The Chicago Classical Music blog, Backstage, is co-authored by staff members of CCM's participating organizations. Each writer maintains an individual blog, and entries appear together at Backstage with the most recent submission at the top.
Chicago Classical Music bloggers have a profound understanding of classical music and a desire to share their enthusiasm and behind-the-scenes perspective. Visitors are encouraged to add comments, ask questions and engage in dialogue with authors and other readers. Simply click on the comment link at the end of each post. (Comments will be removed if they do not comply with general guidelines.)
More information about each contributor is available below, along with links to their individual blogs. Visit Backstage to view all entries.
Stephen Burns, Fulcrum Point New Music Project
Trumpet virtuoso and conductor Stephen Burns has been acclaimed on four continents for his consistently and widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture. In 1998 Stephen Burns was invited to create innovative new music programs as the Artist in Residence with Performing Arts Chicago. He is the Artistic Director of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project and the American Concerto Orchestra whose mission it is to champion classical music influenced and inspired by Pop culture, Jazz, Rock, Blues, Latin, Folk, Klezmer, World Music, literature, film, art, dance, and theatre.
> Read Stephen's Blog
Matt DeStefano, WFMT
Matt has been with WFMT since 2005 where he is Producer/Engineer/Post-Producer of many things which include weekly Critical Thinking broadcasts, (Mondays @ 10pm) numerous segments and interview clips regularly heard throughout the programming day, WFMT Radio Network internationally-syndicated documentaries and series including the 13-part "Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at 70" hosted by Itzhak Perlman as well as co-production on profiles of Anna Netrebko, Lang Lang, and a widely-commissioned work by Joan Tower entitled "Ford: Made in America." Matt also covers news events and conducts interviews with music-makers in and around Chicago for produced segments on WFMT, and can also be heard asking for your support on the station's membership drives. Matt graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2005 with a BA in Radio Broadcasting and a concentration in Talent and Production.
>Read Matt's blog
Brian Dickie, Chicago Opera Theater
Brian Dickie joined the Chicago Opera Theater as General Director in September 1999. From 1967 to 1973, he was Artistic Director of the Wexford Festival and simultaneously the first Administrator of Glyndebourne Touring Opera, where a high proportion of the leading British singers begin their careers. In 1981, he became General Administrator of Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He has also served as General Director of the Canadian Opera Company. In addition to his role as General Director of COT, he has been Chairman of the International Jury for Preselections for the Bertelsmann Foundation's Neue Stimmen Competition since 1999. He also maintains a personal blog about life at the helm of a Chicago opera company.
> Read Brian's blog
James Ginsburg, Cedille Records
James Ginsburg founded Cedille Records in 1989 when he was a 23-year-old law student at the University of Chicago. He left law school to manage Cedille Records full-time in 1992. He previously worked for Nonesuch Records in New York and reviewed numerous recordings for American Record Guide. He personally directs Cedille Records' recording sessions, working closely with artists and engineers to maintain the label’s outstanding reputation for musical and sonic excellence. Ginsburg also serves on the Visiting Committee of the Music Department of the University of Chicago, on the Board of Governors of the Chicago Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS, the Grammy organization), and is a past member of the Board of the Chicago Dance and Music Alliance.
> Read Jim G.'s blog
Jennifer Glagov, Music of the Baroque
Jennifer Glagov has worked for Music of the Baroque in a variety of capacities for nearly a decade. In addition to serving as MOB's program annotator since 1998, Jen was Box Office Manager and Marketing Associate from 1999-2001 and Director of Marketing from 2001-2002. After spending time at home after the birth of her son, she is delighted to be back with thegroup as Special Projects Manager. Jen received her bachelor's degree in English and music from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in musicology from the University of Chicago. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Handel Week Festival in Oak Park.
>Read Jennifer's blog
Jim Hirsch, Chicago Sinfonietta
Jim Hirsch has served as Executive Director of Chicago Sinfonietta since August 2004. Previously, Hirsch served as Vice President and Executive Director of the Chicago Association for the Performing Arts, Manager and Programmer of the Chicago Theatre, and as the Executive Director of the Old Town School of Folk Music. Hirsch has served as a grants panelist for the Illinois and Oregon Arts Councils and as a member of NARAS (Grammy) Awards and Nominations committee. He produced a nationally syndicated radio program for NPR and has released three albums.
> Read Jim H.'s blog
Jeff Hunt, St. Charles Singers
Jeff received music degrees from Taylor University and Northwestern University. In 1984 he founded and became director of the St. Charles Singers. In 1985 he was appointed Director of Music at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles, Illinois. Baker Memorial is also the church where he received much of his childhood music education. Jeff is currently Adjunct Instructor at Elgin Community College in the music department. In addition to conducting and teaching, Jeff has an active voice studio. Under his direction, the St. Charles Singers has made several recordings, and is active in the choral music scene in the Chicago area with several yearly subscription concerts and tours.
>Read Jeff's Blog
Amy Iwano, The Chicago Chamber Musicians
Amy Iwano is the Executive Director of The Chicago Chamber Musicians. Under her tenure, Chicago Chamber Musicians has enjoyed a heightened presence in the Chicago arts community, as well as national recognition for its artistic excellence and organizational vitality. Previously, Iwano served as Executive Director of the Japan America Symphony Association of Los Angeles and Administrator of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, a summer orchestral training program. She recently completed a six-year tenure on the Board of Directors of Chamber Music America. Iwano studied harp and piano and is an alumna of Pomona College and Western Reserve Academy, where she serves on the Board of Visitors.
> Read Amy's blog
Kevin Giglinto, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Kevin Giglinto joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association’s staff in 1999, serving as the organization’s first Director of E-Commerce. Kevin’s efforts to redesign the CSO’s Web site—www.cso.org—added significant online ticket sales enhancements. As Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Kevin’s primary responsibilities include the development and implementation of broad-based marketing strategies for the CSO and Symphony Center as well as the supervision of all ticket sales, and patron services.
>Read Kevin's Blog
Adriana Avila, Ravinia Festival
Adriana is the Marketing Manager for Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL, the oldest music festival in North America. Ravinia books more concerts and a greater variety of genres than any other festival and as marketing manager, Adriana is responsible for promoting this unique lineup to diverse audiences through traditional advertising venues and "guerrilla" opportunites. A Chicago native, Adriana recieved her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from Columbia College and earned certification in Nonprofit Management from DePaul University and in Communications from the Center for Labor Studies at the University of Michigan.
>Read Adriana's Blog
Bridget McDonough, Light Opera Works
Bridget co-founded Light Opera Works in 1980, and has produced 83 shows for the company, including Chicago and American premieres by Kálmán, Bernstein, Offenbach and others. She is a founding member and past president of the Chicago Dance and Music Alliance, and holds membership in the Rotary Club of Evanston, Illinois Arts Alliance, Union League Club of Chicago, and served on the boards of National Alliance for Musical Theatre and School of Communication Alumni Board at Northwestern University. Bridget currently sits on the board of directors of Around the Coyote and North Shore International Network.
> Read Bridget's blog
Jonathan Miller, Chicago a cappella
Jonathan Miller is dedicated to performances that are both fun and serious. He has gained accolades on both sides of the Atlantic for leading Chicago a cappella with innovative programming and high musical standards. Since 1993 he has guided Chicago a cappella through more than 130 concerts, six commercial CD releases, and 30 choral-music demo CDs. A passionate champion of new music, he has given more than 60 works their local, national or world premieres. Miller combines roles as a singer, conductor, composer, arranger, producer and publisher. He has written more than 50 choral works, with music published by Hinshaw and Walton, and was awarded the 2004 Joseph Randall Shapiro Award from the Oak Park Area Arts Council for his exceptional contribution to the arts in and around Oak Park. Miller's enthusiasm for early repertory led him to musicology, in which he holds a Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill.
> Read Jonathan's blog
James W. Palermo, Grant Park Music Festival
James W. Palermo is the Artistic and General Director of the Grant Park Music Festival. The Festival has expanded during his tenure to offer an eclectic mix of music while highlighting living American composers and offering new and innovative community engagement and education programs. Previously, Palermo was Orchestra Manager of The Louisville Orchestra and served as General Manager of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra in southwestern Indiana. A Cleveland native, he received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in trumpet performance from Indiana University. Palermo performed with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra for two seasons, as well as with the Orquesta Sinfonica Del Valle in Cali, Columbia, and throughout Europe.
> Read Jim P.'s blog
Steve Robinson, WFMT
Steve Robinson is the Senior Vice President for Radio at WFMT. Robinson joined WFMT in August 2000 from the Nebraska Public Radio Network. He is a 33-year public radio veteran. While at Nebraska Public Radio, he was active in all levels of programming, outreach, development and fundraising, a role he continues to play here at WFMT, while overseeing day-to-day operations of the station and the WFMT Radio Network.
> Read Steve's blog
Leslie Rodriguez, Dominican University Performing Arts Center
Leslie Rodriguez is the Managing Director of Dominican University Performing Arts Center in River Forest, IL. She previously served as Director of Marketing and PR for Chicago Opera Theater, Managing Director of Oak Park Festival Theatre (and later, Board President of OPFT) and Director of Public Relations for the Tampa Players. Rodriguez developed and implemented the first education program at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and served as a member of both the Tampa Arts Council and Tampa Chamber of Commerce Cultural Development Committee. In addition she spent several years supporting national and international sales programs at a Fortune 500 company.
>Read Leslie's blog
Richard Van Kleeck, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University School of Music
A graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, Richard sudied horn with Harry Shapiro and Barry Tuckwell. He has performed with the Boston Ballet Orchestra, Boston Pops, Boston Baroque Orchestra, Handel-Haydn Society Orchestra, Boston Philharmonia, Vermont Symphony and NOVA. Richard was a member of the Dartmouth College Music faculty directing the chamber music ensemble, wind ensemble, and teaching horn and Program Director and Artistic Director at the Kentucky Center for the Arts for sixteen years, programming classical, jazz, world and pop music, Broadway, modern dance, spoken word, and thematic festivals. He also created, programmed and produced the award winning PBS television music series The Lonesome Pine Specials. The entire series is now in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. Currently, Richard has been the Director of Concert Activities, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University School of Music, since 2001.
>Read Richard's blog
Helen Vasey, Chicago Cultural Center
Helen is the Program Coordinator for classical concerts at the Chicago Cultural Center, producing upwards of 100 free classical events annually. Originally hailing from the northeast of England, Helen first came to Chicago in 2005 from a position at the Spitalfields Festival in London’s East End. She received her undergraduate and masters degree from York University, with a major in music, specializing in vocal performance.
>Read Helen's blog
Jon Weber, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Jon Weber has served as Education Manager in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association’s Department of Education, Community Relations, and Diversity since 2006. Through his work, he interacts with a variety of constituencies including Symphony Center’s youngest patrons (Kindermusik® at Symphony Center), the Music Activity Partnership, currently serving 10 Chicago public elementary schools, the CSO’s Mead Composers in Residence Osvaldo Golijov and Mark Anthony Turnage, and CSO musicians participating in the orchestra’s ensemble program. He is an advocate for the diverse benefits of meaningful participation in music at any level: student, performer, and audience member.
>Read Jon's blog
Angela Golden, Site Manager ChicagoClassicalMusic.org
Angela has been working as the Site Manager for ChicagoClassicalMusic.org since the summer of 2007. In addition to her work at CCM.org, Angela works for the Chicago Sinfonietta as the Development Associate. Angela holds a Bachelors Degree in Trumpet Performance from Indiana University and actively freelances in Chicago and Indiana.
>Read Angela's blog
