Minnesota Orchestra Staff

Dorothy Cummings ("Dottie") was the switchboard operator and receptionist for the Minnesota Orchestra for nine years. She retired in 1986. She came to the Twin Cities from Birmingham, Alabama via Chicago. In Minneapolis she worked for an answering service and for the United Way before taking the position with the Orchestra.

From the guide to the Dorothy Cummings Collection, 1949-86, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division [paa])

Linda Wallace was the assistant to Orchestra president, Richard Cisek .

From the guide to the Linda Wallace's Administrative Files, 1981-84, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Scandinavia Today was a series of celebrations of contemporary Scandinavian culture in a number of American cities. In the Twin Cities it was supported by the American Scandinavian Foundation and involved numerous art’s organizations, including the Minnesota Orchestra . The Orchestra’s concert, “Tonight Scandinavia” featured such notable artists as Birgit Nilsson and Victor Borge . The concert was attended by royalty from many Scandinavian countries and was filmed for broadcast on PBS television.

From the guide to the Scandinavia Today Records, 1979-82, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra/Minnesota Orchestra has been called the “Orchestra on Wheels” because of the extensive tours undertaken by the Orchestra from its early years. Their first tour was in 1907. Early tours were arranged and managed by the Orchestra Manager; later tours by the Operations Department.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Tour Records, 1944-2008, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

The first six boxes in the collection contain records from various offices including those of Richard Cisek, Donald Engle, and Boris Sokoloff who were responsible for financial matters during their tenures

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Finance Department Records, 1950-94, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Before the move to Orchestra Hall in the 1970s, the Orchestra staff was fairly small and activities such as ticket sales and box office were handled by the same staff that managed other activities.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Box Office Records, 1941-2006, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Marilyn Nelson and Luella Goldberg chaired the 75th Anniversary Committee. Mary Leary, Special Projects Coordinator, and Mary Ann Feldman, Staff Administrator, Composers Competition, were Orchestra staff involved. The celebratory book, Ovation, was written by Barbara Flanagan .

From the guide to the 75th Anniversary Records, 1975-80, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Early programs did not have a distinct title; there were separate programs for each concert. In 1969 the program format changed; programs were prepared for each month and contained information about all the concerts that were to be performed in that month. The first title was Symphony (vol. 1-V). In 1974 the title changed to Showcase (but the volume numeration was retained; vol. VI – [ongoing]).

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Publications, 1903-present, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

The Hall Facilities Administrator manages Orchestra Hall, and during the period covered by these records, also managed activities of groups who rented the Hall. Facilities Administrators whose records are included in this collection are David J. Goeb 1978-79 and Kim A. Holmberg 1979-1981(?).

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Hall Facilities Records, 1974-86, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

The Anniversary Committee was chaired by Mary Steinke .

From the guide to the 80th Anniversary Celebration, 1982-83, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Early Orchestra Manager (and cellist and program annotator], Carlo Fischer, may be responsible for collecting clippings in the first decade of the Orchestra. From 1906 through the mid 1960s, most clippings were pasted into Orchestra scrapbooks (Series 9.1). After that time, the clippings were filed by subject in file folders.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Newspaper Clippings, 1912-[ongoing], (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Popular concerts have been part of the Orchestra’s season from the early years. Planning and administering the pops concerts have been the responsibility of various staff members over the years. These records are mainly from the office of Susan Kodner, Audience Development Administrator in the 1980s and early 1990s. Other files are from the Operations Department and from Polly Barten .

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Pops Records, 1980-95, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

The posters have been created by agencies hired by the Orchestra; in almost every instance the producer/creator is unknown, even with highly artistically designed posters.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Posters, 1949-2000 (bulk 1970-2000), (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Maestro Skrowaczewski was the sixth music director of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1960-79. [The name of the orchestra was changed from Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra during his tenure.] He continues to be both a major conducting figure and a highly regarded composer and currently serves as the Orchestra's conductor laureate. During his lengthy tenure Orchestra Hall was built and the Orchestra moved to a year-round season.

Born in Lwow, Poland, Skrowaczewski studied piano and violin as a child. An injury to his hands during World War II terminated his keyboard career and he subsequently concentrated on composing and conducting, becoming music director of the Katowice Philharmonic (1949-54), Krakow Philharmonic (1959-66), Warsaw National Orchestra (1956-59) and principal conductor of the Hallé Orchestra (1984-91).

Additional information about Skrowaczewski is available in Grove's Dictionary of Music.

From the guide to the Records from the Office of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, 1962-85, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Education Department Records, 1960-2004, Bulk 1966-2004, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

WAMSO was founded in 1949 as the Women's Association of Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Rosalynd Pflaum . Reflecting changes in volunteerism, the organization changed it name to WAMSO--Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer Association .

WAMSO sponsors many activities for children including Kinder Konzerts and Young Artists Competitions . They annually sponsor the Symphony Ball with proceeds going to support the work of the Minnesota Orchestral Association .

From the guide to the WAMSO Files, 1959-85, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

In the early 1970s the Association began investigating possibilities for a new performance space for the Orchestra.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Buildings and Related Materials, 1956-80, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Historically the musicians of the Orchestra have had a Personnel Manager who was a member of the Orchestra and who represented their interests with the Association. During the 1950s John MacKay and Jess Meltzer served as personnel manager. Since that time other personnel managers have been Clifton Jackson, Ronald Balazs, and Ronald Hasselmann . Julie Haight-Curran became Personnel Manager in 1993. She was the first Orchestra Personnel Manager who was not also a musician.

In the late 1970s the Orchestral Association hired a staff member who dealt with human resources for the Association's staff. Thomas Manion may have been the Association's first Human Resources Director. The files in this collection are from both the offices of personnel manager and human resources director. They had been merged at some point early in the archives' history. In the future, this group of materials will only represent records from the office of the Personnel Manager. Human Resources records will be in a different series.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Personnel Department Records, 1952-2006, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Additional information about the Orchestra's music directors can be found in the Grove Dictionary of Music .

From the guide to the Records from the Offices of Minnesota Orchestra Music Directors, 1962-2002, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Maestro Marriner was the seventh music director of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1979-86. Highlights of his tenure include the British Festival of Minnesota, Tonight Scandinavia, and a celebrated two-week tour of Australia.

Known to music lovers as the founder of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Marriner also conducted with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, and the Orchestre National de Paris. He was born in Lincolnshire, England and studied violin at London's Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatory.

From the guide to the Records from the Office of Sir Neville Marriner, 1978-86, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Soon after the Orchestra was organized, staff created scrapbooks that contain newspaper clippings about the Orchestra and a variety of other materials including programs, publicity items, etc. Many of the scrapbooks may have been compiled by Carlo Fischer (from the beginning until his retirement in 1954?). In the mid 1960s the clippings were no longer pasted into scrapbooks, but were kept loosely organized in folders.

The scrapbooks were stored in various locations over the years and may even have been slightly damaged from smoke from a fire. Because of the poor condition of the books, the Orchestra archivist had special boxes made for each scrapbook to protect it and provide needed support.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Scrapbooks, 1908-82 (bulk 1908-67), (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Development Office Records, 1927-2007 (bulk 1954-2007), (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

From the early years of the Orchestra, the general manager has been in charge of all artistic matters. In the 1970s a separate Artistic Administrator was hired to work under the guidance of the manager. Following is a partial list of artistic administrators:

In addition, Michael Steinberg served as Artistic Advisor from 1989-92? and was a frequent correspondent with Santourian.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Artistic Administration Records, 1953-2000, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Sommerfest was inaugurated in 1980 as Viennese Sommerfest, a summer music festival. It incorporated an outdoor “marktplatz” on Peavey Plaza (with food vendors and an eclectic mix of musical groups) with a concert series in Orchestra Hall that featured a wide variety of classical, popular classical, and exciting, innovative programs. The artistic director for the festival from 1980-89 was Leonard Slatkin ; David Zinman served in the same capacity from 1993-96. Jeffrey Tate was the principal conductor from 1997-2000, the final summer of Sommerfest. It was succeeded by MusicFest .

Numerous staff of the Orchestral Association were involved with planning and implementing Sommerfest. Laurie Stroope was Sommerfest coordinator from 1981-84; Samuel C. Dixon was Sommerfest Project Manager from 1985-89; Michael Steinberg was Artistic Director from 1990-92. Mary Ann Feldman was closely involved with planning and programming throughout the run of Sommerfest. As with most Orchestral activities, staff from many departments were responsible for different aspects of the festival – staff from Public Relations (Public Affairs), Artistic Administration, and Operations.

From the guide to the Sommerfest Records, 1980-96, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

As with other departments of the Minnesota Orchestra, the work of Operations has overlapped with that of other areas. They handle tours, runouts, and the stage management of concerts among other responsibilities. During the early period covered by these records, the manager also handled personnel matters.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Operations Records, 1972-96, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Early in the history of the Minnesota Orchestra, public relations were handled by the General Manager. As the Orchestral Association staff increased, special staff were assigned responsibilities for public affairs. By the 1990s the Public Affairs Director was intimately involved in many areas of planning for Association events and concerts in addition to more traditional public affairs activities.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Public Affairs Department, 1957-2005, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Maestro Oue was the ninth music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. During his tenure the Orchestra toured Japan and made two historic tours of Europe. The Orchestra continued its tradition of extensive recording under Oue, making some seventeen recordings on the Reference Recordings label.

Oue is a native of Hiroshima, Japan and began piano lessons at the age of four. In the United States he studied at the Tanglewood Music Center and the New England Conservatory of Music. He has served as music director of the Grand Teton Music Festival and as chief conductor of the Hanover Radio Orchestra. After leaving Minnesota he became music director of the Osaka Philharmonic.

From the guide to the Records from the Office of Eiji Oue, 1995-2002, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Marketing Department Records, 1955-98, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

Maestro de Waart was the eighth music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. During his tenure the Orchestra made annual tours to the east and west coasts and made numerous recordings. He was known for his concert performances of such operas as Das Rheingold, Falstaff, and Otello.

de Waart has served as music director of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and the Rotterdam Philharmonic and artistic director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He began his professional career as an oboist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in his native Amsterdam and later was named assistant conductor of that orchestra.

From the guide to the Records from the Office of Edo de Waart, 1986-95, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)

The Orchestra has been using photographs of music directors, guest conductors and other guest artists since its inception. Many of those were taken by staff photographers of the local newspapers of which there are a few in this collection.

In the 1970s the Orchestra began hiring photographers to document various activities and to produce publicity photographs of the music directors, musicians, and staff. In addition, publicity photos of guest artists that were sent to the Orchestra were filed by the staff for future needs.

From the guide to the Minnesota Orchestra Photographic Collection, ca. 1910-[ongoing], (University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division)