Symphony’s new music director speaks his mind

Anne Hosier

Monday, Dec. 22, 1997 | 9:41 a.m.

At a recent press conference, the board of the Nevada Symphony Orchestra -- which has been rife with recent controversy, including clashes between musicians and board members that led to the postponement of a recent youth concert -- introduced Murry Sidlin, the symphony's new music director.

Sidlin has conducted the symphony in both classical and pops concerts during the past two seasons, and currently serves as resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony. He plans to continue in that position even after he begins his duties at the NSO on Jan. 1.

Sidlin has earned the titles of artistic director of the Cascade Festival of Music in Bend, Ore. and resident conductor and director of conducting studies at the Aspen Music Festival. He makes his home in Portland, Ore.

Before the press conference, Sidlin spoke with the SUN:

* SUN: Do you know most of the NSO musicians?

* SIDLIN: Well I've conducted here three times and so I know many of them, I don't know most of them, and I look forward in getting to know others of them. But I would say our relationship at this point is the relationship of any guest conductor who has come into any community three times and had a chance to meet some people, but not everybody. In the world of music it's very typical.

* SUN: Will there be any personnel changes?

* SIDLIN: That's not an appropriate question. I think at this point we're interested in focusing on making the orchestra the best we can and there will be musicians who are not able to play because of their other commitments, and, in effect, that constitutes a change, because some people are not available. And my hope is that we can start on a very high level of optimism and develop the best ensemble that we can.

* SUN: What other changes might be coming?

* SIDLIN: To be blunt about it: Having a recognized conductor, with a proven track record, if you care to look at my bio, I think that's the same as saying, 'In this hospital we are now bringing in a neurosurgeon with the credentials to improve neurosurgery.' And that's what I am. I am a conductor with a proven track record who has the hope and the vision of artistic significance for this ensemble, and the wherewithal to bring it about.

* SUN: Is that what you think has been lacking in the symphony -- artistic vision?

* SIDLIN: You have to ask the board that. I have been engaged to do what I do best. They're the ones who made the offer. I didn't seek this position, they came to me.

* SUN: Were you eager to take this on?

* SUN: Well, I'm an orchestra-builder. That's what I do best. I have other positions in the musical world right now. I'm a rather active conductor. But what I really enjoy, in addition to working with ensembles that are established, that have achieved rank and distinction, is to build. To try to get order out of chaos and try to get beauty where it belongs. And I was intrigued by the fact that Las Vegas is a major city in America, continuing to become an extraordinary place for living and professional life.

And it didn't have a first-class symphony orchestra. I was intrigued by that, and I thought that with this population growth and with the resources that are here, as well as the emphasis and focus on quality that many people espouse in this community, I thought this was an ideal place to see if we can't develop an orchestra which is equal to the other aspects of the quality of life. And I suspect that there are many music lovers here who would like to see that happen. And that's what the board represented to me. There are basically two kinds of conductors in this world. There are those who wish to inherit the Cleveland Orchestra and there are those who wish to build the Cleveland orchestra, and I'm the latter.

* SUN: What do you think the support level is in the community?

* SIDLIN: Well, there are two ways to answer that. When there is no orchestra per se, as there is not at this moment -- it's not playing, it doesn't have a season projected, it's in a state of shambles -- so community support cannot be expected to arise out of nothing. Now if you ask me what is the potential for community support? I think it's extraordinary.

* SUN: What do you see as the orchestra's current problems?

* SIDLIN: I don't really understand the question.

* SUN: The orchestra is in a state of shambles, it's had a troubled past, what are the problems you are going to work on?

* SIDLIN: Well, the orchestra is in a state of shambles, it's had a troubled past, we're going to try to undo all of that.

* SUN: Do you view this as a problem of relationships between musicians and the board, or of sub-par musicianship?

* SIDLIN: You know something? Let me tell you this: None of that really should enter into this. I'm a new figure, a new person, untainted by the past. I had nothing to do with it, I didn't cause it, I wasn't there when it all happened. Here is the opportunity to put all that behind us. Ultimately problems are solved, whether they are the most delicate and fragile negotiations on an international level or whether they are union problems on the local level, or problems between two people in a relationship. Ultimately people will resolve the problems by getting past them. When we dwell on them and continue to operate on hearsay and recollection, we are victims and slaves to the past.

The way to ordain for ourselves a bright future is to get beyond the past. And the way to do that -- and I think the board has operated with great strategy and prudence on that -- is to bring in someone who is neutral and not tainted, to serve as an artistic director to get everyone focused on the future, and I think that's my role. Unlike a lot of people -- and I know the press loves to dwell on this sort of stuff -- I really don't believe any of you are going to win a Pulitzer Prize by taking after an arts institution.

* SUN: What are your overall plans?

* SIDLIN: They will develop first in executive session. Planning a series of concerts that will be attractive and interesting, concerts in context, where the music has the relationship to time, place and events, and a strong program in which music serves the development of young people on all levels.

* SUN: Do you have specific youth concerts planned?

SIDLIN: We will, we're working on that.

* SUN: You will be maintaining your post at the Oregon Symphony and living in Portland while working in Las Vegas. Is this a typical load for an artistic director of a symphony orchestra?

* SIDLIN: If you have the press release that came out, you will see in the press release that the question is answered. (it wasn't.) I'll be happy to go over it with you but it says in effect that there is room on my schedule every year for a certain amount of guest conducting, and in place of that, where I would normally be doing X number of weeks of guest conducting, I will take those weeks and devote them to the Nevada Symphony. But I will be making trips into Las Vegas for administrative purposes as well as conducting purposes. I will be here much more than if I was only conducting.

* SUN: Any final thoughts?

* SIDLIN: The time is now, potentially, for a new and vibrant era for what was a troubled Nevada Symphony. It is my wish and my hope and my intention to offer all that I can to create again, for Nevada -- and better than ever -- a significant symphony orchestra for one purpose only: to fill the community with the sound of great music, to inspire and comfort all those who wish to come into contact with it.