Dear Friends,
My wife, Angela, was recently at a Symphony 101 event where she spoke with one of our long-time subscribers. He remarked how astonishing it was that our Symphony continues to sound better and better at each and every performance. It is a great source of pride for me when I hear of these comments. You know how hard we have been working to achieve our present level of excellence, and you can rest assured that we are not even thinking of resting on our laurels.
The growth that your orchestra is experiencing can be seen in many ways. Most obviously, you have more concerts to choose from. Our Classical Series has moved from six to seven programs, largely due to the overwhelming success of the operas we have presented. An annual opera performance will continue to be a staple of our offerings, and this season’s Turandot is sure to carry with it the success of the past two seasons. The Chamber Series moves to Sunday afternoon in order to allow many more of you to attend. And for those of you who can’t get enough, available for the first time is the opportunity to purchase a package including everything we do: the Super Subscriber Series.
The repertoire itself continues to expand, perhaps best exemplified by Mahler’s towering Symphony No. 3, an entire evening’s enrichment for the soul. We are featuring more of our own musicians as soloists, firstly because they are excellent musicians and have enjoyed success after success in front of our orchestra, but also in reaction to your own survey responses which told us that you wanted to hear more of them. Our guest artist roster represents much thought and planning, both in terms of instrument and voice and regarding the repertoire they will perform.
I hope that your sense of pride in your orchestra is growing along with ours. We at the SDSO are very appreciative of the position we enjoy in our community and the support you all give to us. We will continue to strive to present the greatest music ever composed in such a way that brings it to life before your very eyes (or ears, as the case may be)!
See you soon!
Delta David Gier
Music Director, South Dakota Symphony
DELTA DAVID GIER BIOGRAPHY
Delta David Gier has been called a dynamic voice on the American music scene, recognized widely for his penetrating interpretations of the standard repertoire and his passionate commitment to new music. During the summer of 2000 he conducted the New York Philharmonic in what were described as “splendid performances . . . He found new ways to look at old repertoire in Stravinsky’s ballet suite from The Firebird (1945).” Since 1994 he has been an assistant conductor for the New York Philharmonic, and has served in that role for the Metropolitan Opera as well. Mr. Gier came to national attention in 1997 while conducting a tour of Carmen for San Francisco Opera’s Western Opera Theater. He has performed with many of the world's finest soloists, including Midori, Lang Lang, Sarah Chang and Jan Vogler.
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Since the 2004-05 season Mr. Gier has held the post of Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure the orchestra has enjoyed tremendous growth, expanding its offerings and increasing its repertoire, including an annual Mahler celebration and highly successful operatic performances each season. The SDSO has received the coveted ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming for the past three seasons in a row, largely due to its series of concerts featuring works of Pulitzer Prize-winning composers. This program was heralded by the Wall Street Journal as, "an unprecedented programming innovation." Thus far, Pulitzer prize-winning composers Paul Moravec and Steven Stucky have had residencies with the SDSO.
Beginning with the 2007-08 season Mr. Gier has been conductor for the complete series of the New York Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts, the first conductor to do so in over 50 years. These highly innovative programs continue to be the vanguard in introducing new audiences to classical music. During the present season Mr. Gier will also make his debut with the Phoenix Symphony and the American Composers Orchestra.
The release of his recording of Symphony No. 2 (42) by American composer Carson Kievman with the Polish National Radio Symphony on the New Albion label received acclaim from many quarters. “The kind of performance composers live for” was the Denver Post’s response, while Spoleto Today wrote, “It provides one of the most powerful musical experiences I have had in recent times.” The SDSO will premiere a new work of Mr. Kievman's in November 2008.
As a Fulbright Scholar (1988–90) Gier led critically acclaimed performances with many orchestras of Eastern Europe. He was invited to the former Czechoslovakia to conduct Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony in celebration of the 100th anniversary of its premiere. Gier took this opportunity to introduce Eastern European audiences to many American masterworks, such as Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Presidential Symphony of Ankara, and Copland’s Appalachian Spring with the Bucharest Philharmonic. “He possesses an innate sense of expression which stems naturally from an absolute artistic sincerity . . .” was how Mircea Cristescu, the Bucharest Philharmonic’s laureate conductor, characterized Gier’s direction.
Gier earned a Master of Music degree in conducting from The University of Michigan under Gustav Meier. “He communicates a true and convincing interpretation to the audience” Meier observed, ”. . . and, above all, he brings the composer to the center of the stage.” As a student at Tanglewood and Aspen he studied also with Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Erich Leinsdorf, and Seiji Ozawa, and was later invited by Riccardo Muti to spend a year as an apprentice at the Philadelphia Orchestra. At the invitation of the American Symphony Orchestra League he participated in their National Conductor Preview, a highly selective showcase for young conductors.
Mr. Gier has also been in demand as a teacher and conductor in many highly regarded music schools. serving as visiting professor at the Yale School of Music, the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, the San Francisco Conservatory and SUNY Stony Brook.
