“The French horn guys were more intense.”
Mark Williams switched from clarinet to clarinet during his time in a band in Ohio. Here are the details: It can make people a little nervous. You have to learn the controls and have a really good ear. “
But looking back, he loved it. For Williams, who arrived in Toronto earlier this year and became CEO of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (the first black CEO of a major North American orchestra), it became a seed of interest that only blossomed with time. “There’s nothing like that when you’re making chamber music together and looking into someone else’s eyes. That’s communication. It’s beautiful.”
Williams attended music school and toyed with his career as a musician, but eventually found himself partying from the other side.he has He held senior positions with the San Francisco Symphony, co-producing and casting operas, and at IMG Artists in New York, where he negotiated with artists such as Cecilia Bartoli before leading the Cleveland Orchestra. He obviously loves helping other people make music. melody facilitator.
Sitting with me on the rooftop of the Park Hyatt for primetime cocktails, Williams, boyish and charming in a salmon-colored blazer, continued: Seeing superstars like American soprano Lenny Fleming up close is something that humbles him. “People see glamorous, beautiful gowns,” he says. you see the hard work. Prepared, mentally and emotionally. Lenny Fleming wakes up wanting to be better than Lenny Fleming the night before. ”
ensemble player
It was a kismet of sorts when he got the call to accept the job in Toronto. There was also a connection with Gustavo Gimeno, who started the “I hired him for his U.S. debut,” Williams says. “That was in 2013. We get along incredibly well.”
Williams, who has settled near AGO with her husband, a consultant, has high hopes for TSO, especially the centenary season. Overseeing operations, facilities, marketing and communications, he said: This city has grown, grown and grown.I would like the orchestra to occupy more space than just the silos of art and culture. of Toronto Symphony orchestra. What that means is that whatever matters to the city must matter to us. “
That’s why we’re hosting an all-access open house and free all-day concert at Roy Thompson Hall on Saturday, September 24th. A more swanky event will be held in mid-November to mark an important milestone, his Celebrate 100: A Gala Celebration with Yo-Yo Ma.
champion of music
When the conversation turns to the importance of his appointment, Williams becomes cautious. “Why am I the best? Now I feel a responsibility. I know how important representation is.
“I don’t look like what an orchestra chief should look like,” he adds. It emphasizes that there is work, and in many ways I am the role model for that work.I want to be the champion of this music.It’s for everyone.”
Suddenly memories flood in – something he admits he hasn’t had in years. I had a neighbor, two elderly women, a mother and daughter, who could hear me playing through the window.”
“They heard about you before they knew you,” I interrupted.
“Absolutely,” he says. “They had two tickets to the Riverbend outdoor amphitheater[in Cincinnati]and they invited me in. And they were playing[Ravel’s]Bolero. I must have been 14 years old.
“I want you to feel amazing first.”
special to star
