The New Haven Symphony Brings The Classics to Campus
On a campus long known for its educational - and social - emphasis on popular music, classical music stole the show this semester.
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the University announced a two-year partnership in which the Symphony would reside at the University. The Symphony will rehearse on campus, Music Director William Boughton will be available to lecture to students, a campus music series will be announced in the near future and internships with the Symphony will be created, says Natalie Forbes, the Symphony's Executive Director.
"The students will be able to experience the product from Day One to the concert hall," she says. "We are molding the symphony audiences of tomorrow."
The Symphony lost its lease with the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven earlier this year, which left it considering a variety of options. Anemone Schweizer-Kaplan, the wife of UNH President Steven H. Kaplan, serves on the Symphony's board, which moved Forbes and other members of the Symphony staff to approach President Kaplan about using space on campus.
"UNH is moving forward and is in the news, and people think very highly of the work Steve has done since he has been here," Forbes says. "Clearly, a college campus is a place where there is extraordinary vitality, and once we approached Steve things snowballed. It's just a lot of positive momentum."
The benefits to the campus community are numerous, says Dr. Guillermo Mager of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. "This is a very welcome addition to the offerings at the University," Dr. Mager says. "Students will now have direct access to the great works of music literature."