No one has written about this yet on chicagoclassicalmusic.org so I get to do it.  Gramophone Magazine, a British publication, has named our very own Chicago Symphony Orchestra as the number one ranked orchestra in the United States, and the fifth highest ranked orchestra in the world.  Congratulations to our friends and colleagues at the CSO.  It’s nice to see others recognize what we in Chicago have known for a long time – this band rocks!  I am including the full list for those of you who haven’t yet seen it.

It has been all over the news since Monday, but the CSO is still buzzing with excitement after the announcement that Riccardo Muti will take over as Music Director in 2010/11. Andrew Patner was on WTTW talking about the appointment. Steve Lester from the CSO's bass section and chair of the Members Committee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra also discussed the partnership on NPR's Performance Today. Steve also talked about how fortunate we've been to also have established such a wonderful connection with Bernard Haitink. His leadership has been and continues to be rewarding and enriching for the orchestra and institution overall and the recordings we've made with Mr. Haitink document that great legacy. The CSO goes on tour with Mr. Haitink to Carnegie Hall next week and he will also take them to China for the first time in early 2009.

While great things are on the horizon, great things are happening right now.

Some very exciting news from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra! In a note to the CSO family, also posted on our Web site, CSO Association President Deborah Rutter Card shared the news:

Dear Friends,

It is my extreme pleasure to share with you some very exciting news!

We have just announced the appointment of Riccardo Muti—one of the most extraordinary and respected conductors of all time—to the position of music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His unparalleled musicianship, steadfast commitment to the highest level of music making, and dedication to preserving the rich history of the CSO while continuing to propel the organization into the future perfectly complement the world-class stature of our Orchestra and its musicians. He will begin his tenure in September 2010.

Our goal was to bring the best musical leader to Chicago, an extraordinary musician that would match the international profile of our Orchestra, and we have found this in Maestro Muti. I would like to thank all of you for your support, advice, guidance and input throughout the search. Your enthusiasm and passion for our great Orchestra inspired us all. I know that Maestro Muti looks forward to getting to know our wonderful city and community. If you would like to read more about Maestro. Muti’s appointment, please click here.

Most sincerely,
Deborah Rutter Card
President, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association

Social network services on the Internet come and go; a while ago MySpace was the dominant service, now it is equaled, and soon undoubtedly surpassed, by Facebook in traffic. There are dozens of other popular services, such as Orkut and Friendster, and probably thousands of small, niche-market sites.

What’s an arts organization to do with all this new media? Jason Heath talks about it in a video (in which he mentions Chicago Classical Music as an excellent example). In the last section, he talks about Facebook (“more and more Facebook over Myspace,” according to Jason).

Facebook didn’t start out very business friendly, but there have always been ways for fans of different organizations to express their love. The most commonly used way was Facebook Groups. Some of CCM’s Participating Organizations have these groups (I’m not sure which were started by fans and which were started by the organization: Ars Antiqua; Chicago Chamber Musicians; Grand Park Music Festival; Ravinia Festival). The CSO has several, all started by fans.

Then in November of last year, Facebook launched Facebook Pages. Two CCM organizations have already established a presence: Chicago Opera Theater and WFMT. Today, we launched our own Facebook page. There are obvious marketing benefits to having a page for your own organization, but I believe the main strength is building a community and participate (just like CCM aims to do).

So go explore Facebook and if you have an account, be sure to become a fan of the CSO. If you do so before this Friday, April 11, you enter for a chance to win the latest recording from our new CSO Resound label, Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, signed by Principal Conductor Bernard Haitink.

The Chicago Symphony Chorus is turning 50! They are a remarkable group and the CSO will be celebrating with a program dedicated to this incredible ensemble of virtuoso voices. The performance has been sold out for quite some time as their loyal fan base has come out in force and extremely early to get tickets to this one-night-only event.

There is another opportunity to hear the Chorus in a more traditional role with the phenomenal Valery Gergiev conducting the CSO and Chorus for Berlioz' wonderful Romeo and Juliet.