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Festival Family Letters
January 29, 2010
Dear NHMF Family,
We know you are looking forward to receiving the 2010 season brochure and we plan to have specific information about the six week season to you by early March. The Festival will be presenting the Classics Series on Thursday and Friday evenings, Chamber Music on Tuesday evenings, three Pops Concerts on alternating Saturday evenings, and the NHMF Chorus is back as promised, all at Silver Center for the Arts at PSU beginning the week of July 5th.
The Board of Directors met on January 21st to reaffirm its decision to re-invigorate its artistic mission in a more traditional way through a music director search now planned for the 2011 season. Festival Director Henry Fogel and Artistic Director Jonathan Gandelsman recognized that the traditional approach for a new music director made it inappropriate for them to work directly with the Festival in their previously announced roles. By mutual agreement, both Fogel and Gandelsman have ended their appointments with the Festival and wished the Festival success in its plan for sustaining community support for classical music.
Ron Sibley was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is Chairman and former President and founder of Community Guaranty Savings Bank. He has been a key member of the Independent Community Bankers Association and the New Hampshire Bankers Association. Community activities include board positions with Speare Memorial Hospital, White Mountain Gateway Economic Development Corporation, and the New Hampshire Friendship Chorus. Edward J. “Rusty” McLear will continue on the Festival Board as Vice Chairman. Regretfully, Susan Weatherbie is stepping down and the Board expressed their appreciation to her for her dedicated service and strong leadership.
The Board is pleased to welcome John Howe as a new director. His 32 years in the newspaper business culminated when he became Editor and General Manager of Citizen Publishing Company in Laconia and served on the executive committee of the Geo. J. Foster parent company. Mr. Howe recently began a career helping businesses and companies across New Hampshire as an associate with N.H. Business Sales. Community activities include the Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation, Santa Fund in Laconia, and New Hampshire Habitat for Humanity.
After serving the Festival for 22 years and bringing it to a level that gives it the opportunity to achieve new distinction, David Graham feels it is now time for him to move on. The Board is grateful for his lasting contributions. Graham is a recipient of the Corporate Fund’s Excellence in Management Award and upon his arrival at the Festival was charged with spearheading a period of record breaking ticket sales and annual fund growth unprecedented in the Festival’s 58 year history. In 1998, as a result of this success and fiscal stability, the Board set its sights even higher with a goal of realizing the founders’ dream of having its own concert hall. Graham has agreed to finish the arrangements for an exciting 2010 season while the Festival embarks on the search for a new executive director, which will be followed by a search for a new music director.
The economic downturn and the transition to a traditional artistic approach have made it unlikely that a facility could be completed within a definitive deadline. To ensure that the cost of maintaining the property in Center Harbor does not endanger the financial security of the Festival, the Board has agreed to begin preliminary marketing discussions regarding the sale of the property. The Festival appreciates its longstanding relationship with Plymouth State University and the use of Silver Center for the Arts.
The success of the 2010 season depends on your willingness to remain a ticket buyer and a generous supporter of our Annual Fund.
With warm regards,
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Ronald I. Sibley |
Edward J. “Rusty” McLear |
January 4, 2010
Dear NHMF Family,
The Board of Directors met on December 17th to review our artistic goals and the options available to us to achieve them starting with the 2010 season. After a long and comprehensive discussion, the Board concluded it was not in the best interests of our audience, orchestra, management, or the Board to embark on another season of division and tension that marked 2009. Indeed, the Board believed that to do so could put at risk the very existence of the Festival.
Consequently, the Board has changed course. It has decided to work toward its goal to create more exciting musicial experiences in a more traditional way. We felt our plans to introduce a collaborative approach to music making with a contingent of new musicians, existing musicians and highly distinguished students was not going to be embraced. For that reason, pursuing that approach would not have achieved the collaborative environment we sought in presenting concerts for the enjoyment of our patrons.
A representative of the Board and Festival management has approached the Chair of the Orchestra Committee to discuss this new direction. We are encouraged that, working together, we will put the issues that divided us aside. The Board and Festival management are committed to working with the orchestra to achieve a successful 2010 season and a secure, harmonious future.
There are several meetings scheduled in January to work out all the details as we return to the more traditional way the Festival has been managed. Once everything has been finalized, we will report to you fully by the end of January. In the meantime, please know that the Festival Orchestra you have loved over these many years will be returning next summer.
While the Board of Directors and Festival Management felt that the new direction it had carefully chosen to reinvigorate the orchestra and achieve even higher artistic quality was the correct one, there comes a time when to continue down that path in the face of sincere misgivings on the part of our musicians and patrons is simply not good for the health and stability of the organization. That time has come. We recognize we did not anticipate the strong emotions that were stirred by the planned new direction. Our goal is – and has always been – to bring you great music and we pledge to you our commitment to do that.
We wish you all a Happy New Year and a wonderful future for the New Hampshire Music Festival.
With warm regards,
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Edward J. “Rusty” McLear |
Susan B. Weatherbie |
