March 12, 2026

I had some extraordinary good fortune early in my career. Just by being in the right place at the right time, I was able to do two concerts with the legendary Van Cliburn. For the first concert, I was the Associate Conductor of the Austin Symphony at the time. They were in the middle of a music director search, so the concert came to me. The second opportunity came just a few years later. I was then Music Director of the Baton Rouge Symphony and we hired Van to be part of our Pennington Great Performers Series.
 
Van had been in retirement for many years, so these were rare re-surfacings and unforgettable opportunities for which I will always be grateful. The friendship we developed as a result was a gift as well.
 
I bring up Van because I was thinking about him last night as I was driving home from a concert I did with the wonderful Toledo Symphony in Archbold, Ohio. One of the things Van and I discussed a few times over the years were the concerts he did early on in his career called Community Concerts, and I would not be surprised if Archbold was on that circuit.
 
The Community Concerts series was a visionary initiative designed by the now defunct Columbia Artist Management to bring world-class classical music to small towns throughout North America. They started the series in 1927 with the slogan "A Carnegie Hall in Every Town." CAM required these small towns to form local nonprofit associations and sell enough subscriptions to cover the costs before any performers were booked. It allowed CAM to send world class artists to perform in remote gymnasiums and local theaters that would otherwise never have had the budget to host these great musicians. I have no doubt the revenues were a strong motivator for CAM as well.
 
As you can imagine, the impact of these concerts was transformative, effectively democratizing classical music by bringing the global stage to rural America. This started 100 years ago, so media was just radio and recordings, both of which at that time left much to be desired sonically. Live music was a real treat.
 
For Van, the Community Concerts circuit also was kind of a training ground. He toured constantly doing these concerts in the mid-1950s, honing the artistry that would eventually lead to his historic 1958 victory at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. The series did wonders for the appreciation of great music, ultimately reaching over 1,200 member cities weaving classical music into the daily lives of people all across the country. It lasted over 75 years. How cool was that?
 
The concert in Archbold Ohio, with the Toledo Symphony was probably a very similar vibe. Archbold is a lovely and vibrant small town, but they don’t have a professional orchestra. They do have a beautiful venue, and an enthusiastic audience, so it was a great pleasure to share an evening of music with them, right in their own back yard. Thank you to the Toledo Symphony for inviting me to be a part of such a wonderful and special event.
 
NEXT UP
 
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Matthew Beck, Marimba
Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
East Lansing, Michigan
Friday March 27, 7:30 p.m.
 
SIBELIUS          Valse Triste
PUTS                Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra
BEETHOVEN    Symphony No. 7
 
#toledosymphony #archboldohio #CAMI #CommunityConcerts