New conductor takes helm at Wyoming Symphony Orchestra
DAVID MIRHADI Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Thursday, December 6, 2007 12:00 am
Music, Matthew Savery believes, is a powerful communicator.
The power of notes on a sheet of paper, whether played by the big-band swinging sounds his father introduced him to, or by Beethoven stylists nearly 200 years after the German composer's passing, can tell a story, create feelings or stir emotions in a way the spoken word simply can't.
"There's a reason why music 200 years old is still around," said the newly named director of the Casper-based Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. "It has a way to communicate that which words inhibit."
In this way, Savery hopes to enjoin new and old fans of live classical and popular symphonic music as he takes the baton for the 60-member Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. The new season, which will include six performances, begins in summer 2008.
Savery, currently in his 14th year as the music director and conductor for the Bozeman Symphony in Montana, will introduce symphony patrons to his brand of music under a Wyoming sky at a "Wyoming Pops" concert at a Casper Ghosts baseball game next summer.
Savery won the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra board over with a guest conductor appearance Nov. 10. He was the only person the board sought when they looked to replace Jonathan Shames, the group's previous conductor who left for Oklahoma.
"It was a wonderfully serendipitous occasion for us," said symphony executive director Sherry Parmeter, who made sure Savery followed up his audition of sorts with meetings with those close to the musical ensemble.
"He ended up being exactly what Casper was looking for," Parmeter said.
"He is brilliant at communicating to the orchestra what he wants and gets them to produce it," she said.
In Bozeman, Savery was noted for building a family and children's concert series.
According to the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra, Savery initiated a "Conductor in Residency" program that included stints as a guest clinician in schools.
Savery, 41, who hasn't yet had the opportunity to formalize any of his plans in Wyoming, said he would work with the symphony board of directors to map out his plans.
"It certainly is my hope to have children's concerts and family concerts," he said. "I'm going to suggest it, (but) I've yet to meet the board to discuss what is possible.
The conductor said he believes music to be a two-way conversation between the music and its audience.
"I do have a good sense of what can be appealing and fascinating to audiences," he said. He doesn't want to make a concert a stuffy affair.
"I'm very opposed to people who think of the concert hall as a bastion of proper etiquette," he said.
Nor will he pick a particular kind of music to promulgate. Savery said he wants people to hear a smorgasbord of sounds.
"I promise one thing," he said. "You're never gonna be able to predict what's going to happen. …I really think that if we're presenting great art, it will speak to people. People will respond to great art."