Autumn is here and it’s with great excitement that we are beginning a new era at the Jacksonville Symphony. Last week I was in New York for the opening of the Philharmonic’s season. In a fortuitous coincidence, I assisted Alan Gilbert as he conducted Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, the same inexorable masterpiece with which we will showcase the Jacksonville Symphony this weekend in a series of free community concerts. We start at the St Augustine Amphitheatre on Thursday night, move to the sleek new Unity Plaza at 220 Riverside Avenue on Friday, and open the doors of Jacoby Hall on Saturday. As part of the Year of the River celebration we’re beginning these concerts with Smetana’s impassioned hymn to one of Bohemia’s great rivers, the

Continue readingOpening week has arrived

After a thrilling end to the Jacksonville Symphony’s season last week, I’m in Calgary, Canada, conducting the excellent Calgary Philharmonic. Even this far north, the sun in shining and couples sit at coffee tables on the sidewalks soaking up the rays, replenishing diminished vitamin D levels. Meanwhile, all across the globe orchestral musicians are putting their tails into mothballs, and discovering with horror that their white tuxedo jackets have turned an even more alarming shade of yellow. It must be summer! So what do we musicians do in the summer, once the season has ended? Some orchestras keep playing. I’ll be assisting the New York Philharmonic next week as they play concerts in Central Park. It’s a wonderful start to summer, as tens of thousands

Continue readingSummer’s here!