Seattle Youth Symphony and PNB School Combine Efforts

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 10:46:07 -0700

This is the first time that the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra will play for PNB's Annual School Performance and hopefully not the last. You could feel the pride and excitement as these accomplished young artists prepared to share strengths in Saturday's performances.

There is a freshness to the sound of this remarkable ensemble. They struggle with reserve but make up for it in gusto. They sometimes feel individual strength over esprit de corps, and yet they feed off of each other absolutely affecting every corner of the massive McCaw Hall.

Eventually we began rehearsals of the men's regiment from Stars and Stripes and later Chaconne. There were a few discussions about tempi and a few missteps, but the possibility of greatness was hovering nearby. The presence of the orchestra breathed new life into the dancers who have spent months preparing with piano and cd.

To see this impressive level of musicianship from 15 to 19 year olds matched by our 15 to 19 year old ballet students is one of the more inspiring moments I've witnessed in a long time. If you are able to attend one of the performances on Saturday, be sure to make the trip to the edge of the orchestra pit to see this talented crew preparing.

This is not the first time that these two groups have met. Our Professional Division students attended a SYSO performance of a Mahler Symphony at Benaroya Hall in May. About three weeks ago we brought dancers and musicians together in our Studio C at the Phelps Center to watch a run-through of Chaconne. After the rehearsal the assembled teens spent almost an hour comparing notes about the rewards and pressures of being accomplished artists at such a young age. There was an unspoken mutual respect for one another. The extraordinary achievements were understood and shared.

With several hundred students performing on the stage and in the pit, youth power will be filling the theater. I saw an electric new creation by Kiyon Gaines earlier in the day to a commissioned score by young composer Aaron Severini. I have also watched as each class from Level I through Level VIII prepares their school dances. The combination of talent, energy and enthusiasm will be phenomenal. This performance is ours to witness and theirs to enjoy. The future of dance and music looks to be in very capable hands and feet and that fact will be on proud display at McCaw Hall tomorrow. Catch it if you can. You wont regret it. Some tickets are still available for the evening performance through our website and at the box office.

Support for the Arts

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:33:42 -0700

Last week, Oregon Ballet Theatre presented DANCE UNITED, a remarkable one-time-only event offering performances by extraordinary artists from every major dance company across the country. This was the inspired idea of artistic director Christopher Stowell to raise funds and awareness of OBT’s dire financial situation. The last ditch effort worked. Yesterday, I received a message from Christopher saying that the company was successful and would dance another day.

Of course, OBT’s situation is not unique, with virtually all arts organizations either dipping into precious reserves to survive or wishing they had reserves to tap. What struck me about OBT’s situation was that for an outsider (or maybe well-informed neighbor to the north), the company seemed to have done everything so well. Their dancers are first-rate, and Christopher not only added interesting repertoire, but energized a city around its ballet company. Marketing is catchy and young audience members flock to performances. How clear it would be to point to the poor choices the company made over the last five years, but there don’t seem to be any. At PNB, we are looking very closely at our year-end results and even more closely at next year’s projections. We are looking at our rainy day fund (Seattle, rainy?) and wondering if we sufficiently prepared for the time we are in.

There are two glaring reasons for both OBT and PNB to be sweating right now. The first, too obvious to mention, is the economy. The second is a rare, brutal snowstorm that wrecked havoc with ten days of our grand sugar daddy, Nutcracker.

But beyond the obvious, aren’t we arts organizations always a few steps from financial uncertainty? I haven’t heard a politician or a pedestrian doubt the vital role of arts in our society. They all know what they have experienced in that transforming moment when the curtain lifts and the orchestra begins. They remember wide eyes at the opening of the exhibition and jumping to their feet as the play concluded its final act. Arts can be entertainment and, at its best, can also be so much more. And yet, while we recognize and appreciate, do we do enough to support? I would venture to guess that most in this country think arts run the gamut from fun to profound, but they remain low on the list of priorities in needy times.

I’ve heard two speeches in the past year that were worth hearing. They both clearly cast the value of the arts in our lives as vital, not optional. I’d like to recommend them to anyone who cares deeply about the arts and even more to those who don’t.

Ben Cameron, program Director for the Arts under the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, came to Seattle last year to speak at the Artsfund annual luncheon. Ben walks us through the seismic shift happening in our culture and our children’s minds in accessibility to entertainment. The 99 cent song is easily erasing the $100 symphony ticket, while the word “subscription” is becoming increasingly unknown to the ipod generation. With this trend, where will financial support for the arts from individuals be in a decade?

Does it matter? What if we lost our regional theaters? Ben names a UCLA study that determined that a kid who has been in a play is 42% less likely to exhibit racist behavior as an adult. It matters.

Sir Ken Robinson, in a 2006 speech with TED, talks of a fault in our education system that emphasizes more education that will lead to what was deemed valuable employment to a past generation. Priority would go to professors, accountants, and scientists, but not to painters, playwrights, and ballet dancers. Ask a kid to name three sports stars. Then ask them to name three sculptors. Poets?

Each speaks to a general lack of recognition of the tremendous value of arts in our culture. Each of us might think about what the arts have meant to us and particularly what we can do to introduce a child to the arts and teach them that without support, the curtain wont rise. Congratulations, OBT, and thank you for reminding us what we must do.

Link to Ben Cameron speech:
http://www.artsfund.org/Documents/Ben-Cameron-keynote-address-ArtsFund-luncheon-5-22.aspx

Link to Robinson video:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Artistic Director, Peter Boal

Seattle Youth Symphony and PNB School Combine Efforts

Support for the Arts