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What's New > News and Reviews >Opening Night Venue Variety in Store for MusicMonday, January 28, 2008
By SHERRY GRINDELAND Musical nights at the Bellevue Arts Museum, more outdoor concerts and small musical performances in nontraditional settings may be in the future...
Jennifer McCausland, the orchestra's new executive director, said classical music in innovative settings can build bigger audiences. "It is an incredible experience when you're 10 feet away from someone bowing the cello," she said. "Then if you have a conversation with the musician, music becomes personal and you're willing to go to a big concert." The Seattle woman took over the leadership position last week, replacing Lawrence Fried, who had been head of the 40-year-old Bellevue group since 2003. "Jennifer brings incredible leadership capability, a wealth of business experience, arts production and marketing skills, passion for classical music performance, and a deep belief in the future of the art form," said Paul Garner, president of the board. McCausland planned to start slowly, working just part time until mid-February. Then her passion for classical music rose to a crescendo — she's been at the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra offices every day for the last week and a half. The passion means long days until she wraps up the national conference, "Sounds of the Future: A Classical Music Summit," on Feb. 10 at Seattle University. McCausland is producing the conference, which includes speakers and panelists from The Seattle Times, The New York Times, San Francisco and Los Angeles symphonies, and Seattle's Gerard Schwarz. For the Australian-born woman, juggling isn't difficult. She's hosted large and small musical salons at her Seattle home, served on boards such as the Seattle Symphony's, written policy for the state insurance commission, and founded Apollo Music Ventures to promote classical music and young musicians. She didn't accept the BPO offer at first. She was cautious — attending a board meeting and a Bellevue Philharmonic concert. Watching Fusao Kajima, the maestro, convinced her the orchestra has great potential. "Fusao is wonderful," she said. "A bond clearly exists between Fusao and the audience, and that's what you need to bring more people to the concerts." She hopes to do more youth-related activities, partially because of her own background. When she was a child in Brisbane, her family didn't have a television. "My parents played classical music and at night when I'd go to bed, I'd be listening to Chopin or Rachmaninoff," she said. McCausland said her fundraising experience will be a plus as she helps with audience development. "The orchestra is like a little bird ready to fly," she said. "I want to give it that opportunity." Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times |
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Musical nights at the Bellevue Arts Museum, more
outdoor concerts and small musical performances in nontraditional
settings may be in the future for the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra.