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When Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra music director Andreas Delfs gives the downbeat on Saturday night for the premiere of James Lee III’s “Sensational Dynamism,” it will inaugurate a milestone in the orchestra’s history.
Today, the RPO officially announces Voices of Today, a five-season multimedia initiative that will involve the orchestra intimately in creating, documenting, and disseminating contemporary American music through premieres, recordings, video, and podcasts.
According to Delfs, Voices of Today is definitely dynamic, and promises to be sensational, showcasing the diverse creative voices in the American concert music landscape while greatly raising the RPO’s profile.
“So often, a new piece is commissioned, performed once or twice, and then is never heard from again,” says the conductor. “With Voices of Today, we hope to create worthy pieces from the most diverse and exciting living composers and keep them alive.”
Voices of Today has been in the planning stages for several years, beginning with a gift from Stephen Ashley, an arts patron and RPO board member, in memory of his wife, Janice Ashley. The RPO’s vice president of artistic planning and operations, James Barry, recalls that Ashley wanted to support the orchestra’s creation and performance of contemporary music with “something transformative.”
“Often, an orchestra will appoint a composer-in-residence or commission a new piece, sends out a release, and the story stops there,” says Barry. “We wanted to swing a little differently: to be able to change our theme so there would always be a new story.”
After discussion, Ashley, Barry, and Delfs found themselves on the same page, literally: a one-page resume that the conductor and artistic director presented to Ashley with the basic plan for Voices of Today. After further refinements, the resume became an ambitious plan to bring the orchestra into the world of 21st-century media as a source of new concert music that pushes traditional boundaries by embracing non-traditional instruments, technology, theater, movement, and the visual arts.
Voices of Today has already resulted in a number of commissions premiered last season by the orchestra. One enterprising concert paired Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” with new choreography performed by Garth Fagan Dance, and the premiere of “Richochet (A Ping-Pong Concerto)” by Andy Akiho, performed by the Genesee Valley Table Tennis Club. Last season’s finale paired Beethoven’s Ninth with “To Seek is Jubilance” by Derrick Skye—a companion piece with a contemporary take on the symphony’s theme of “We all are brothers.”
These new pieces are appealing, and Lee’s two-piano concerto “Sensational Dynamism” promises to be a virtuoso crowd pleaser. (Last weekend, the prolific Lee heard the premiere of his “Clarinet Concerto” in Baltimore.)
Delfs finds this new piece, inspired by the moves of gymnasts, aptly titled. “It’s a fabulous piece and a rhythmic powerhouse, very informed by jazz,” he says. “It reminded me of my old records of Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett.”
“Sensational Dynamism” features the up-and-coming piano duo The Naughtons, and several future commissions will match up renowned contemporary composers with equally high-profile soloists. Coming in 2025 and 2026 are premieres of a “Sinfonia Concertante”for oboe, bassoon, violin, cello, and orchestra by Roberto Sierra, featuring the RPO’s first-desk players; a double violin concerto for Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony by Avner Dorman; an Aaron Jay Kernis piano concerto for Jean-Yves Thibaudet; and a Jennifer Higdon cello concerto for Julian Schwarz.
Skye’s “To Seek is Jubilance” represented another aim of Voices of Today: to create companion pieces for familiar works. The initiative also includes other contemporary American works; this season has already included recent works by Kevin Puts, Mizzy Mazzioli, and Behzad Ranjbaran, with Lowell Liebermann’s “Frankenstein Waltzes” later in November, and many more to come.
The Voices of Today online hub, also launched today, will house a growing collection of dedicated podcasts and filmed performances of selected new works supported by the initiative. And for audiences to engage with the RPO’s creative partners, see the live video performance of their work, and listen to their stories via the Voices of Today podcast, consisting of interviews conducted by former WXXI classical music director Julia Figueras. You can already see the video and hear interviews with Derrick Skye and Andy Akhito on the site.
The RPO also has a history of recordings dating back to the 1930s. The orchestra’s notable albums include a 1939 recording of William Grant Still’s now-classic “Afro-American Symphony,” which the RPO premiered in 1931. Among former RPO music directors, Erich Leinsdorf conducted the first commercial recording of Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances,” and David Zinman led acclaimed LPs of music by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Dvořák, and Janáček.
Voices of Today also finds the RPO re-entering the world of recording, this time defined by what Barry calls “new territory—the world of integrated media.”
The orchestra’s upcoming recordings will be produced and distributed by Azica Records, whose release of the RPO and Yolanda Kondonassis performing Higdon’s “Harp Concerto” won a Grammy Award in 2020. After discussions with several other possible labels, Delfs and Barry met with Azica’s Alan Bise.
“We felt immediately comfortable about our relationship,” says Barry, “and he’s a wonderful producer.”
The partnership will continue with five albums, beginning with “Four,” a fall 2025 release to include “Sensational Dynamism,” “To Seek is Jubilance,” and Roberto Sierra’s “Sinfonia Concertante.” (The album titlereflects that Skye’s work features four singers, Lee’s piano concerto is for four hands, and Sierra’s concerto is written for four RPO soloists.) The five albums will be available as CDs, and for streaming and downloading.
For his part, Bise has said: “Each work, written by a vitally important composer, deserves to be added to the recorded catalog and to be available in perpetuity for listeners worldwide. Azica is proud to be a part of that legacy.”
“We wanted to go back to the roots of what made our orchestra famous,” Delfs explains. “There is a long history of recording and of new music commissions which includes so much good stuff. I also felt that we could fill in repertoire gaps with certain types of pieces and show off the quality of our players. And I want this new music to have a life after Rochester.”
Classical music audiences are notoriously wary of new music, but Delfs is finding RPO audiences are increasingly interested in the new pieces the orchestra has been presenting.
“It all has to do with juxtaposition–performing an exciting new piece in the context of a well-known piece can help them hear a warhorse with new ears,” he says.
He points to this season’s successful pairing of Kevin Puts’ concerto “Contact” with Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony.
“After a couple of years of this kind of programming, we’ve built up the trust of our audience,” Delfs notes.
“As a music director, I need to seek for a raison d’etre for our orchestra,” he adds. “The future should always connect with the past. Our ancestors put the RPO on the map in presenting new music, and I’m very excited that we can revive this tradition in a new, fresh way.”
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andreas Delfs, presents James Lee III’s “Sensational Dynamism (Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra)” with The Naughtons on Nov. 9 and 10 in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Also on the program: Verdi’s “Overture to La Forza del Destino,” Alwyn’s “Autumn Legend,” and Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra.” Information and tickets are available here.
David Raymond is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].
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