Article: Waukesha Symphony Names New Executive Director
By LAUREL WALKER | Posted: Jan. 18, 2010 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Andrea Rindo has been appointed executive director of the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra, the symphony announced Monday.
Rindo, who has a bachelor of science in music business and a minor in economics from Carroll University, previously was the orchestra's office and database manager. However, she has been essentially serving as acting director since last May, when the former executive director, Cindy Karas, resigned after less than a year, said WSO President Mary Korkor.
The Waukesha Symphony Orchestra is in its 62nd season and presents six classical programs in venues throughout Waukesha County each year. The next concert is 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Waukesha.
Article: Student Musicians Benefit from WSO Director's Words
By ISRAL DEBRUIN | Posted: Nov. 24, 2009 | BrookfieldNOW
When Alexander Platt, Waukesha Symphony Orchestra music director, walks into a high school orchestra class, the accomplished conductor said he feels just as challenged as when he steps in front of professional musicians.
Still, Platt said, he focuses on one thing during his annual set of student clinics.
"My only objective is just to walk in and make music," he said after a Nov. 17 session with the Brookfield East High School orchestra.
That can be difficult, Platt said, because he's conducting pieces students have already been learning with their teacher. He tries to give new perspective to each piece of music.
"My role is just to complement what they're already doing," he said.
Intense hour of practice
During the clinic at Brookfield East, Platt led the orchestra through "Symphonia de Nativitate," an 18th-century Polish symphony. Stopping to give occasional feedback, Platt shared facts about musical instruments and the history of orchestral compositions while also giving advice about proper playing techniques, dynamics and rhythm.
"It always has to have a shape," he told students about their sound. "Even if there's nothing written (on the sheet music), it has to have a shape."
The clinic lasted just one class period, but the students played right through the bell. The electronic tone signaling the end of class blended discordantly with the sound of the orchestra. When Platt signaled for the group to stop playing, the students expressed their gratitude with claps and stomps.
Changing conductors helps
Anne Marie Peterson, orchestra director for Brookfield East and Dixon Elementary, said having a different person lead the class helps students progress as musicians.
"He's such an amazing conductor. For me as their teacher, it's such a pleasure because I can see them grow in just a couple of minutes," she said. "He stretched us, and that was a wonderful feeling."
Peterson enjoyed a rare opportunity to switch roles and play alongside her students. She said when she's playing, her "conductor brain turns off."
"When I'm conducting, I hear mistakes and I look for problems," she said.
"If somebody else is working with them, I'm so happy. It's just such a beautiful world."
Symphony reaches out
In addition to the clinic at Brookfield East, Platt volunteered his time Nov. 16 and 17 to do workshops for seven other orchestras and bands, including at Brookfield Central. The workshops are part of the Waukesha Symphony League's educational outreach.
In May, the WSO will invite selected students to join in a performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Platt said he hopes to see students from Brookfield East and Central playing in the concert.
WAUKESHA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO RECEIVE STIMULUS FUNDING
National Endowment for the Arts Announces
2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Grant Awardees
Waukesha –The Waukesha Symphony Orchestra is one of 631 arts agencies to receive a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law on February 17, 2009. The funding is to support the preservation of jobs that are threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn.
Of 113 musical organizations to receive this funding nationally, the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra was selected to receive a $50,000 award.
“I am honored that the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra is among the esteemed arts institutions that have been chosen nationally for this special recognition and support from the NEA,” notes Acting Executive Director, Andrea Rindo. “Beyond the much-appreciated financial assistance that this grant brings our way, it also recognizes the vitality of the work our staff and musicians put forth for the preservation and continuation of arts appreciation in our community.”
For media queries about the NEA Recovery grants, visit www.nea.gov/recovery.
BROOKLYN PHILHARMONIC TO PERFORM MOZART: SYMPHONY NO. 35 IN D, “HAFFNER” SYNCHED TO SUMMER’S ONLY MAJOR FIREWORKS DISPLAY BURSTING ABOVE LOWER MANHATTAN & BROOKLYN
Led by Conductor Alexander Platt, Orchestra Collaborates with Irish Singer/Songwriter Jack Lukeman
NEW YORK, May 14 – For the third consecutive summer, the Brooklyn Philharmonic will embrace the unexpected by performing a free outdoor concert accompanied by a synchronized fireworks display bursting above the East River, as part of the summer’s only major pyrotechnics show visible from both lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Likewise, for the third consecutive summer, the young American conductor Alexander Platt returns to New York to lead the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
Slated for 8 p.m. Saturday, June 13 on Pier 17 at The Seaport, the evening’s performances include Aaron Copland’s Music for the Theatre, the
1925 work in which jazz elements were introduced to his music, followed by Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D, “Haffner Symphony," as the synchronized accompaniment to two barges of spectacular fireworks above lower Manhattan.
Collaborating with Brooklyn Philharmonic is Irish singer/songwirter Jack Lukeman, who will perform his arrangements of the songs of Randy Newman, with the orchestra. Well recognized in the UK and his native Ireland for his stunning vocals, Lukeman has been described as a blend of Tom Waits, Jacques Brel, Scott Walker and Nick Cave.
The free outdoor concert opens with a performance by JoSunJari, an amazing string trio of young classical musicians, 8-, 11- and 17-year-old sisters who hail from Harlem.
Alexander Platt is forging a unique, adventurous career among the younger American conductors. In summer 2007, Platt made his highly acclaimed Canadian debut conducting at the celebrated Banff Music Centre, and in July he made his New York City debut conducting the Brooklyn Philharmonic in Central Park. In summer 2008, the Brooklyn Philharmonic invited him back to conduct Dvorak's New World Symphony at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. As a result of a Rockefeller grant from the New York State Music Fund, he has led the world premiere of his own chamber-orchestra version of David Del Tredici's Final Alice, as part of his role as music director of the Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, New York, the oldest summer chamber-music festival in America.
Brooklyn Philharmonic’s performance caps a full day of family fun at the acclaimed Children’s Day at The Seaport. The concert marks the third year in a row that Brooklyn Philharmonic will perform with the synchronized Target Fireworks Spectacular in lower Manhattan.
The 9:30 p.m. fireworks show – produced by Zambelli, one of the oldest family-run fireworks companies – rivals any major pyrotechnic celebration in New York City, and is the only major summer show that will be viewable from lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.
All of the activities throughout Children’s Day, including the concert and fireworks, are free to the public.
Children’s Day, sponsored by The Seaport and General Growth Properties, Inc. (GGP) and a part of River to RiverTM 2009, features activities for the entire family on the stages, streets and piers of The Seaport, the popular and historic downtown destination.
WSO Music Director Alexander Platt selected for the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview
The biennial National Conductor Preview provides promising conductors the opportunity to showcase their artistry using the resources of a professional orchestra and concert hall. Occurring every odd-numbered year and attended by important artistic decision-makers within the field, the Preview remains a vital resource for discovering and promoting talented conductors of enormous potential. The Waukesha Symphony Orchestra's very own Alexander Platt is one of eight conductors in the nation to receive this honor this year. Congratulations, Maestro!
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