July 1, 2009
Dear Musician,
We send all of you who are performing this summer a most warm and hearty welcome back to the New Hampshire Music Festival and the beauty of the lakes and mountains of the region. For those of you who have performed with the Festival recently but will not be performing this summer we wanted you to be up-to-date on Festival matters. This season promises many wonderful concerts including the opening night tribute to Paul Polivnick which we hope will express our sincerest appreciation for leadership for so many years. Other highlights include five guest conductors on the Classic Series, and our return to the Gilford community with the Pops and Light Classics Series conducted by Michael Krajewski.
Here are a couple of updates on this season as well as important information for next season, Summer 2010:
1. When you arrive you will find a packet of information in your mailbox that contains pertinent information regarding your time with the Festival this summer including the schedule, repertoire, housing information, building hours, etc.
2. As in the past, we will pay a mileage stipend for drivers (carpool style) roundtrip for the concerts in Gilford. A sign-up sheet for drivers will be posted for each week.
3. Beginning with Summer 2010, we will change the focus of the Festival in order to create a more enriching musical experience for our Musicians and our audience. We believe that the traditional presentation of music must change. And we are not alone in this belief. As we introduce these changes, we envision that the New Hampshire Festival will be among the leaders in transforming how music is created in the 21st Century, broadening the appeal to Musicians and audience alike. As we currently conceive it, these changes will include:
Establishing a theme(s) for each Festival Season.
Introducing a concept of “curators” — artists, composers, conductors — who will, in certain weeks of the season, work with Musicians, interpreting the theme.
Presenting more recitals, chamber music and broadening the use of guest artists
Inviting selected students into the Festival Orchestra and asking each Musician to engage in a mentoring program for those students.
Calling upon Musicians to participate more directly in rehearsals. We anticipate that the approach to concerts will be different: curator and/or conductor, musicians and students will work together in a more intense and longer rehearsal cycle, collaborating on how musical works will be presented.
More fully engaging Musicians in ensemble playing
Creating a variety of styles for the repertoire
As we approach this Summer 2009 Season, we are hopeful that, with our choice of conductors even in this season we will introduce some of the excitement that these changes anticipate.
We know that many Musicians have expressed concerns about the future of the Festival and have inquired about the potential role each Musician may have in future seasons. We intend to address your questions and help you understand the changes and how you are impacted by these changes.
In order to realize our vision, we will be conducting a different approach in determining which Musicians to select for our Summer 2010 Season. It is our intent to brief you on these changes in direct discussions following our first rehearsal on Tuesday, July 7. At this meeting we will:
Explain how the focus of the Festival is changing
Describe the criteria we will establish in making the selection of Musicians going forward
Review the process for any Musician who is interested in participating in the Summer 2010 season
Take your questions and answer them as fully as we are able
We will be instituting an application procedure for Summer 2010. Your application must be submitted no later than September 30, 2009. We will review with you the application requirements and procedures. We encourage you to become familiar with this process and to ask questions. During this Summer Season, we will provide you assistance in preparing the required materials. You will be able to collaborate with your fellow Musicians in preparing your submission. Each Musician will decide whether or not to participate in this opportunity.
We expect the presentation on July 7 will provide you with information you need to decide whether to participate and what will be required of you to apply for employment for the Summer, 2010 season. You will certainly have more questions as you have had time to think through this opportunity. We will schedule additional meetings to continue the dialogue and answer your questions. We can discuss the timing of follow-up meetings at our July 7 meeting.
We look forward to our continuing dialogue.
Sincerely,
David Graham Henry Fogel
President Festival Director