Our Artistic Vision

My second step is to connect those answers with my knowledge of the unique artistic talents. Programming is perhaps the most important part of the Music Director’s long-range musical goals. In service of that artistic vision, I consider as many factors as possible in order to tailor programs that would best promote the cultural growth of both the orchestra and all it's diverse audiences. Programming could include:

1. Knowing the strengths of the orchestra musicians and selecting the types of music that would best engage their musical talents.
2. Featuring talented artists, including orchestra musicians as soloists during concerts and outreaches.
3. Creating inspiring artistic collaborations and residencies that would also continue to draw and engage the largest audiences into the subscription series.
4. Collaborating with local artists / teachers in schools, colleges, and conservatories—in the community, around the region, and nationally—through creative artistic materials, CDs, DVDs, broadcasts / podcasts / vodcasts, YouTube, and social / multimedia.
5. Connecting and interacting with audience members about their ideas during concerts and outreaches.
6. Engaging with the community and encouraging subscribers to help galvanize their friends and families to become more involved as regular attendees, as artistic liaisons, as corporate sponsors, and eventually as high-level donors with the symphony.

After gathering as much of the knowledge as possible, the Music Director is ready for the third step: to communicate with the Musicians, Executive Director, Staff, Board of Directors and Leagues about the process of short and long-range planning. Having worked as an Assistant Conductor with Leonard Slatkin, I had the opportunity to conduct over sixty concerts per year and to work with people in all the artistic, educational, and administrative departments of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's highly professional management team. This experience encouraged me to collaborate within the essential areas. According to the orchestra’s goals, I enjoy helping create artistic ideas that promote innovative marketing, dynamic publicity, targeted fundraising, increased endowment, as well as generate more public passion and philanthropic support.

Finally, my ultimate artistic goal as Music Director would be working with symphony musicians to make the best music possible together. Creating the most inspiring environment in which to work musically is vital. To achieve this, I create a positive atmosphere where we can collaborate as a team, we can respond to each other’s musicality, we can transmit our artistic passion together, and we can transform the lives of our audiences spiritually through music.