Riverside Symphony

Riverside Symphony is a New York-based professional orchestra founded in 1981 by conductor George Rothman and composer Anthony Korf. The orchestra performs a three-concert series at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center and is recognized for programs which integrate an international array of contemporary works with lesser-known compositions by the great masters.^[1] The orchestra provides an ongoing forum for emerging soloists of exceptional promise and has showcased numerous instrumental and vocal talents over its 30-year history.

George Rothman continues to serve as Riverside Symphony's Music Director and Conductor. In addition to guest conducting appearances in Asia, Europe and South America, he was the Director of Music Performance at Columbia University and conductor of its orchestra and was Music Director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. He currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of Brooklyn College's Conservatory Orchestra and Associate Professor of Music.^[2]

Artistic Director Anthony Korf, a 2008 Guggenheim Fellow, has been commissioned by The American Composers Orchestra, The San Francisco Symphony, the Koussevitsky Music Foundation, the NEA, and the New York State Council on the Arts. His honors also include a Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. Korf was co-founder of the noted New York-based new music ensemble Parnassus, for which he served as conductor and artistic director from 1975 through 2002.

Repertory

Riverside Symphony has thrived on a diet of innovation and exploration.^[3] It frequently play new works, including world premieres, as well as unjustly neglected and orphaned orchestra repertory by older masters^[1] such as Haydn, Prokofiev and Ravel.

Recordings

Riverside Symphony appears on seven recordings, one of which was Grammy Award Nominee in 2000. All seven recordings consist of 20th- and 21st-century music, namely works by Mario Davidovsky, Stephen Hartke, Andrew Imbrie, Anthony Korf, Poul Ruders, and Maurice Wright.^[4]

Educational programs

In 1999 Riverside Symphony launched Music Memory, a citywide music education program for third- through sixth-graders which annually serves between 8,000 and 10,000 public school children throughout the five boroughs.^[5] Students, guided by their music teachers, engage in a wide range of artistic activities including creative and structured movement, singing, and performing on rhythm and melody instruments. The program culminates each spring with The Music Memory Citywide Finals Competition, where students identify works and composers upon hearing brief excerpts performed onstage by Riverside Symphony. The program is endorsed by the New York City Department of Education’s Director of Music.

Riverside Symphony's International Composer Reading Program has sought to expand the field of opportunity for living composers worldwide. While several of the readings have been devoted solely to American works chosen from an open competition process, several installations of this project have also focused on works by composers from a designated country such as France, Norway or Switzerland.

Support

Riverside Symphony performances are made possible by public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Major support for Riverside Symphony's programs is provided by The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Disney Worldwide Outreach and The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation. Additional funding is provided by The Edward T. Cone Foundation; The Aaron Copland Fund for Music; The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation; The Bay and Paul Foundations; Amphion Foundation and The Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University.

External links

• Riverside Symphony website
• Artistic Director Anthony Korf's website
• The New York Times, Music Review; June 10, 2010
• The New York Times, Music Review; February 14, 2010
• The New York Times, Music Review; June 5, 2009
• The New York Times, Music Review; June 20, 2008
• The New York Times, Music Review; February 7, 2008
• The New York Times, Music Review; April 21, 2007
• The New York Times, Music Review; June 17, 2006

References