Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Encyclopedia
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, is the United States' only full-time professional chamber orchestra. In collaboration with five Artistic Partners, the 34 virtuoso musicians present more than 130 concerts and educational programs each year and are regularly heard on public radio’s "Performance Today", which reaches 1.5 million listeners each week on 243 stations, and on SymphonyCast, reaching 480,000 listeners each week on 125 stations nationwide.
The orchestra's recording of Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
's Appalachian Spring
Appalachian Spring
Appalachian Spring is a modern score composed by Aaron Copland that premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite...
at Sound 80
Sound 80
Sound80 was a recording studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States founded by Tom Jung and Herb Pilhofer in 1969. Largely involved with local artists, the studio is best known for recording portions of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks in 1974, but also made what is believed to be the first...
studios was one of the earliest digital audio
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
recordings to see commercial release.
Beginning with the 2004 – 05 season, the SPCO adopted a new artistic model by eliminating the position of Music Director and creating positions for several Artistic Partners, prominent established musicians. Under this model the musicians of the SPCO are given a much higher degree of artistic control.
Launched in 1995, the SPCO's CONNECT education program reaches 6,000 students annually in 16 Minneapolis
Minneapolis Public Schools
Minneapolis Public Schools or Special School District Number 1 is a school district that covers all of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis Public Schools enroll 36,370 students in public primary and secondary schools...
and Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Paul Public Schools is a school district that covers all of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota.Saint Paul supports a robust network of publicly-funded primary and secondary schools....
. The orchestra's activities are supported by the Friends of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Friends of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
The Friends of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra is a non-profit cultural and educational organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1975 by Lola May Thompson and Patricia Whitacre with the mission of supporting the activities of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and incorporated...
.
Artistic Leadership
- Leopold Sipe (Music Director, 1959 – 71)
- Dennis Russell DaviesDennis Russell DaviesDennis Russell Davies is an American conductor and pianist. He studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard School where he received his doctorate...
(Music Director, 1972 – 80) - Pinchas ZukermanPinchas ZukermanPinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
(Music Director, 1980 – 87) - Stanisław Skrowaczewski (Interim Music Advisor, 1987 – 88)
- Christopher HogwoodChristopher HogwoodChristopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood CBE, MA , HonMusD , born 10 September 1941, Nottingham, is an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer and musicologist, well known as the founder of the Academy of Ancient Music.-Biography:...
(Music Director, 1988 – 92) - Hugh WolffHugh WolffHugh Wolff is an American conductor.He was born in Paris while his father was serving in the U. S. Foreign Service, then spent his primary-school years in London. He received his higher education at Harvard and at Peabody Conservatory...
(Principal Conductor, 1988 – 92; Music Director, 1992 – 2000) - Bobby McFerrinBobby McFerrinRobert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. is an American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner.-Life:...
(Creative Chair, 1994 – 99) - Andreas DelfsAndreas DelfsAndreas Delfs is a German conductor. He is the conductor laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Honolulu Symphony.-Biography:...
(Music Director, 2001 – 04)
Artistic Partners
- Joshua BellJoshua BellJoshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
(2004 – 07) - Stephen Prutsman (2004 – 07)
- Nicholas McGeganNicholas McGeganNicholas McGegan OBE is a British harpsichordist, flautist, conductor and early music expert....
(2004 – 09) - Pierre-Laurent AimardPierre-Laurent AimardPierre-Laurent Aimard is a French pianist. He was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio....
(2006 – 09) - Douglas BoydDouglas BoydDouglas Boyd is a British oboist and conductor. He studied oboe at the Royal Academy of Music, London, as a pupil of Janet Craxton. He later was a student with Maurice Bourgue in Paris...
(2004 – 10) - Roberto AbbadoRoberto AbbadoRoberto Abbado is an Italian conductor. He is the son of musician Marcello Abbado and the nephew of conductor Claudio Abbado...
(2005 – present) - Dawn UpshawDawn UpshawDawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
(2007 – present) - Christian ZachariasChristian Zacharias-Music career:Zacharias studied piano with Irene Slavin and Vlado Perlemuter in Paris. He won the Geneva Competition in 1969 and the Van Cliburn Competition in 1973. After winning the Ravel Competition in Paris in 1975, he launched an international career...
(2009 – present) - Edo de WaartEdo de WaartEdo de Waart is a Dutch conductor, and the Music Director of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra....
(2010 – present) - Thomas ZehetmairThomas ZehetmairThomas Zehetmair is an Austrian violinist and conductor. He studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, where both of his parents taught. His festival debut was at age 16. He was in master classes with Nathan Milstein and Max Rostal....
(2010 – present)
Awards and recognitions
- Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Chamber Music PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance has been awarded since 1959. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1959 to 1960 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music ...
: Dennis Russell DaviesDennis Russell DaviesDennis Russell Davies is an American conductor and pianist. He studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard School where he received his doctorate...
(conductor) & The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for CoplandAaron CoplandAaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
: Appalachian SpringAppalachian SpringAppalachian Spring is a modern score composed by Aaron Copland that premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite...
(1980Grammy Awards of 1980The 22nd Grammy Awards were held February 27, 1980, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1979.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
) - 2011 ASCAP award for Programming of Contemporary Music
See also
- Bill McGlaughlinBill McGlaughlinWilliam "Bill" McGlaughlin is an American composer, conductor, music educator, and Peabody Award-winning classical music radio host...
- Compositions by Bill McGlaughlinCompositions by Bill McGlaughlinConductor and radio commentator Bill McGlaughlin began composing in 1997, whereupon he left his conducting position at the Kansas City Symphony and moved to New York City to concentrate on composing. The outcome of the move was a flurry of creativity, and he has been composing successfully,...
- Friends of the Saint Paul Chamber OrchestraFriends of the Saint Paul Chamber OrchestraThe Friends of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra is a non-profit cultural and educational organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1975 by Lola May Thompson and Patricia Whitacre with the mission of supporting the activities of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and incorporated...