Hill Auditorium Lower Lobby
Pre-Concert Discussion:
Orchestral Programming for an Evolving World
We exist at the confluence of parallel pandemics, from COVID-19, polarizing misinformation, rising mental health crises, further concentration of wealth and power, and continued violence against Black and Brown people. American orchestras have long been accused of holding on to outdated traditions, and recent events have placed a greater sense of urgency around their evolution. The Philadelphia Orchestra has emerged as a leader in reshaping its mission and identity to better reflect the times we live in.
Join us in a discussion about orchestral programming today, ways exclusionary history is being addressed, and the development of new frames and contexts.
Please Note: This event is for ticketholders to the Friday, March 11 performance of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Moderators
Cayenne Harris, UMS Vice President of Education & Community Engagement
Dr. Mark Clague, Associate Dean for Partnerships, U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Panelists
Matías Tarnopolsky, President and CEO, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Doris Parent, Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Strategies (IDEAS) and Strategic Partnerships, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Aaron Diehl, pianist and composer
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
Panelist Bios
Matías Tarnopolsky is the president and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Kimmel Center, Inc., a visionary partnership that brings the greatest performances and most impactful education and community programs to audiences in Philadelphia and beyond. Described in the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “quiet revolutionary,” he has worked to accelerate change toward a more equitable, inclusive, and engaged organization. By enriching programming with works of BIPOC musicians, composers, and artists; launching the Digital Stage; offering free virtual content; and changing the formal dress code for Orchestra musicians, Tarnopolsky dismantles barriers to access to reach broader and more diverse audiences.
Doris Parent is the Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Strategies (IDEAS) and Strategic Partnerships at the Philadelphia Orchestra. In her role, she establishes and implements ways to create a more inclusive and diverse culture at the Orchestra, based on data-driven methodologies to drive sustainable change. Doris joined the Orchestra in 2011, and most recently served as the Senior Managing Director of Institutional Development, in which she led all facets of a multi-year fundraising and engagement strategies. She has secured over $10 million to underpin the Orchestra’s core programming and special projects.
Aaron Diehl has mystified listeners with his layered artistry since his 2013 debut release on Mack Avenue Records. He reaches into expansion. At once temporal and ethereal — deliberate in touch and texture — his expression transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum and Jelly Roll Morton. Moment to moment, he considers what instrument he’s moved to evoke. “This is a singular voice here, but maybe this section is a saxophone soli, or this piece here are high winds or low brass in the bass,” says the Steinway artist, describing his concept on the bandstand.
Davóne Tines has been heralded as “[one] of the most powerful voices of our time” by the Los Angeles Times. The “immensely gifted American bass-baritone…has won acclaim, and advanced the field of classical music” (The New York Times) as a path-breaking artist whose work not only encompasses a diverse repertoire but also explores the social issues of today. As a Black, gay, classically trained performer at the intersection of many histories, cultures, and aesthetics, he is engaged in work that blends opera, art song, contemporary classical music, spirituals, gospel, and songs of protest, as a means to tell a deeply personal story of perseverance that connects to all of humanity.