Roanoke, Virginia – The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce that Music Director and Conductor David Stewart Wiley has signed a contract renewal through 2013 and that he will continue to lead southwest Virginia’s largest professional orchestra for at least the next three seasons.
“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with David Stewart Wiley as Music Director and Conductor for the RSO. David’s great energy and commitment have contributed immeasurably to the RSO’s success” says Board President Richard Maxwell.
Wiley’s ongoing popularity has been demonstrated not only through consistent acclaim by critics and audiences alike but through significant multi-year growth in attendance, ticket income and financial support. The RSO has seen the number of subscribers more than triple during the last five years for it’s Picnic at the Pops Series, presenting renowned pops artists and symphony orchestra in concert together, and a 35% increase in the number of Symphony-to-the-Max subscribers (all subscription concerts, including classical programs) during the same period. The RSO has further broadened its programming to provide more “entry points” for diverse audiences to find and enjoy quality performances of live music – at the heart of its mission. This includes new and unique programs in collaboration with rock musicians and visual performers, new commissions, as well as corporate leadership training events created and led by David Stewart Wiley.
“The RSO and I continue to have a great collaborative partnership,” says Wiley. “I am grateful to our dedicated professional musicians, hard working board and staff, wonderful chorus and chorus master, and the many individuals and businesses throughout the region who continue to sustain us and support our vital mission. Our future looks really bright. We continue to experience responsible artistic growth and continue to operate in the black. I am privileged to serve as Music Director of the RSO.”
Wallace Easter, chair of the RSO Musician Committee stated, “This is a great time for the orchestra and the musicians really appreciate the positive environment in which to make music.”
The RSO is also announcing its 2010-11 season, with top violinists Natasha Korsakova & Akemi Takayama, renowned pianist Norman Krieger, wind virtuoso Elizabeth Roberts, and repertoire ranging from Rachmaninoff’s third symphony to Beethoven’s Ninth “Choral” symphony. The Picnic at the Pops series features headliner stars Blake Shelton, Boz Scaggs, and Jane Powell with the RSO, and a new “Symphony Spooktacular” program in October will be added. The RSO will celebrate Maestro Wiley’s 15th anniversary as RSO music director with October’s opening concert of the season. Wiley also continues as Music Director & Conductor of the Long Island Philharmonic in New York.
The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra celebrates its mission to enrich lives, to educate, and to entertain diverse audiences in western Virginia with the highest quality instrumental and choral music.
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For Immediate Release
Date: 10 May, 2010
Contact: Rodney Overstreet, Marketing Director
540.343.6221 ext.227 or rodney.overstreet@rso.com
