Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, Monroe County, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. 
The RPO was founded in 1922 by industrialist and music-lover George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Company. The Orchestra, which performs more than 150 concerts annually, is currently led by Music Director Christopher Seaman. Seaman continues the traditions of such notable former music directors as Eugene Goossens, José Iturbi, Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman, and Mark Elder. The RPO has performed under the batons of such renowned guest conductors as Fritz Reiner, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Thomas Beecham, and Leopold Stokowski. 
Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik (1994–present) has earned a national reputation for excellence in pops programming during his tenure with the RPO. 
On September 15, 2010, the RPO named Norwegian conductor Arild Remmereit as the Orchestra's 11th Music Director. Maestro Remmereit will begin his tenure with the RPO in September 2011. His inaugural concert on September 30 and October 1, 2011 features the music of Amy Beach, Johan Halvorsen, Johan Svendsen, and Johann Strauss II. More information: 
The Orchestra is also a national leader of music education. In 2000, the RPO named Michael Butterman Principal Conductor for Education and Outreach (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair) – the first position of its kind in the country. In addition to performing concerts for students of all ages, RPO musicians visit elementary schools in the Rochester City School District through the Primary Ensembles Program.
The RPO serves an estimated quarter of a million people through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. RPO concerts also are rebroadcast on WXXI 91.5 FM.
The RPO sponsors the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, founded in 1970 and composed of Rochester-area student musicians in the eighth through twelfth grades. Under the direction of Dr. David Harman, the RPYO performs three concerts annually, including one side-by-side with the RPO. Members of the RPO serve as mentors for the Youth Orchestra.
From 1939 through 1964, the Rochester Philharmonic, usually supplemented by faculty members of the Eastman School, often recorded under the names Eastman-Rochester Orchestra under the direction of Howard Hanson and Eastman-Rochester Pops under Frederick Fennell. (See below for additional recording information.)
From 1990 through 2008, the RPO has was in summer residency at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, in Vail, Colorado. 
== Music directors ==
Name 	Tenure
Eugène Goossens 	1923–1931
Albert Coates 	1923–1925
José Iturbi 	1936–1944
Erich Leinsdorf 	1947–1955
Theodore Bloomfield	1959–1963
László Somogyi 	1964–1968
Walter Hendl 	1968–1970
Samuel Jones 	1970–1971
David Zinman 	1974–1985
Jerzy Semkow 	1985–1988
Mark Elder 	1989–1994
Robert Bernhardt 	1994–1998
Christopher Seaman 	1998–2011
Norwegian conductor Arild Remmereit has signed a four-year contract to serve as Music Director starting in 2011.
== Recordings ==
The RPO has recorded under at least three different names: Eastman Rochester Orchestra, Rochester Pops Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Recordings have featured many prominent American composers, including George Gershwin, Samuel Barber, Morton Gould, and Howard Hanson). 
The Orchestra's first recordings were from the late 1930s and early 1940s, conducted by Dr. Hanson and José Iturbi. Among these was a 1939 recording of William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony, conducted by Dr. Hanson. The RPO presented the world premiere of this work in 1931. 
José Iturbi and David Zinman appear to have had similar tastes when it came to recording. A 1941 RPO recording features Iturbi and his sister Amparo in Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos, K. 365. Nearly 40 years later, David Zinman conducted a recording of that same piece, with pianists Rudolf Firkusny and Alan Weiss. Maestros Iturbi and Zinman also both recorded Mendelssohn's Third Symphony (the "Scottish") with the RPO. 
A 1957 recording features Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F, featuring pianist Eugene List. In 2007, the RPO released another Gershwin recording – which includes those two works and Cuban Overture – with conductor Jeff Tyzik and pianist Jon Nakamatsu. That album reached No. 3 on the Billboard classical charts. A partial list of RPO recordings follows.
=== Discography ===
* 2008 – HONOR: Portraits of America: Jeff Tyzik, conductor. Includes The Star Spangled Banner, National Emblem March, Fantasy on American Themes, Pleasant Valley Suite, Armed Forces Song Medley, Bravo! Colorado, Stars and Stripes Forever.
* 2006 – A Holiday Celebration: Jeff Tyzik, conductor; Tonio Di Paolo, tenor; Festival High School Chorale. Includes Jeff Tyzik's The Twelve Gifts of Christmas, Little Drummer Boy, and Chanukah Suite.
* 2006 – George Gershwin with Jon Nakamatsu: Jeff Tyzik, conductor; Jon Nakamatsu, piano. Includes Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, Rhapsody in Blue, and Cuban Overture. (harmonia mundi)
* 2003 – Tchaikovsky with Olga Kern: Christopher Seaman, conductor; Olga Kern, piano. Includes Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Francesca da Rimini. (harmonia mundi)
* 2001 – Rachmaninov with Jon Nakamatsu: Christopher Seaman, conductor; Jon Nakamatsu, piano. Includes Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Piano Concerto No. 3. (harmonia mundi)
* 1997 – Encore 75: Robert Bernhardt, Jeff Tyzik, conductors. Includes American In Paris, Pictures at an Exhibition, Selections by Duke Ellington, Vernon Duke, Mercer Ellington, George Gershwin, Billy Strayhorn, and Louis Prima.
* 1993 – Syncopated Clock and Other Favorites by Leroy Anderson: Erich Kunzel, conductor. (Proarte)
* 1992 – Romancing the Film: Lalo Schifrin, conductor. Includes selections from Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, Dirty Dancing, Little Mermaid, Lawrence of Arabia. (Pro Arte)
* 1985 – My First Concert: Isaiah Jackson, conductor. Recording for children including selections from works by Beethoven, Grieg, Dukas, Gounod, Bizet.
* 1984 – Dvořák’s Legends, Op. 59: David Zinman, conductor. (Nonesuch Digital)
* 1979 – Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.3 "Scottish": David Zinman, conductor. Also includes Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, Symphony No.4 "Italian," Symphony No.5 "Reformation." (Vox)
* 1978 – The Creatures of Prometheus: David Zinman, conductor; Eileen Malone, harp; Samuel Cristler, cello; Michael Webster, corno di bassetto; Robert Sprenkle, oboe. (Turnabout)
* 1978 – Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos & Orchestra in E flat major, K. 365 (K. 316a): David Zinman, conductor; Rudolf Firkusny & Alan Weiss, pianos. (Vox)
* 1971 – Together: Chuck Mangione, conductor, flugelhorn, electric and acoustic piano; Gerry Niewood, soprano, tenor, barisaxes, flute, and alto flute; Don Potter, voice, acoustic guitar, dobro, harmonica; Bat McGrath, voice, Fender bass; Gap Mangione, electric piano; Esther Satterfield, vocals; Stanley Watson, guitar. (Mercury, recorded live at Auditorium Theatre)
* 1970 – Friends & Love: Chuck Mangione, conductor and flugelhorn; Don Potter, guitar & vocals; Bat McGrath, guitarron and vocals; Gap Mangione, electric piano; Stanley Watson, guitar; Marvin Stamm, trumpet; Gerry Niewood, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, and flute (Mercury, recorded live at Eastman Theatre)
* 1960 – Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite and Concerto for piano & orchestra in D minor: Ferde Grofé, conductor; Jesús Maria Sanromá, piano. (Everest)
* 1959 – Popovers: Frederick Fennell and Eastman-Rochester Pops. Includes selections by Liszt, Sibelius, Debussy, Shostakovich. (Mercury)
* 1957 – Hi-Fi a la Española: Frederick Fennell and Eastman-Rochester Pops. Includes selections by Ernesto Lecuona, Percy Faith, Manuel de Falla. (Mercury)
* 1957 – Gershwin: Concerto in F, Rhapsody in Blue: Howard Hanson, conductor; Eugene List, piano. (Mercury)
* 1955 – Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major, "Italian," Op. 90: Erich Leinsdorf, conductor. Also includes Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 in D major, "The Clock." (Harmony/Columbia)
* 1953 – Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Op. 45: Erich Leinsdorf, conductor. (Columbia)
* 1952 – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, "Eroica," Op. 55: Erich Leinsdorf, conductor. (Columbia Entré)
* 1941 - Mozart’s Concerto in E flat Major K.365: José Iturbi, piano and conductor; Ampara Iturbi, piano. (RCA Victor)
* 1941 - Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op.37: José Iturbi, piano and conductor. (RCA Victor)
* 1940 - Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 in A minor, "Scotch": José Iturbi, conductor. (RCA Victor)
* 1940-41 – Hanson’s Suite from Merry Mount: Howard Hanson, conductor. (RCA)
* 1939-40 – Hanson’s Symphony No. 2: Howard Hanson, conductor. (RCA)
* 1939 – William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony: Howard Hanson, conductor. (RCA)
== Honors and awards ==
From its earliest years, the RPO's educational programming has been exceptional, and the Orchestra was one of the first to use radio to help increase its outreach and education. The RPO first began national radio broadcasts, on the NBC Blue Network, in 1929. In 1939, the orchestra won First Place at the Exhibition of Educational Programs for its elementary school programming. The RPO won this honor again in 1941 and 1944. 
In 1959, the Ford Foundation invited the RPO to participate in a program to promote new American composers and their works. The RPO has received the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming (1982, 2005, and 2006) in recognition of the Orchestra’s commitment to music written in the last 25 years. In 2002, the RPO was awarded the New York State Governor's Arts Award for excellence and community service. The Rochester Arts and Cultural Council's Artist Award has been given to both Jeff Tyzik (2002) and Christopher Seaman (2003). 
The Concert Companion radio broadcast with Christopher Seaman on WXXI 91.5 FM won both the Gabriel Award and the Silver Reel Award in 2002. In 2007, the RPO's web site received two of the Rochester Business Journal's "Best of the Web" awards; and that same year, the RPO's annual report received an award from the Rochester chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
== For further reading ==
Rochester’s Orchestra: A History of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and its Educational Programming, 1922 to 1989; by William L. Cahn, published 1989.
The Eastman Theatre: Fulfilling George Eastman's Dream; by Elizabeth Brayer, photos by Andy Olenick, design by Kathryn D'Amanda; to be published in December 2010.
==References==
==External links==
*Official website
*Arild Remmereit website
Category:American orchestras
Category:Musical groups established in 1922
Category:Culture of Rochester, New York
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