From the Stage Door: Lessons from an Oyster

RYAN FLEUR

President and CEO

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In June, I picked up a new life skill I never knew I needed: how to shuck an oyster. On a small boat off the Massachusetts coast, I watched as our guide showed us how to hold the shell, feel for the hinge, and twist just enough to reveal what’s hiding inside. One wrong move and you have a mess; a few careful ones and you have something remarkable. It was a delicious reminder that the smallest details can change everything. Back on Broad Street, this month delivered its own series of moments where the details made all the difference—in how our neighborhood looks, how our stages sound, and how our city shows up to celebrate. 

June also continued our country’s deep reflection on 250 years of American democracy. At the Kimmel Center, just a short walk from Independence Hall, where debates over fine print details helped define the country we live in today, I was struck by how often democracy showed up on our stages. Our partnership with Visit Philly and TED activated every corner of the building for “TED Democracy Philadelphia: Founding Futures,” with talks, collaborative sessions, and a community fair that brought thousands of people into a conversation about our ongoing experiment of self‑government.  

A few days later, that theme took on a different color. Seeing the America 250 logo in our hall during MS NOW Live’s We the People: America 250, and then watching those iconic images of Judy Garland and Toto in Oz projected above The Philadelphia Orchestra as it played the legendary score, felt like time folding in on itself. That same spirit carried into Philadelphia’s Juneteenth Parade, when Broadway performer Benjamin H. Moore stopped the route in its tracks with a preview of “If I Ain't Got You” from next year’s Philly debut of Alicia Keys’s Hell’s Kitchen. Across these moments, I was reminded how often our stages and our artists become the places and the people that celebrate the past and the future in the same conversation. 

To close our Philadelphia Orchestra season, the ensemble turned to two seminal American composers, George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein, and celebrated the musicians who bring their music to life. This year, Yannick selected bassist Nathaniel West as recipient of the C. Hartman Kuhn Award for his high level of engagement on and off the stage, and we recognized six musicians for their service: retiring musicians Boris Balter, Holly Blake, and Jonathan Blumenfeld, who together gave 115 years to this Orchestra, along with Jonathan Beiler and Richard Harlow, who marked 50 years of service, and Che-Hung Chen, who just completed his 25th year. Over decades, these artists have refined their craft in ways only a trained ear would notice—small choices in color, phrasing, and balance that, taken together, become their fingerprints on our iconic and uniquely American “Philadelphia Sound.”  

Outside Marian Anderson Hall, the Kimmel Center and Broad Street continued to define summer in our neighborhood. Thanks to our partnership with Center City District’s SIPS, now in its 22nd season, colleagues met at the Balcony Bar pop-up lounge on the Second Tier of the Kimmel Center—the perfect spot to admire the newly landscaped median marking the first phase of AveArts 2.0, the ambitious initiative to reimagine the Avenue as a magnificent tree-lined boulevard.  

Others stopped by to grab a refreshing summer cocktail and debrief about CLUE: A Walking Mystery, our immersive production that brings the beloved board game to life at neighborhood spots ranging from TD Bank to the Capital Grille. There’s nothing quite like earning bragging rights at the office for cracking the case of Mr. Boddy’s murder—a distinction given to only the savviest, including our PR intern from Drexel University, Serena. These details—a row of trees, a lively happy hour, a board game brought to life on a city block—are what make Philadelphia feel like Philadelphia, now and for the next generations who will call this neighborhood home.

Pride Month brought its own mix of glitter and good humor, starting with Drag Me to Bingo, a bingo night unlike any other, hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Mrs. Kasha Davis and Ariel Versace. On the last day of June, I pulled on a rainbow cape (literally) to kick off our fifth annual free Philadelphia Orchestra Pride Concert and Celebration, and shared a moment backstage with host, Trixie Mattel, a bona fide star in her own right, fittingly cast as our “Voice of God” for the night—no notes needed, she was born for the role. Guest conductor Carolyn Kuan led an incredible concert that included performances by The Notebook stars Dorcas Leung and Kyle Mangold. The Orchestra, ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir, Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, Philadelphia Voices of Pride, and Transcendent Choir of Philadelphia performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” as a tribute to Dito van Reigersberg, known and beloved to so many as Martha Graham Cracker. It was a tearful moment, remembering Dito and a legacy that reflects everything we strive for every day: to be inclusive and creative, and to bring joy to our communities. 

We also welcomed a new member of our Philadelphia Orchestra family, who will join us in this mission. Sara Aldana, a student of Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop, will be our new assistant conductor, a role that has launched some of the most promising artists of the next generation of orchestral leadership. Sara will bring essential support to Yannick, Marin, and our guest conductors across the season, learning the details of every piece of repertoire so she can step in if needed. Stepping in is a rare scenario, but one that launched a young Leonard Bernstein’s career decades ago. I have no doubt that Sara will rise to the occasion.  

Another milestone gave us even more reason to celebrate this month—50 years of the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts—capped off by a stunning renovation led by its CEO, Cathy Cahill. The Orchestra wrapped up the first of two weeks of a summer residency there, and what a week it was. Highlights included the world premiere of A Hundred Years On, an oratorio about the 1876 Centennial Exposition right here in Philadelphia with the chamber choir The Crossing, and a performance of Julia Wolfe’s Liberty Bell, a Philadelphia Orchestra co-commission. Later in the week, in Marin Alsop’s first Highmark Mann appearance since 1998, the Orchestra performed Ravel’s Bolero, closing with Philadelphia students joining them for a drumline finale, the kind of ending that quite literally brings the house down. That weekend, audiences of all ages also felt the magic at Disney’s The Lion King in Concert. Next up in the Orchestra’s summer residencies: Bravo! Vail. 

Just ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, I spent some time with students from our Middle School Summer Arts Session program, where they explore music, theater, dance, and digital arts over two weeks of camp at the Kimmel Center. I shared my experience as an initially indifferent piano student, who was awakened to the joy of music by a teacher who asked me what I wanted to play. I jumped at the chance to learn Rhapsody in Blue. And I tapped into a passion that I initially didn’t know I had, which led to a dream career in the performing arts. It felt like exactly the right note to end on: As America marks 250 years, these young artists are already laying the groundwork for the next 250. 

Until next month,

Ryan

FUN FACT: The first time The Philadelphia Orchestra performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was on March 15, 1958, as an audience sing-along at a Children's Concert led by former associate conductor William Smith.