Snow Pond Symphony 2016 Season

New Beginnings
Robin Rilette
Host of MPBN’s program Morning Classical Music
As I write, it’s a beautiful, bright, blue dream of a day in
Maine. Outside my window I see the bright red flash of
a cardinal, the muted tones of a tufted titmouse and a lot
of green. Leaves, shoots and new grass are all reminders
of the wonderful color yet to come. There’s a reason why
spring is such a metaphor for growth, change and new
beginnings.
2016 brings with it some important and exciting
changes in the musical and cultural landscape of Maine.
Both MPBN and Snow Pond Center for the Arts are
creating new opportunities for lives to be enriched and
transformed through the power of music and education.
Snow Pond Arts Academy is the first performing arts
based public high school in the state of Maine. SPAA’s
curriculum integrates music, theatre and dance with
the study of English, language arts, social studies, world
languages and science, technology, engineering and math.
This combination creates a climate in which creativity;
critical thinking and communication skills are cultivated.
Here’s just one example: think back to the last time you
saw a piano trio, a string quartet or duo perform. A nod,
a glance, a tilt of the head are just a few of the many subtle
and non-verbal cues that are learned when you create music
in a group. It’s small group communication at its best.
MPBN hears from thousands of listeners every year
about the power of music to enhance the lives of individuals
and communities. That’s why this spring MPBN
launched a second service devoted to the arts and classical
music, Maine Public Classical. For years our audience
has asked for both more news and information programming
and more music. There’s simply never been enough
“real estate” on a single radio signal to meet these needs.
Maine Public Classical is the answer that brings more
classical, more jazz and more opera to music lovers.
In addition to broadcasting music from Maine Stage,
the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra, Maine Public Classical now offers the Boston
Symphony Orchestra as part of the evening concerts. Rich
Tozier’s Jazz Tonight is now heard on Fridays and joined
by Marian McPartland and Jazz After Hours. A listener
favorite and tradition on MPBN, Down Memory Lane, is
back on the air on Friday afternoons at 2:00 in an expanded
edition. Weekday mornings I’ll be sharing classical
music with you as always, and on Thursdays connecting
Mainers with opportunities to hear live classical performance
on Prelude, a new tradition on Maine Public Classical.
Tradition combines with innovation for both MPBN
and Snow Pond Center for the Arts. Both organizations
are institutions in Maine, both are committed to providing
daily opportunities to hear, appreciate and participate
in the cultural life of our region, and both are finding new,
exciting and inventive ways to enrich the lives of those we
serve.
When I was a child my parents let my sister and me
listen to the radio in their bedroom for a half hour or so
before turning in for the night. I still vividly remember
one night in particular. Over the airwaves came a voice
that made everything else around me disappear. It was a
powerful experience and one that cemented my love of
music, of radio and of the visceral thrill of being part of
something that is both immensely present and eternal.
All these years later, that same feeling comes over me
whenever I hear Barbra Streisand hit that high note while
singing People.
Imagine how many thrilling moments Snow Pond
Center for the Arts and Maine Public Classical will bring
to people of all ages. Imagine how many students who
attend Snow Pond Arts Academy or listen to music on
Maine Public Classical will go on to create, compose,
play and share their talent and love of music with future
generations.
It’s a privilege and a pleasure to be affiliated with two such
groups of talented, creative, forward-thinking, and innovative
people. Here’s to the future!
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