You never know what a TAFTO effort might produce. In some cases, it can spawn the birth of a new concertgoer and in others, it might plant the seeds of ongoing large gift support. In today’s contribution, Seattle Symphony music director, Gerard Schwarz, offers up a personal experience that demonstrates the latter. If you’ve ever wondered just how much positive influence a music director can have on his/her orchestra, read on… ~ Drew McManus.
Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz is recognized around the world for his engaging performances and renowned recording history, and for developing Seattle Symphony into an internationally acclaimed orchestra. Following this season, he will return to conduct the Orchestra annually as Conductor Laureate. A passionate champion of the music of our time, Schwarz will introduce 18 world premieres by American composers this season as part of the Gund/Simonyi Farewell Commissions.Schwarz has received 2 Emmy awards, 13 Grammy nominations, six ASCAP awards, and numerous Stereo Review and Ovation awards. His extensive discography of some 260 releases showcases collaborations with the world’s prestigious orchestras, including The Philadelphia Orchestra; the Tokyo, Czech and Royal Liverpool philharmonics; the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra National de France and Berlin Radio Symphony; the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; and the New York Chamber and Seattle symphonies.Schwarz has served on the National Council on the Arts and currently is the Chair of the Advisory Board for the Young Musicians Excelling Fund, which supports student events for the Washington Music Educators Association. In 2002, ASCAP honored him with its Concert Music Award and, in 2003, the Pacific Northwest Branch of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences gave Schwarz its first “IMPACT” lifetime achievement award. In 2009, Schwarz received Seattle’s First Citizen Award and, in 2010, ArtsFund honored him for his extraordinary contributions to the Northwest arts community.Schwarz also is Music Director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, where he was honored in 2009 by the mayor of Greensboro with the Key to the City. He has served as Music Director of New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Waterloo Music Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and New York Chamber Symphony, as well as Artistic Advisor to the Tokyo Philharmonic and Orchard Hall. Schwarz guest conducts around the world and has appeared with many of the great orchestras and pre-eminent soloists of our time. A prolific composer and arranger, Schwarz recently premiered his Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, hailed as a work of “sophistication and intelligence.”Born to Viennese parents, Schwarz is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and The Juilliard School. He is a recipient of the Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University, and was the first American to be named Conductor of the Year by Musical America. He holds honorary doctorates from The Juilliard School, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle University, University of Puget Sound and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is an Honorary Fellow of John Moores University, Liverpool.