Dear Lakesiders,
 
We hope that you and your family had an opportunity to reconnect this Christmas season and prepare for the New Year.

Throughout 2017, Lakeside has spent considerable time planning for our future through the Master Planning process and Programming Assessment. You and many other Lakesiders have provided us with invaluable insight, ideas and suggestions, and we are thankful for your participation.

With all the progress our community achieved this past year, we now find ourselves on the doorstep of a completed Master Plan and a collective commitment to further strengthen our Chautauqua program.

We hope you will have an opportunity to join us at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 26 in Hoover Auditorium for a very special event as we host a Community Forum to reveal Lakeside Chautauqua's Master Plan.

However, before we commence 2018, we want to share with you some anticipated changes related to the Chautauqua program and supporting staff.

Transition to Vice President of Arts Programming
Shirley Stary, our current Senior Vice President of Programming, will transition into a new role as Lakeside's Vice President of Arts Programming.
 
This new role is designed to allow Stary more time to focus on the Arts pillar of Lakeside's signature Chautauqua program. Stary's desired transition and passion for this pillar will help Lakeside grow Arts programming for the future and address the feedback we received from Lakesiders during our Programming Assessment surveys, conversations and discussions.    
 
Over the last 13 years, Stary has dedicated herself to helping Lakeside achieve new levels of programming excellence across all four Chautauqua pillars while, at the same time, building a strong department team. The results speak volumes when you consider attendance growth across each pillar and the enthusiastic community support we received during the Programming Assessment. Recognizing her many contributions, the organization is now prepared to embrace Stary in her new role.
 
Stary's primary responsibilities will include the management of Arts-related programming in Hoover Auditorium, Orchestra Hall and Epworth Lodge, including gallery exhibits, the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra and the C. Kirk Rhein, Jr. Center for the Living Arts.
Search Begins for a New Senior Vice President of Programming
This month, Lakeside Chautauqua commenced a formal search to fill the role of the Senior Vice President of Programming. Working with key Lakeside leadership, the ideal candidate will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for all programing within the four Chautauqua pillars - religion, education, arts and recreation.

The incoming Senior Vice President of Programming will be joining the organization at a critical juncture as we begin to execute a new Master Plan and drive Lakeside's strategic program on a local, regional and national basis. This key position will focus on program development, leadership and management.

Lakeside has retained Cramer & Associates, a firm specializing in non-profit services, executive searches, strategic planning and fundraising, to assist us in recruiting qualified candidates for this key role.
Celebrate the Legacy of the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra Conductor & Music Director
As part of an ongoing programming transition, Lakeside Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Music Director, Robert Cronquist, will be departing the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra after 47 years of faithful service. We are immensely grateful for his nearly five decades of leadership conducting the orchestra and hope you will join us in celebrating his remarkable legacy this summer.

We are blessed to have many fine musicians in residence from across the country to perform concerts and engage the Lakeside community as we work to further elevate classical music as part of our Arts programming. We remain deeply committed to the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra as we welcome back our talented musicians this summer to take center stage at Hoover. 
 
As we embark on a national-level search for our future conductor, Lakeside has named John Gordon Ross, current member of the orchestra, to serve as Interim Music Director of the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra this coming season. 

As part of a formal process to evaluate potential conductors and select a successor, we will welcome five top-notch conductors to the Hoover stage, all of whom applied for the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Music Director commencing in 2019. In addition to the five candidates, Lakesider Max Rabinovitsj will guest conduct and serve as soloist for one concert.  
  • Michael Chertock - Conductor, pianist and music educator, Chertock currently serves as the Music Director of the Blue Ash/Montgomery Symphony and is chair of the piano department at the College Conservatory of Music. He has guest conducted the Columbus Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and Pops, the State Symphony Orchestra of Moscow and the Moscow Conservatory Orchestra. He lives in Mason, Ohio with his wife Maaike and has three children. Chertock is the organist at Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Montgomery, Ohio.
  • Bruce Anthony Kiesling - Kiesling has a national profile as a conductor and music educator, from classical repertoire at Carnegie Hall to the stage of the Hollywood Bowl conducting with Stevie Wonder and Gloria Estefan. His current Music Director positions include the Adrian Symphony in Michigan and the Sequoia Symphony Orchestra in California. He is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the School of Orchestral Studies at the New York Summer School of the Arts. Kiesling's other passion is music education. He was the Youth of Los Angeles Conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a program that brings free-of-charge musical opportunities to underserved youth. His previous positions include Resident Conductor of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Pasadena Symphony and Pops.
  • Matthew Kraemer - Recognized for his musical sensitivity and energized sense of interpretation, Kraemer is quickly making his mark among young American conductors for his inspired performances and versatility. He was appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra in 2015. He also serves as Music Director of the Butler County Symphony and recently completed his fifth and final season as Music Director of the Erie Chamber Orchestra. His guest conducting schedule includes appearances with orchestras in Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Houston and Nashville, as well as Canada's Mississauga Symphony and Hamilton Philharmonic and in Europe with the Vidin Philharmonic and the Orquesta de Cadaqués. Kraemer served as Associate Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic from 2009-2014. His performances have been broadcast regularly on NPR's "Performance Today."
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    Daniel Meyer - As Music Director of the Asheville Symphony and Erie Philharmonic, Meyer has reinvigorated orchestras with his innovative programs, engaging presence and keen musical intellect. In the 2017/2018 season, Meyer returns to the Rochester Philharmonic, Portland Symphony and debuts with Cleveland's BlueWater Chamber Orchestra. Recent guest appearances include the Detroit Symphony, Bamberger Symphoniker, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Württembergische Philharmonie, Staatsorchester Darmstadt and the Nuremberg Symphony. 
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    John Gordon Ross - Ross has led the Western Piedmont Symphony in Hickory, N.C. since 1991, and their current season is his 27th and final year as Music Director and Conductor. In 2018, Ross will serve as Interim Music Director of the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, where he has played 2nd Trombone since 1978. Lakeside is the place where he met his wife of 37 years, Sarah Rocco Ross, who has also performed with the orchestra for more than 42 years. He serves as a faculty member at Lenoir-Rhyne University where he teaches music history and instrumental conducting. From 1981-1991, he was Music Director and Conductor of the Kingsport (TN) Symphony Orchestra (now known as Symphony of the Mountains) including the Symphony Chorus and Youth Orchestra. He also served in a variety of conducting capacities with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, and guest conducting engagements include the Cleveland Philharmonic and Johnson City Symphony (TN).
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    Max Rabinovitsj - Rabinovitsj, a Lakeside homeowner, attended the Royal Brussels Conservatory of Music (Belgium) and is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. He has been Concertmaster of the Ottawa (Ontario) Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Nice (France) Orchestra and the Gulbenkian (Portugal) Orchestra. Rabinovitsj made his debut as a solo recitalist in New York City at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and performed in Carnegie Hall with Isaac Stern. He and his wife Mary live Naples, Fla. where he is the Artistic Director of the Naples Orchestra and Chorus and participates in many Chamber Music concerts. He has graciously agreed to assist Lakeside this summer in rounding out our guest conductor roster; however, his current obligations preclude him from being considered as the future conductor of the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra.
We are grateful for your continued support of Lakeside Chautauqua and encourage you to consider supporting the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra this year with a tax-deductible online gift or by calling the Lakeside Chautauqua Advancement Office at (419) 798-5396. Together, we can ensure that classical music will always be a centerpiece to Lakeside's Arts programming.
 
In the meantime, your 2018 Calendar of Events will be arriving in the mail soon to help you plan your Lakeside experience this summer. We look forward to connecting with you soon as we anticipate another fantastic Chautauqua season
Yours in the spirit of Chautauqua,
Kevin Sibbring
President & CEO
Lakeside Chautauqua