Canton Symphony Orchestra knows the need for change within the orchestral community. The tradition of classical music has ignored many communities that have contributed to the development and canon of repertoire played in the concert hall. While Canton Symphony is a regional orchestral, change starts at the smallest level. With “Orchestrating Change”, the Canton Symphony Orchestra hopes to facilitate conversations that will make the concert hall a more welcoming place for previously ignored communities as well as create more acceptance and diversity on the stage. GOALS - Be a platform for open discussion about diversity and inclusion in the orchestral community. - Be a platform for Black, Latinx, Asian, female, and LGBTQAI+ musicians, composers and administrators as well as other ignored demographics. - Educate our audience to issues surrounding diversity and inclusion and expose our current patrons to more music by Black, Latinx, female, Asian, and LGBTQAI+ musicians and composers. - Bring new audience to the orchestra by creating a more welcoming community that is reflective of the demographics in our Canton, Ohio community. - Move the CSO forward to programming more diverse music as well as increasing diversity within the organization.
Episodes
Friday Jan 27, 2023
Friday Jan 27, 2023
Today we are joined by Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO of the Chicago Sinfonietta. He became the first African American to hold such a position with a nationally renowned orchestra when he began his tenure in 2020. He also serves on a number of boards and committees, including the Sir Georg Solti Foundation, the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, and the EDI Orchestral Management Committee at the League of American Orchestras. He first became interested in orchestral management while a student at Vanderbilt University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Music in cello performance. He then completed his Masters degree right up the road at Cleveland State University, during which time he performed with the Canton Symphony! He went on to perform as a member of the New World Symphony, and also appeared with the Cincinnati and Nashville Symphonies before turning his focus to management. Blake-Anthony Johnson, thank you so much for joining us today.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
We are thrilled to have the rare opportunity for a fully in-person podcast recording, as we welcome composer Wang Jie to our studio here in Canton! A native of Shanghai, China, she moved to the United States to study at Manhattan School of Music and still resides in New York City to this day. She holds an Artist’s Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with noted American composer Richard Danielpour. She was in town to hear the Canton Symphony perform her Symphonic Overture “America, the Beautiful”, an absolute "barn-burner" of a piece based on the patriotic hymn featuring a fugue subject inspired by the silhouette of Pike’s Peak in Colorado. Unsurprisingly, when not composing, she is an avid hiker and rock climber.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Today we are honored to welcome world-renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine. A celebrated interpreter of a wide range of standard and contemporary repertoire, she has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony, with which she made her debut when she was only ten years old. She is also a prolific recording artist, whose discography includes the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and all five of Mozart’s Violin Concertos with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Outside of performing, she has published her own editions of numerous violin masterworks. She also works as a philanthropist with her own foundation, which focuses on increasing the awareness and accessibility of music by Black composers.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Friday Oct 28, 2022
Friday Oct 28, 2022
We are thrilled to be joined today by pianist extraordinaire Michelle Cann! She has performed as a soloist with many of this country’s finest orchestras, including the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, and the Cincinnati, New Jersey, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Detroit Symphonies, among many others. We are beyond fortunate that she has managed to fit the Canton Symphony Orchestra into her busy schedule this year, joining us for our Masterworks concert on October 30th! A champion of the composer Florence Price, she gave both the New York and Philadelphia premieres of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, and also recorded the work in a remarkable COVID-era recording session with the New York Youth Symphony. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees right up the road from us at the Cleveland Institute of Music, then went on to pursue an Artist’s Diploma at Curtis, where she is now a member of the faculty. Michelle Cann, it is truly an honor to talk to you today!
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Friday Sep 30, 2022
Friday Sep 30, 2022
To open season four, we are thrilled to be joined by Anwar Nasir, Executive Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Prior to his arrival in the Big Easy in the summer of 2021, he served as Chief Revenue and Advancement Officer at the Omaha Symphony, in addition to previous positions with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl, and Atlanta Ballet. He is a Philadelphia native and a graduate of Syracuse University, who had a career as a professional dancer before pursuing arts management. He is also passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Arts, serving on DEI committees with the League of American Orchestras and Tessitura Network and co-founding the Black Arts Leadership Alliance.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Friday May 20, 2022
Friday May 20, 2022
Today, we are joined by three members of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Beth Kellar-Long is the Vice President of the Orchestra Administration, Sam Bergman is a violist in the orchestra, and Yvonne Cheek is a board member. Their committee was formed in 2015 after the orchestra went on a transformative tour to Cuba, and their work has led to impactful change in the organization. We are overjoyed to have them join us today for this conversation.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content.
For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Friday May 06, 2022
Friday May 06, 2022
Our guest today is composer Angélica Negrón. Her works range from traditional orchestral and chamber pieces to compositions for accordion, toys, and electronics, and have been performed by such prestigious ensembles as the Dallas Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Kronos Quartet, among many others. She was an artist in residence at National Sawdust in Brooklyn and is currently a teaching artist for the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program. Originally from Puerto Rico, she grew up playing piano and violin before coming to New York City for studies at New York University and the CUNY Graduate Center.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content.
For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Friday Apr 22, 2022
Friday Apr 22, 2022
Our guest today is Tiffany Kinnard-Payton, Dean of Students at Walsh University here in Canton. She is an alumna of Walsh and has spent nearly fifteen years working serving her alma mater in the offices of residential life, student conduct, and multicultural affairs in addition to her current position. She is also a graduate of Project Blueprint, the United Way program started by Season 2 guest Flo Ginanni, which seeks to train people of color for membership on non-profit boards and is one of our newest board members here at the Canton Symphony Orchestra.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content.
For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Friday Apr 08, 2022
Friday Apr 08, 2022
We are joined today by Quinn Mason, a conductor and composer based in Dallas, Texas. Writing for orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber ensembles, and more, Quinn has had his compositions played all over the world by ensembles such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony. As a conductor, Quinn has worked with Orchestra Seattle, MusicaNova Orchestra and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. At only 25 years of age, he is already making a huge impact on the industry.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content.
For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Friday Mar 25, 2022
Friday Mar 25, 2022
Today we welcome conductor Tiffany Chang to our podcast. Originally trained in the world of music education, Chang holds positions at both Oberlin Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, and previously served as interim director of orchestras at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and Boston University. Lately, her focus has been geared more toward the professional realm, particularly the world of opera, where she serves as director of the North End Music and Performing Arts Center’s Opera Project in Boston and has major engagements this season with Opera Columbus here in Ohio, as well as the Portland Opera in Oregon. She also runs the blog Conductor as CEO, which examines job satisfaction issues in the orchestral industry, and the role of the conductor in creating a healthy workplace culture.
Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content.
For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.