'Future of the Symphony' Conference at UB, Sept. 27-28
September 18, 2014
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The Future Symphony Institute—a new Baltimore-based consortium of experts who are exploring the ways that music in the classical tradition can continue to be relevant and essential in the coming decades—will hold its first-ever international conference at the University of Baltimore on Sept. 27-28. The conference will bring together some of today's most accomplished and exciting thinkers from both inside and outside the world of music for an interdisciplinary conversation about the future of the symphony. The conference, co-hosted by the Integrated Arts Program in UB's Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences and sponsored by the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics and the University of Baltimore Foundation, will be held at the UB Student Center's Wright Theater, 21 W. Mt. Royal Ave. Registration is available through the conference website at www.futuresymphony.org.
Check out coverage of the conference in The Baltimore Sun.
This extended dialogue will serve as an opportunity to celebrate symphony orchestras and further strengthen the transformative relationships between these key cultural institutions and the communities they serve. The event will also provide an introduction of the Future Symphony Institute’s unique mission, which is to be "the world's leading, independent research and educational institution dedicated to a renaissance for the tradition of live classical music."
Jeffrey Hoover, associate professor and director of the Integrated Arts program in UB's Klein Family School of Communications Design, and a member of FSI's leadership, says the conference is designed to convey one core idea: that the centuries-old practice of live performance of symphonic music not only is worth preserving—it's deserving of significant support and expansion, as a centerpiece of culture and tradition.
"The best word used to describe the experience of the live symphony is 'transcendental,'" Hoover says. "It is spiritual, in that it has the power to open up minds, inspire action, and change lives for the better. So, as orchestras everywhere continue to search for new ways to remain vital, we are beginning a conversation about the reasons why the live symphony is important for our future as a society. There will be many recommendations, such as a broadening of the repertoire and how symphonies can engage communities. But at the heart of the discussion is our assertion that this music should continue, because it has such a strong, positive impact on us all."
The Future Symphony Institute, based in Baltimore, is a new think tank in the tradition of the great American think tanks. According to its website, the FSI is made up of a growing community of the world’s best and brightest thinkers, researchers and business minds, who together, through the independence provided by the broad support of stakeholders, donors, and partners around the world, focus on providing visionary leadership and contributions to strategic thinking, scholarly research, policy formation, and public dialogue.
Roger Scruton, visiting professor at Oxford University and the University of St Andrews, Scotland and the world’s leading philosopher in the field of aesthetics, will serve as the conference's keynote speaker. Scruton, a renowned philosopher, writer, scholar and amateur composer, will present his reflections on the meaning and importance of education as an introduction to one of the Institute's primary initiatives.
The two-day event will include the following:
SATURDAY, Sept. 27
8:30 a.m.: Registration and refreshments
9 a.m.: Andrew Balio, "How We Got Here"
10 a.m.: Rebecca Robins, "Beyond Luxury: Branding the Orchestra"
11 a.m.: Marin Alsop, Topic TBA
Break for lunch (not provided)
2 p.m.: James Matthew Wilson, "The Trouble with Goodness"
3 p.m.: Léon Krier, "The Fear of Backwardness and Its Consequences on Architecture and Art"
4 p.m.: KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Roger Scruton, "Music and the Transcendental"
SUNDAY, Sept. 28
9:30 a.m.: Registration and refreshments
10 a.m.: Richard Bogomolny, "Tradition and the Maintenance of Excellence"
11 a.m.: Benjamin Zander, Topic TBA
12:30 p.m.: Panel: Léon Krier, Rebecca Robins, and Roger Scruton
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.