{"id":10054,"date":"2019-12-09T11:38:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T19:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10054"},"modified":"2019-12-09T11:38:52","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T19:38:52","slug":"faces-in-the-crowd-michael-christie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10054","title":{"rendered":"Faces in the Crowd: Michael Christie"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Faces

Faces In the Crowd: Michael Christie, photo by Gary Moss. This story appeared in 805 Living, December 2019.<\/p><\/div>\n

THE NEW MUSIC DIRECTOR OF NEW WEST SYMPHONY\u00a0BRINGS HIS GRAMMY AWARD\u2013WINNING TALENT\u00a0TO THE VENTURA COUNTY ENSEMBLE\u2019S 25TH SEASON.<\/p>\n

After winning the 2019\u00a0Best Opera Recording\u00a0Grammy Award<\/a> for The\u00a0(R)evolution of Steve Jobs<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0New West Symphony\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0(newwestsymphony.org<\/a>)\u00a0new music director Michael Christie<\/a> is\u00a0bringing his own kind of (r)evolution to\u00a0the West Coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe threw a lot at the audience,\u201d\u00a0Christie says of his first concerts in his\u00a0new role with the Thousand Oaks\u2013based\u00a0symphony this past October. \u201cOur concert\u00a0format is slightly tweaked,\u201d he says, \u201cand\u00a0we had our new venue [Rancho Campana\u00a0Performing Arts Center in Camarillo], so\u00a0people had a fair amount to take in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrons were treated to a Gershwin\u00a0concerto, Corigliano\u2019s \u201cSalute\u201d with kazoos,\u00a0and a \u201cScheherazade\u201d performance that\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/em> critic Mark Swed praised\u00a0as, \u201csupplying far and away the most\u00a0spectacular playing from what should no\u00a0longer be considered a regional symphony.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest difference,\u201d says Christie,\u00a0\u201cis that we are using intermission as an\u00a0opportunity for people to experience some\u00a0new things if they choose.\u201d This includes\u00a0a question-and-answer session with the\u00a0guest artist and an entr\u2019acte. Up next is the\u00a0global celebration of Beethoven\u2019s 250th\u00a0birthday on January 25 and 26, featuring\u00a0the Eroica Trio<\/a>, whom Christie calls, \u201cthree\u00a0very vibrant, genius women who are just\u00a0amazing [with] the energy that they bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christie has led top orchestras all over\u00a0the world and served as music director for\u00a0Minnesota Opera, The Phoenix Symphony,\u00a0and the Brooklyn Philharmonic (now\u00a0defunct). He now lives part-time in\u00a0Ventura County, while his wife, Alexis, who\u00a0is a physician, and their two children are in\u00a0Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Much of the life of a musician-conductor\u00a0is spent on the road, says Christie, a\u00a0trumpeter, who first conducted when his\u00a0middle school band director let him give it a\u00a0try back in Buffalo, New York. \u201cI was never\u00a0sure how one became a conductor,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u201cI just knew I wanted to know more about it.\u00a0People were very generous with their time\u00a0and always willing to answer questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February he\u2019ll pay it forward with a\u00a0one-month teaching and conducting stint\u00a0at Indiana University. Christie is eager\u00a0to communicate with students about the\u00a0duties of an American music director,\u00a0which he says, \u201care very specific to our\u00a0particular situation of creating artistic\u00a0vision and raising lots of money. It\u2019s very\u00a0particular to our country. I feel a great\u00a0sense of responsibility for helping to\u00a0convey that information, having lived it for\u00a0the last 25 years. It\u2019s fun to be asked to help\u00a0the next generation start to figure that out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe [music directors] are the face of the\u00a0organization in many ways,\u201d Christie says.\u00a0\u201cWe should be viewed by our audience as\u00a0open, friendly, fun, and adventurous but\u00a0also sensible, engaging, and concerned for\u00a0our community, what it\u2019s going through,\u00a0and what it\u2019s aspiring to be. And none\u00a0of those words really say Mozart or\u00a0Gershwin,\u201d he says, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s all kind\u00a0of wrapped together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Leslie Dinaberg<\/a><\/p>\n

\"805<\/a>Click here to read this story as it appeared in 805 Living<\/em>\u00a0magazine<\/a>, December 2019 805 Living Faces in the Crowd Dec 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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