Ford Made in America--Round II

Last September the RCO peformed the West Coast premiere of Joan Tower's work "Made in America," with Joan herself on the podium conducting us. This was a fabulous event and was a part of an amazing project that is still going on. Through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund, the NEA, and many others this project was able to grow beyond anyone's wildest dreams. At the end of this concert season, 65 orchestras (at least one from every state) will have played this work, making it the largest consortium of orchestras ever to commission a piece of music in American history.

The project has been so successful, that we are now well into the planning stages for the second round of the FMIA. I was honored to be asked to chair the national FMIA committee for this iteration of the project and am very excited about what's in store. Here is an update of where things stand:

• Joseph Schwantner has been selected as the composer of the 2nd Made in America piece. More info about him at http://www.schwantner.net/. He is very excited about the project.
• We are currently seeking funding for the project on both the national and local levels. I am delighted that Sue and Dieter von Henning have committed to covering the RCO's share of the commission.
• In September of 2008, the Reno Chamber Orchestra will give the world premiere of Mr. Schwantner's new work. Ted will be on the podium, and the eyes of the orchestra world will be on us (with many of those eyes present in Nightingale Hall)! As the piece is being composed, Mr. Schwantner will be working closely with Ted, me and the RCO in order to get things just right before publication.
• After our performance, the other 60 or so small-budget orchestras of the consortium will have exclusive rights to performing the piece for two years. Then the "big boys" can play the work if they would like.

There will be much more news to come, but I wanted to let you know a bit about where things now stand. In the meantime, enjoy the final two RCO concerts of the season.