Conductor Alan Pierson (Photo by Michael Rubinstein)
January 24, 2011 - The Brooklyn Philharmonic announced last week that Alan Pierson has been appointed as the orchestra's new Artistic Director. Pierson has been at the forefront of musical innovation in New York City for many years, as the founder of the ensemble Alarm Will Sound and as guest conductor of several celebrated ensembles, including the Silk Road Project, the Steve Reich Ensemble, and Carnegie Hall's Ensemble ACJW. Pierson’s appointment signals a hopeful improvement in fortune for the orchestra, which has been struggling with financial difficulties for several years, including the cancellation of a large portion of its 2009-2010 season.
Pierson's appointment continues the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s affiliation with new music. Founded in 1954, the orchestra has had a long history of premiering new works and has been led by many respected conductors such as Robert Spano, Dennis Russell Davies, and Lukas Foss. In addition, the orchestra has won 22 ASCAP Awards for "Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music".
According to the orchestra’s release announcing this appointment, Pierson has already begun planning a new series of free or low-cost concerts titled Junctions that will take the orchestra to communities throughout the Brooklyn borough, some that are rarely the site of classical music performance of any kind. Through the clearly local focus of the series, Pierson hopes to foster even deeper connections between the Brooklyn Philharmonic and its borough. In the press release announcing the appointment, Pierson said that, “Brooklyn is experiencing a kind of renaissance. Extraordinary things are happening everywhere. My goal is for the Brooklyn Philharmonic to connect with the Borough’s vast, unique population through events that celebrate and reflect its incredibly diverse communities, and to do so in a way that involves original music-making which will be of interest beyond Brooklyn as well. We will become ‘Brooklyn’s Orchestra’ like never before.”
In addition to a new Artistic Director, the orchestra will soon inhabit a new and distinctive venue. Slated to open in the summer of 2012, the Degraw Street Firehouse, located in the Cobble Hill neighborhood, will feature a performance space as well as classrooms and rehearsal studios.
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by Daniel Eno
