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Articles
Boston's Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra Names Gisèle Ben-Dor Conductor Emerita
Departing Conductor Lavished with Praise at Farewell
Concert
[Cambridge, MA] - Ryan Fleur, Executive Director of
the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston has announced
that Gisèle Ben-Dor has been voted conductor emerita
by orchestra members. The announcement came at the conclusion
of Ben-Dor's final concert with the orchestra on October
24, 1999. As conductor emerita, Ms. Ben-Dor will return
to the Orchestra as a frequent guest conductor.
Ms. Ben-Dor was appointed Music Director of the cooperative
orchestra by its musicians in 1991, following the death
of the group's founder, Larry Hill (her title was later
changed to Principal Conductor). For her farewell concert
on October 24, she garnered the rave reviews that have
become a mainstay of her eight years with the ensemble.
T.J. Medrek of the Boston Herald asserted that
"Ben-Dor led this fine group of players with energy,
confidence, and the kind of musicality in which every
note, every phrase means something. Nothing is just
played - it's performed. That's how she made the 199-year-old
Beethoven sound as new as the U.S. premiere of Almas
Serkebayev's 'Shertpe Kuy.'" Ellen Pfeifer of the Boston
Globe noted that "Ben-Dor performed an odd, quirky program
that exemplified those qualities of exoticism, joy,
and energy praised by her musician colleagues."
Ms. Ben-Dor's warm rapport with the musicians was in
evidence to the end. Speaking with the Boston Globe,
Concertmaster Kristina Nisson praised Ms. Ben-Dor's
guidance and musicianship, remarking "She was a shining
star in our midst. We were the beneficiaries of her
terrific energy and her unique insights into music she
loves. She brought deep knowledge and a profound love
of music and sheer joy to rehearsals and performances."
Audience reaction was similarly bittersweet, with shouts
of "We love you!" streaming from the House as Ben-Dor
exited the stage. In addition, Ms. Ben-Dor's accomplishments
were acknowledged with proclamations from Governor Paul
Cellucci of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts State Senate,
and the City of Boston.
Under Ms. Ben-Dor's leadership the Pro Arte Chamber
Orchestra has achieved widespread critical acclaim and
record-setting attendance, culminating last season in
capacity audiences, including three sold-out concerts.
The Orchestra has earned national recognition for its
innovative programming and commitment to community outreach.
Winner of the 1994 ASCAP award for its commitment to
American music, the Orchestra is also one of 13 recipients
to participate in the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's
national orchestra program. In 1998, Ms. Ben-Dor led
the Orchestra in its Tanglewood debut to critical acclaim,
and also led the orchestra on its first regional tour
throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland in 1992.
As Music Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony and
an active guest conductor throughout North America,
Latin America and Europe, Gisèle Ben-Dor's performances
are receiving overwhelming critical acclaim. In March
1999, the Uruguayan-born conductor returned to the New
York Philharmonic in dramatic fashion, conducting a
program of Beethoven and Mahler without rehearsal, much
as she did as a last-minute substitute for Kurt Masur
in 1994. Ms. Ben-Dor conducted the Philharmonic on a
number of other occasions, and in recent years has led
such orchestras as the Boston Pops, Concert Soloists
of Philadelphia, English Chamber Orchestra, Israel Chamber
Orchestra and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.
Other career highlights include her many acclaimed
recordings of Latin American composers for BMG/Conifer
and Koch, sharing the stage with mentor Leonard Bernstein
at Tanglewood and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival,
and her professional conducting debut with the Israel
Philharmonic in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring,
televised worldwide by the BBC/London. This season finds
Ms. Ben-Dor at the Gans Theatre de Geneve, Italy's "Suoni
di Versi" Festival and making a return engagement with
the Helsinki Philharmonic. In January 2000, she will
lead a major Revueltas Festival in Santa Barbara, which
will feature not only the composer's major orchestra
works, but the long-unseen films that he scored and
concerts of his chamber pieces and children's music.
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