A new era is about to begin.

A new conductor is an exciting time for any orchestra – no, actually, its an exciting time for the orchestra and their audience.  And maybe even more exciting in today’s classical music climate.

I was in New York last week when the NY Philharmonic announced it would be looking for its next music director…and the excitement was palpable.  And its not unique to New York – it seems that we are in a changing of the guard in orchestras.  Over the course of the next few seasons, a large number of Canadian orchestras will be welcoming new conductors.

The SSO search was an incredibly fulfilling process.  We took time to map out what the future of the SSO looks like – what kind of leader does the SSO need? what kind of leader can the SSO be in the community?  what role and impact will the next conductor have on the local music scene? where do we want to go artistically?

We struck a committee – two board members, three principal musicians from the orchestra, and myself.  We had 77 applicants from all over the globe.  The committee whittled that down to a shortlist of 8.  A truly exceptional shortlist; exceptional musicians and visionaries who are passionate about music and their art.

The interview process was among the most rewarding experiences of my professional life – asking these artists about their process, about their ideas, was the source of much inspiration and discussion for the committee.

This was not an easy decision – many long hours of thoughtful discussion took place.  When the final meeting of the committee took place, I can say that we enthusiastically put forward a unanimous recommendation to the board.

The classical music world is presently at its most exciting, in my opinion.  There is a wealth of young conductors and soloists who are entrepreneurial in their art form.  Gone are the days when a conductor was a stoic figure on a very high podium – today’s conductors and soloists are out there trying to make their own artistic experiences and create new work for themselves and their friends – in fact, nearly all of our shortlist had at one point started their own orchestra.

The next generation of classical artists need to know more than how to make music.  They need to understand the business of the arts, the finesse of budgeting, and the art of selling tickets.  Programming is no longer about what a conductor wants to play, but rather what artistic statement the audience wants and needs.  The way we create concerts has changed.

This new generation of music makers aren’t classical snobs – but they are passionately driven to make exceptional music and see high standards as a baseline.  Today’s conductors don’t see classical music as the only path to musical enlightenment – the new generation of conductors are as comfortable at a jazz concert or playing on a Polaris prize winning album as they are on the podium.

Classical musicians love music in all its forms.  Every classical musician I know, or have worked with, would list classical as only one of the many facets of their love.  (Little known fact, I love rap).

I’m excited that Saskatoon is on the cusp of something great.  A time to explore new things, new sounds, new skills – a chance to renew our passion about this orchestra.

The 16th conductor has big shoes to fill – I can say that next season’s programming is amongst the most exciting, unique, and imaginative that Saskatoon has ever seen.  We’re setting a new soundtrack for our city.

We are about to announce a new maestro who has prairie ties and will call Saskatoon home.  Excited yet?

See you at the symphony – and hopefully one of our big launches in March.

Mark

We’re at the half way point of the season – after my first year with the SSO, I want to take some time to take stock of things.

Over the course of the last 12 months we’ve made an exceptional amounts of changes at the SSO:

• We changed how we budget – long term budget development has allowed us to take a serious look at how the organization needs to plan for each concert, each decision, future growth, new programs, and assessing how our financials meet the musical needs of Saskatoon.
• We’ve drastically changed how we spend money – we’ve been strategically cutting expenses, but I’m proud to say that we can cut expenditures and still present incredible programming; and speaking of programming.  No more over spending, those days are gone.
• We changed the way we program – we acknowledged the fact that our audiences deserve programming that fulfills their musical needs.  Its not enough to just ‘put on a concert’, it has to be an artistic experience, an event that gives something to the audience.
• We implemented a strategic plan – it covers everything from a commitment to long term fiscal responsibility to improving performance quality
• We have been working on a development overhaul – until this past year, the SSO had a non-existent donor database.  I’m excited to say that our new database is up and running – it will completely change the way we work with our supporters, and allow us to develop new initiatives.
• We are getting interactive – whether you’re experiencing the opportunity to sing in our new chorus, enjoying getting social with us online, or voting on the last performance of the year, we’re making huge strides involving patrons in the process
• We are enjoying the benefits of all of the above – each and every concert in the first half of the season saw a surplus.  Its not only financially satisfying, its been wonderful to see such large audiences engaging in their orchestra!
• We’ve committed to creating artistic opportunities for Sask artists – how exciting it is that a kid can grow up in a farm in Saskatchewan, fall in love with music, get inspired by prairie skies, go off to find a career, and return to be celebrated by their own orchestra – that is one of the best parts of the whole year
• We have hired a new music director – 77 phenomenal candidates all boiled down to one.  One exceptional musician.  A visionary with big dreams whose commitment to defining a higher artistic standard will redefine the music scene.  A conductor who is as comfortable on the Masters stage as they are biking to an indie concert.

These achievements are remarkable – its a testament of the leadership of the board, a hardworking staff, and most importantly musicians who showed us how beautifully they can play Mozart!  Its owed in large part to our supporters…our stakeholders.  The people who are not just enthusiastic about music, but are showing up to concerts and helping us rediscover what the orchestra means to Saskatoon and beyond.

So its time to tackle a hurdle.  The SSO had too many years of not being fiscally responsible.  It is truly the most frustrating part of my job – its a reality created before I got here and a mountain too big to move on my own.  Its the deficit.  Everyone tells me that no one likes to talk about a deficit, but when I joined the SSO I promised that I would be frank and honest about the organization…and its time to move ahead.

With the present state of the SSO, the organizational health we’re experiencing, we can actually deal with the deficit and stop the cycle.  If we’re going to create a great orchestra that people across the country will take note of, we have to recover from the past and commit to the future.

By getting rid of the deficit the SSO can effectively invest in our community – facilitate long term planning for raises for the orchestra musicians, expand our educational programming, reach out to our surrounding communities, attract world renowned guest artists, create new projects that flex the artistic muscles of our arts scene.  If we can achieve such great accomplishments in the last 12 months, just think of where we’re headed.

We have one last major step to take.  And we’re about to take it.

See you at the symphony,
Mark Turner