, when the orchestra quiets down,(and before you come on stage) there is another gentleman who comes out to applause and then the orchestra again makes a cacophony of noise. Maybe this is to show how much better they sound later on, when the conductor leads them!

My response:

Good questions! Thank you for coming to our concerts. I'm delighted that you enjoyed them. Before the concert, musicians need time to warm up, much like an athlete limbering up before a race. In addition, this time also allows the musicians to get a feel for the acoustic in the hall. Each performance space handles sound differently-if there is an echo, will there be a delay in sound coming back to the musician? (A little echo is a good thing, but if there is a large delay it could be distracting.) On the other hand if there is not any sound coming back to the musician, they will tend to push harder than they need. This is the sort of information they are gathering while they warm up before a concert. 

Instruments, especially stringed ones are very fussy and are subject to the whims of climate and the weather. The slightest change of temperature or humidity can cause the instruments to change shape. At the worst, instruments can crack, at the least, the wood expands and contracts causing the instrument to become out of tune. Not too long ago, on concert night, a cold front came through, and keeping instruments in tune was a real struggle.

Finally, the beginning of a concert has a ritual that is very ancient. 300+ years ago, the leader of the orchestra played the harpsichord and lead the orchestra from there. Because his hands were occupied, he needed a co-leader to lead the strings (the concertmaster). Today, the concertmaster still has a lot of duties including making sure everyone has the same bowings, and influences the way other people play by his own example. So before each concert, the concert master makes his own entrance as a sign of respect for the elevated position he enjoys in the orchestra, and at this time, the orchestra tunes. They take a pitch (an A) from the oboe, because the oboe has the least variance in pitch. Once each instrument "locks" in this pitch, they quickly go to others that due to the nature of the instrument needs to be tuned in relation to that single pitch--hence the cacophony.

I'm delighted that people are discovering the symphony, and I'm happy to do anything I can to de-mystify what we do. Keep these questions coming. I hope to see you at our next concert-I'm most looking forward to it. It features the music to the 1940's Errol Flynn swashbuckler--Captain Blood. Lots of fun! See you then.

Dear Ciara,

I am the musical executor for the estate of composer David Diamond.  On November 18 your orchestra performed Mr. Diamond's "Romeo and Juliet."  I was wondering if the concert was reviewed by your local newspaper, and if so could you email me a copy of the review.  Also please express my thanks to Maestro Hankewich for his interest in my friends music.

Best Wishes,
Sam Elliott

There are many musical societies across the globe that champion a particular composer's music.  They keep watch over the many performances of this person's works, cataloging and archiving them for posterity.

It's especially nice to hear from such an individual as Mr. Elliott in his kind letter.  It personalizes the music that we choose to do and reminds us that there are passionate people involved who are interested in keeping their favorite composer's music alive.

I also find it gratifying that the CRSO has made it on the radar amongst these circles.  A few short days ago, we performed our annual Baroque Yuletide concert.  On that program, we performed "Dies Natalis" by Gerald Finzi.  Since then, we have received similar overtures of gratitude and interest from his musical fan club as well.  It's nice to know that the CRSO can get the attention of people across the globe.

A lot has happened since my last blog entry. Jill, my wife, and I have finally moved to the area. We're staying in temporary housing until our permanent residence is completed. Living out of a suitcase is awkward to say the least, especially when we discover that we could have used something that had been packed away. Outside of our clothes and some bare essentials, our belongings are in storage somewhere in Kansas City. With luck, we'll be able to move in to our new digs by mid-to-late November. These past few weeks have been a triumph for the orchestra--they've had to perform three different concerts in a 2 and a half week period. That's a lot of notes to digest! They've proven themselves to be flexible and fun with pops and our discovery concerts, and have shouldered a huge assignment with the up coming masterworks program. Audiences don't get to see the behind the scenes preparation for these events but I can tell you how challenging it is to rehearse one program one evening, and then change gears, and rehearse another program the next rehearsal. It's quite a juggling act, and I'm fiercely proud of the orchestra for rising to the challenge. It's a great time for the Cedar Rapids Symphony.