The following article appeared in the September 12th issue of the Ithaca Times, Arts & Entertainment Fall Arts Preview feature. It was written by Alexandra EvansThe following article appeared in the September 12th issue of the Ithaca Times, Arts & Entertainment Fall Arts Preview feature. It was written by Alexandra Evans
Jeffery Meyer travels in tune to the music of the world.
The Director of Orchestras at Ithaca College once lived in Berlin and worked as a pianist. He has performed and conducted across the globe - from the US and Canada to Russia, Italy, Spain, Germany and Asia.
In addition to bringing his past experience and repertoire knowledge to his IC students, he continues traveling abroad as the artistic director of the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic. Meyer founded the orchestra in Russia in 2002. Recently, the conductor won third place in The American Prize in Orchestral Programming – Vytautas Memorial Award competition. The prize rewards achievement of orchestral programming “where the selection of repertoire by knowledgeable, creative and courageous music directors builds orchestras and audiences, educates young people and adults, and enriches the community,” as stated on The American Prize website.
The award goes to directors who the judges feel have created the best season or orchestral concerts during the past year in the United States. Meyer, who was been director of orchestras at the college for the past five years, was born in Chicago and received a DMA in Piano Performance from SUNY Stony Brook. He’s played with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, among others. His love for modern music further developed when he created the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, which Meyer wanted to serve as a “progressive voice” in a culture that was deeply rooted in classical music.
He wanted to “create a chamber orchestra that was not in denial of the past, not pushing the past away, but very inclusive of the present - so a chamber orchestra that was dedicated to young and up and coming performers, up and coming composers, composers who are living both in the United States and Russia.” It’s clear Meyer is spreading his musical talent to the students in the IC Symphony Orchestra. In the past, these students have accompanied Meyer to Russia to play with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Meyer’s talents helped the IC Symphony Orchestra be one of 26 American orchestras to win the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Award for Adventurous Programming this past summer.
“The school of music prides itself in providing its students with a unique and substantial education, and this is one of the examples of what we offer our music students,” Meyer said. “It’s a real pinnacle of not just educating the music students about the music of the past, but engaging them in the music of the present, the music of our time.”
The ASCAP award celebrates orchestral programming that demonstrated a commitment to the music of our time, and Meyer said there were a variety of works they performed last academic year that put the orchestra in the top choices for the award. First, they played Steven Mackey’s Tuck and Roll, an electric guitar concerto. Then, Meyer said they went on to do a world premiere in December 2010 of Ithaca College composer Dana Wilson’s Bass Concerto, a piece written specifically for the IC symphony orchestra and bass professor Nicholas Walker. It was the end of the year piece Meyer believes really caught the judge’s eye and “put a face of contemporary music, both older and new, on the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra programming.”
“We performed Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, which is sort of the pinnacle of orchestral repertoire,” he said. “It’s the piece that every serious orchestra cuts its teeth on, and the IC symphony played the piece with incredible power. Along with that we also played a new work by Mason Bates who is the composer-in-residence of Chicago’s symphony orchestra.”
Cornell’s symphony orchestra also made out in the competition – they won third prize.
“Ithaca itself can be extraordinarily proud that we have two orchestras who are distinguished at the national level for bringing contemporary art to our community,” Meyer said. Now that Ithaca College’s fall semester has begun, the IC Symphony Orchestra plans to embark on more adventurous programming this season. Meyer said the group will continue their commitment to new music by playing a world premiere of a piece by a new composer and faculty member. In addition, the orchestra will also do a tour of New York in the spring.
For more information on Jeffrey Meyer and the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, visit the IC Symphony Orchestra website.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20110915143056463