John Morris Russell
Encyclopedia
John Morris Russell is an American
conductor
.
, Maestro Russell is the product of arts programs in the public schools. He attended Ludlow Elementary School in Shaker Heights, OH outside of Cleveland. Active in theater and music in high school, he performed in band, orchestra, jazz ensemble as well as theatrical productions, and formed a “garage band” that played cover tunes from the great funk horn bands of the late 1970s. He began more seriously studying music while attending King's College in London. In 1982, he graduated with a music degree and highest honors from Williams College in Massachusetts. He continued his study with private conducting lessons at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His first work as a conductor included teaching in the public schools as well as leading the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestras in Oberlin, Ohio, and the Akron Youth Symphony.
, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Williams College
in Massachusetts. He has also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
in London, the Cleveland Institute of Music
, the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, and the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors
in Hancock, Maine.
, Russell has fostered a decade of unprecedented artistic growth and has invigorated the musical life of the Windsor-Essex region. A two-time recipient of Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts, as well as the Ontario Arts Council’s Vida Peene Award for Artistic Excellence, Maestro Russell and the WSO have also won coveted nominations for both the Gemini Awards (2004) and Juno Awards (2008). In 2010, Russell received the prestigious The Herb Gray Harmony Award by the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County, in recognition of the WSO's programming and outreach activities that consistently support and celebrate the region's diversity, as well as Mr. Russell's innovative strategies to encourage a harmonious society. In October 2010 he was honored as the first recipient of the Arts Leadership Award by the Windsor Endowment for the Arts, in recognition of the enormous contribution he has made to the region's cultural life.
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra
has made seventeen national broadcasts on CBC Radio 2 with Maestro Russell, including concerts from the Masterworks and Intimate Classics series, and the annual Windsor Canadian Music Festival. The most recent CBC broadcast recording of Aurora Borealis by Jordon Nobles, was selected to represent Canada in the 57th annual International Rostrum of Composers in Lisbon, Portugal in June 2010. The WSO’s first nationally televised production was created with Mr. Russell for the CBC Television series Opening Night, which subsequently won the Gold Worldmedal for “Best Performance Program” at the New York Festivals Awards for Television and New Media, as well as a Gemini Award
Nomination. In 2006 the Windsor Symphony Orchestra released Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf
narrated by actor, Colm Feore, and Last Minute Lulu, composed by WSO Composer-in-Residence, Brent Lee, with text by the Newbery Medal winning author, Christopher Paul Curtis. The recording won Russell and the WSO
its first Juno nomination for Best Children’s Album in 2008. As a guest conductor, Maestro Russell has led many of North America’s most distinguished ensembles, including the orchestras of Toronto
, Edmonton
, Calgary, Victoria
, Kitchener-Waterloo
, Detroit
, Houston, Indianapolis
, Dallas
, Louisville, Orchestra London, Miami’s New World Symphony
, the Minnesota Orchestra
, Oregon Symphony
, Colorado Symphony
, New Jersey Symphony, New York Pops, New York City Ballet
, New York Philharmonic
and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
. Highlights of this season include his debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
, and return engagements with the Victoria Symphony
, Orchestra London, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
.
The "Sound Discoveries" series Russell developed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
remains a leading model for educational concerts. In Windsor, he crafted two new concert series, Peanut Butter n’ Jam and Family Jamboree, specifically for youth and families, and spearheaded the creation of The Windsor-Essex Youth Choir and the Windsor Symphony Youth Orchestra. Russell’s passionate support of music in the schools has forged performance partnerships with the University of Windsor School of Music
, the Windsor Centre for the Creative Arts and dozens of choral, dance and performing ensembles throughout the community. With the creation of the One Community—One Symphony project in 2008, Maestro Russell has worked with over a thousand teenagers in 15 school band and choral programs, representing French, Catholic and Public School Boards, in rehearsals and performances with the WSO. In the last decade, the WSO's enormously successful education concerts have engaged over 100,000 students and teachers in Essex, Lambton and Kent counties. As one of the nation’s strongest advocates for new music, Maestro Russell has helped nurture many new voices in Canadian music, conducting numerous Windsor premiers of important Canadian works and over 45 world premiers of commissioned compositions. Mr. Russell created the WSO’s first multi-year composer-in-residence position, and is deeply involved in the production of the annual Windsor Canadian Music Festival, described by CBC producer David Jaeger as, “one of the most exciting and innovative developments to appear lately in the Canadian musical scene.”
Russell served as associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
for eleven years where he regularly led concerts at Music Hall
and the Riverbend Music Center
. Recognized for his innovative programming and commitment to attracting new and diverse audiences to orchestral music, Maestro Russell created the Classical Roots: Spiritual Heights series, which brought the music of African-American composers and performers to thousands of listeners in area churches, and was also the co-creator of the Christmas spectacular, Home for the Holidays. In September 1999, Russell replaced Erich Kunzel
with an hour’s notice to conduct the Cincinnati Pops’ opening weekend concerts. The following week he substituted for Maestro Kunzel in concerts on the stage of the famed Musikverein in Vienna, featuring the Harlem Boychoir, the Vienna Choir Boys and actor Gregory Peck
. The performance continues to be televised throughout Europe, Japan and in the USA on PBS. Maestro Russell returned to conduct the Cincinnati Pops twice in 2010. Maestro Russell has also served as associate conductor of the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, director of the orchestral program at Vanderbilt University
, and music director with the College Light Opera Company
in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
, effective September 1, 2011, succeeding the late Erich Kunzel
. As the Cincinnati Pops Conductor, Russell will be charged with programming and conducting performances at Music Hall
and Riverbend Music Center
, as well as leading performances in the community and overseeing the Orchestra's Lollipop Family Concerts. It is the only Pops ensemble for which he will hold a title. In May 2011, the University of Windsor announced Russell would receive an honorary degree during its spring convocation ceremony for his contributions to the growth and invigoration in musical life in Windsor, Ontario.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
Early years
Born and raised in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Maestro Russell is the product of arts programs in the public schools. He attended Ludlow Elementary School in Shaker Heights, OH outside of Cleveland. Active in theater and music in high school, he performed in band, orchestra, jazz ensemble as well as theatrical productions, and formed a “garage band” that played cover tunes from the great funk horn bands of the late 1970s. He began more seriously studying music while attending King's College in London. In 1982, he graduated with a music degree and highest honors from Williams College in Massachusetts. He continued his study with private conducting lessons at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His first work as a conductor included teaching in the public schools as well as leading the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestras in Oberlin, Ohio, and the Akron Youth Symphony.
Education
He received a Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of Southern California, Los AngelesUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
in Massachusetts. He has also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
in London, the Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music is an independent music conservatory located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States and is overseen by president Joel Smirnoff and Adrian Daly, dean....
, the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, and the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors
Pierre Monteux School
The Pierre Monteux School for conductors and orchestra musicians, founded by the famous conductor Pierre Monteux, is a 6-week summer orchestra program located in Hancock, Maine. After Monteux's death, Maestro Charles Bruck took over leadership of the school. His protege, Michael Jinbo, is the...
in Hancock, Maine.
Conducting and Performing
Russell has consistently won international praise for music-making and leadership. As Music Director of the Windsor Symphony OrchestraWindsor Symphony Orchestra
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra located in Windsor, Ontario. It was founded in 1941, originally as the Windsor Concert Orchestra. The name was changed to The Windsor Symphony in 1948....
, Russell has fostered a decade of unprecedented artistic growth and has invigorated the musical life of the Windsor-Essex region. A two-time recipient of Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts, as well as the Ontario Arts Council’s Vida Peene Award for Artistic Excellence, Maestro Russell and the WSO have also won coveted nominations for both the Gemini Awards (2004) and Juno Awards (2008). In 2010, Russell received the prestigious The Herb Gray Harmony Award by the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County, in recognition of the WSO's programming and outreach activities that consistently support and celebrate the region's diversity, as well as Mr. Russell's innovative strategies to encourage a harmonious society. In October 2010 he was honored as the first recipient of the Arts Leadership Award by the Windsor Endowment for the Arts, in recognition of the enormous contribution he has made to the region's cultural life.
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra
Windsor Symphony Orchestra
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra located in Windsor, Ontario. It was founded in 1941, originally as the Windsor Concert Orchestra. The name was changed to The Windsor Symphony in 1948....
has made seventeen national broadcasts on CBC Radio 2 with Maestro Russell, including concerts from the Masterworks and Intimate Classics series, and the annual Windsor Canadian Music Festival. The most recent CBC broadcast recording of Aurora Borealis by Jordon Nobles, was selected to represent Canada in the 57th annual International Rostrum of Composers in Lisbon, Portugal in June 2010. The WSO’s first nationally televised production was created with Mr. Russell for the CBC Television series Opening Night, which subsequently won the Gold Worldmedal for “Best Performance Program” at the New York Festivals Awards for Television and New Media, as well as a Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
Nomination. In 2006 the Windsor Symphony Orchestra released Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf
Peter and the Wolf
Peter and the Wolf , Op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 in the USSR. It is a children's story , spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra....
narrated by actor, Colm Feore, and Last Minute Lulu, composed by WSO Composer-in-Residence, Brent Lee, with text by the Newbery Medal winning author, Christopher Paul Curtis. The recording won Russell and the WSO
Windsor Symphony Orchestra
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra located in Windsor, Ontario. It was founded in 1941, originally as the Windsor Concert Orchestra. The name was changed to The Windsor Symphony in 1948....
its first Juno nomination for Best Children’s Album in 2008. As a guest conductor, Maestro Russell has led many of North America’s most distinguished ensembles, including the orchestras of Toronto
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
, Edmonton
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to country...
, Calgary, Victoria
Victoria Symphony
The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered by some to be Vancouver Island's premiere active performing arts organization. Currently directed by Tania Miller - one of North America's first female musical directors - the staff consist of both...
, Kitchener-Waterloo
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony
The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario. Its home venue is Centre In The Square in Kitchener, Ontario. Music Directors and Principal Conductors have included Raffi Armenian , Chosei Komatsu , Martin Fischer-Dieskau and...
, Detroit
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...
, Houston, Indianapolis
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana.Annually, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performs 200 concerts for over 350,000 people. It is the largest performing arts organization in Indiana. The ISO is currently one of only 18 American...
, Dallas
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States....
, Louisville, Orchestra London, Miami’s New World Symphony
New World Symphony Orchestra
The New World Symphony is the United States' only full-time orchestral academy preparing musicians for careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles...
, the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
, Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
, Colorado Symphony
Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Colorado’s only full-time professional orchestra, the Colorado Symphony embraces a tradition of musical excellence by presenting a diverse array of symphonic performances throughout the year...
, New Jersey Symphony, New York Pops, New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
, New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
. Highlights of this season include his debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...
, and return engagements with the Victoria Symphony
Victoria Symphony
The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered by some to be Vancouver Island's premiere active performing arts organization. Currently directed by Tania Miller - one of North America's first female musical directors - the staff consist of both...
, Orchestra London, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
.
The "Sound Discoveries" series Russell developed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
As the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
remains a leading model for educational concerts. In Windsor, he crafted two new concert series, Peanut Butter n’ Jam and Family Jamboree, specifically for youth and families, and spearheaded the creation of The Windsor-Essex Youth Choir and the Windsor Symphony Youth Orchestra. Russell’s passionate support of music in the schools has forged performance partnerships with the University of Windsor School of Music
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
, the Windsor Centre for the Creative Arts and dozens of choral, dance and performing ensembles throughout the community. With the creation of the One Community—One Symphony project in 2008, Maestro Russell has worked with over a thousand teenagers in 15 school band and choral programs, representing French, Catholic and Public School Boards, in rehearsals and performances with the WSO. In the last decade, the WSO's enormously successful education concerts have engaged over 100,000 students and teachers in Essex, Lambton and Kent counties. As one of the nation’s strongest advocates for new music, Maestro Russell has helped nurture many new voices in Canadian music, conducting numerous Windsor premiers of important Canadian works and over 45 world premiers of commissioned compositions. Mr. Russell created the WSO’s first multi-year composer-in-residence position, and is deeply involved in the production of the annual Windsor Canadian Music Festival, described by CBC producer David Jaeger as, “one of the most exciting and innovative developments to appear lately in the Canadian musical scene.”
Russell served as associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
As the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
for eleven years where he regularly led concerts at Music Hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
and the Riverbend Music Center
Riverbend Music Center
Riverbend Music Center is an outdoor amphitheater, with a capacity of 20,500, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, along the banks of the Ohio River. Riverbend was built for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, to allow them to play in an outdoor venue during the summer months. Famed architect...
. Recognized for his innovative programming and commitment to attracting new and diverse audiences to orchestral music, Maestro Russell created the Classical Roots: Spiritual Heights series, which brought the music of African-American composers and performers to thousands of listeners in area churches, and was also the co-creator of the Christmas spectacular, Home for the Holidays. In September 1999, Russell replaced Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel, Jr. was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune, he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra , which he led for over 44 years.-Early life and career:Kunzel was born to...
with an hour’s notice to conduct the Cincinnati Pops’ opening weekend concerts. The following week he substituted for Maestro Kunzel in concerts on the stage of the famed Musikverein in Vienna, featuring the Harlem Boychoir, the Vienna Choir Boys and actor Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
. The performance continues to be televised throughout Europe, Japan and in the USA on PBS. Maestro Russell returned to conduct the Cincinnati Pops twice in 2010. Maestro Russell has also served as associate conductor of the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, director of the orchestral program at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, and music director with the College Light Opera Company
College Light Opera Company
The College Light Opera Company is an educational summer stock theatre company based in Falmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It produces and performs 9 shows during a 9 week season each summer, including two Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas, with performances taking place in the town's the historic...
in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
2010 and Beyond
On December 6, 2010, Russell was named conductor of the Cincinnati Pops OrchestraCincinnati Pops Orchestra
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 out of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Its members are also the members of the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Pops is managed by the same administration...
, effective September 1, 2011, succeeding the late Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel, Jr. was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune, he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra , which he led for over 44 years.-Early life and career:Kunzel was born to...
. As the Cincinnati Pops Conductor, Russell will be charged with programming and conducting performances at Music Hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
and Riverbend Music Center
Riverbend Music Center
Riverbend Music Center is an outdoor amphitheater, with a capacity of 20,500, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, along the banks of the Ohio River. Riverbend was built for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, to allow them to play in an outdoor venue during the summer months. Famed architect...
, as well as leading performances in the community and overseeing the Orchestra's Lollipop Family Concerts. It is the only Pops ensemble for which he will hold a title. In May 2011, the University of Windsor announced Russell would receive an honorary degree during its spring convocation ceremony for his contributions to the growth and invigoration in musical life in Windsor, Ontario.